That personal digital assistants have attracted the attention of the wireless industry is evident in the many announcements made last week targeting the popular devices.
AvantGo Inc. announced it has begun shipping its Enterprise 3 software solution, designed to extend Web-based and client/server applications to handheld devices. In that effort, the company also signed a strategic alliance with Attachmate Corp., which will offer its host access management solutions around AvantGo software.
With the solution, enterprises may extend their applications to mobile employees equipped with Palm OS or Windows CE handheld devices. The entire solution consists of the AvantGo Server, AvantGo Client and Mobile Application Link.
Aside from enterprise applications, the Enterprise Server also powers the AvantGo.com service, which allows handheld users to access breaking news, stock portfolios, restaurant listing and track the status of Federal Express packages, among other Internet-based services.
Wireless MD Inc. and ThinAirApps.com unveiled solutions for the Palm VII wirelessly enabled palmtop device. Wireless MD said its interactive medical data retrieval system is now available on Palm VII organizers. The HEALTHeLINK system allows hospitals, pharmacy retailers and other health-care workers to contact patients’ physicians from the device when additional information is needed.
ThinAirApps.com said it launched a free service that will allow Palm VII users to access POP2 or IMAP e-mail systems, in addition to the Palm.net wireless network.
Finally, word from the Personal Communicator Wireless Alliance-the effort by several paging carriers and manufacturers to include ReFLEX paging technology as the means of wirelessly enabling future PDAs-is that it expects to see products introduced to the market with its solution by the first quarter next year.