Motorola Advances Palmtop Computing : Electronics: Envoy, being unveiled today, will let users connect with on-line services or other humans.
Motorola Inc., raising the level of palmtop computing and wireless communications, is introducing a device that combines the two emerging services.
The Envoy personal communicator, to be unveiled today, lets users send and receive information through Ardis, the nation’s largest wireless network.
The device, expected to retail at about $1,500 after its release this summer, can also be linked by wire to telephones, computers and peripherals. This lets users tap into on-line information services, exchange files with personal computers, or use a printer or keyboard.
Envoys also can “talk” with each other through an infrared transceiver, exchanging messages that can be enlivened with animation and sound, either the user’s voice or packaged effects. It also includes software for taking notes and keeping track of schedules and expenses.
“First-generation products fell short--they didn’t really deliver on communications,” said Cheryl Beck-Ruff, Envoy project manager. “And the critical thing is, you do need to be in touch.”
Analysts praised Envoy’s communications abilities and combination of hardware and software.
“These are communication devices that put you in touch with more than other people. That’s what makes this a very, very interesting development,” said Paul Saffo, a director of the Institute for the Future, a consulting firm in Menlo Park, Calif.
Envoy is the latest product in the field of personal communicators. The hand-held devices linked through wire or a wireless network communicate by voice, fax, electronic mail and other ways and also manage personal information.
One of the earliest of the products, Apple Computer Inc.’s Newton MessagePad, was upgraded on Friday with improved handwriting-recognition capabilities.
Industry observers have been eager to see the book-size Envoy because it is the first product on the market to include software by General Magic of Mountain View, Calif., which was formed by Motorola, AT&T; and Sony Corp. and hopes to develop standards for personal communicators.
Users operate the Envoy by tapping on-screen boxes or an on-screen keyboard with a finger or electronic pen. They can also jot down a note and transmit it as written. But Envoy--unlike Apple’s Newton--does not recognize handwriting.
That’s because handwriting recognition hasn’t come far enough to use easily, said Curtis Sasaki, manager of product marketing for General Magic. The original Newton was criticized for inaccurate reading of writing.
Envoy links users to Ardis, a network owned by Motorola and IBM through a built-in wireless modem and a built-in two-way wireless radio modem. Ardis links with RadioMail service, enabling users to communicate with anyone with an Internet address.
“If I have one disappointment with the product--and I do--it’s that it doesn’t have an external keyboard,” said Andy Seybold, who edits a newsletter on mobile computing. “The on-board keyboard is not good enough for people to do wireless e-mail.”
