HP unveils vision for personal communic

Begin forwarded message:

From: Dewayne Hendricks <[email protected]>
Date: October 9, 2006 10:22:57 PM EDT
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <[email protected]>
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] HP unveils vision for personal communications
Reply-To: [email protected]

[Note:  This item comes from friend John Wilson.  DLH]

From: "john wilson" <[email protected]>
Date: October 9, 2006 10:56:35 AM PDT
To: [email protected], [email protected]
Subject: HP unveils vision for personal communications


Dewayne
Interesting article below re wireless comms trends, uwb personal hub,  
etc

John

<http://news.zdnet.co.uk/communications/0,39020336,39283926,00.htm>

HP unveils vision for personal communications

Richard Thurston
ZDNet UK
October 09, 2006, 16:00 BST

Company believes mobile workers of the future will carry a personal  
wireless hub to keep all their devices connected

HP has revealed its vision for the future of mobile devices by  
unveiling, as a concept, a wearable wireless communications hub.

The hub — which resembles a wristwatch and would be worn on the arm —  
would handle a user's connectivity requirements. All the individual's  
other mobile devices would then communicate solely with the hub.

Phil McKinney, chief technology officer for HP's personal systems  
group, said, "People want more powerful devices with more memory and  
more radios, and you have to cram all this in. So we have this  
concept of a watch, which is something we are driving to. Devices  
just need to communicate with this watch."

McKinney said users would set up a personal area network using ultra  
wideband (UWB), but also Bluetooth if they were still using today's  
devices. All the radios for external connectivity — whether 3G, Wi- 
Fi, WiMax or any other bearer — would be contained in the hub.

The hub would also allow a device, such as a smartphone, to  
seamlessly move between different networks. McKinney added that  
moving all the radios into the watch would mean radios could be  
removed from each device, making devices simpler to use and cheaper  
to manufacture.

HP's concept mobile hub
The wireless hub would use UWB to keep a user's devices connected

But McKinney rejected suggestions that data security could be at risk  
with such a profileration of individual networks. He said devices  
would only communicate with a device which had a MAC address white- 
listed by the user. If a device was stolen, the user would need to  
remove it from the white-list.

McKinney estimated that it will take until 2016 for a hub resembling  
a wristwatch to be commercially available. Before that it would go  
through several iterations, he said, first appearing as a credit card- 
sized box that could be carried in the user's pocket.

HP also unveiled a range of related products, including a "Smart  
Shelf" and adjoining Wall Display, which would act as a charger for  
the hub and could also be used as a monitor.

In the nearer term, HP will soon release two versions of its popular  
iPAQ PDA containing built-in satellite navigation software. The  
RX5700 and RX5900 will ship for little more than it costs to buy  
TomTom software on its own, HP said. The devices, which are Wi-Fi- 
enabled and run Windows Mobile, will go on sale in November.

HP will also start selling its first laptop with built-in 3G  
connectivity next month. The 6400 model, which will ship to  
businesses for £799 (ex VAT), will come with a Vodafone SIM pre- 
installed.
Weblog at: <http://weblog.warpspeed.com>