Interop vendors: Go mobile |
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By Andrew R. Hickey, News Writer
19 Dec 2005 | SearchMobileComputing.com |
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NEW YORK -- While dozens of vendors at Interop pedaled products to help mobile workers stay connected from farther away, BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. took a different approach.
Instead of setting the crosshairs on the typical road warrior, RIM senior marketing manager Roger Beharry Lall said the Waterloo, Ontario, vendor had its sights set on a different, often-neglected mobile worker -- "the corridor warrior."
At Interop, RIM unveiled the BlackBerry 7270 Wireless Handheld, a device that works on the wireless LAN to bring mobile e-mail and data access, along with Session Initiated Protocol-based IP telephony calling.
While RIM is known for aiming its devices at the miles-away-from-the-office crowd, the 7270 is for the worker who hardly sits at a desk, but from nine to five is on the go within company walls or campus.
"This is for someone who works on site, but still needs access to critical information," Lall said, pointing out an Interop staffer whose job it is to walk the show floor as an example of a target 7270 user.
He said "corridor warriors" are the forgotten mobile users -- the IT department, medical professionals, manufacturing plant workers and others who could miss out on critical information because they never have time to sit down and scroll through e-mail or check messages.
BlackBerry 7270, Lall said, complies with 802.11b standards and works with the BlackBerry Enterprise Server. It features push delivery of e-mail and data, Wi-Fi capabilities, memory for application and data storage, wireless Internet and Web application access, and centralized management and support.
Elsewhere on the Interop show floor, other vendors also showcased their go-mobile offerings.
- Seattle-based Aventail Corp. rolled out its Secure Collaboration tool, Web-based software that mobilizes the vendor's remote access platform with help desk, Web conferencing, instant messaging and VoIP messaging. Secure Collaboration works across all platforms, devices, network environments and media.
- Route1 Inc. debuted MobiKey with the Safe Response Business Continuity Solution. The tool lets users telecommute with their office systems using a USB device, which Toronto, Ontario-based Route1 said eliminates the need for a VPN or security tokens.
- Cognio Inc., of Germantown, Md., added an RFID product to its SpectrumExpert line of management platforms and also updated its popular ISMS Mobile to version 2.0 and renamed it SpectrumExpert for Wi-Fi. The RFID version of SpectrumExpert can determine whether other devices are interfering with transmissions and tests the power transmissions from RFID readers to ensure network availability and reliability. On the Wi-Fi side, the SpectrumExpert lets IT managers identify and find interfering devices before they can affect the network. Both can also track interfering devices not using 802.11, such as cordless phones.
- Targeting remote and mobile workers, Avaya added VPN capabilities for its IP phones. Workers can access the VPN by plugging into a broadband connection and enter their username and password. The update is available as a software upgrade for Avaya 4600 IP phones. The Basking Ridge, N.J., communications giant also announced a partnership with Pleasanton, Calif.-based Polycom Inc., adding mobile VoIP and videoconferencing. Called the Avaya Desktop Video Addition 2.0, the product adds Polycom PVX desktop video to Avaya's IP soft phone interface, turning a PC or laptop into a fully function office phone and video conferencing station with presence capabilities.
- San Jose, Calif.-based Orative rolled out the new Orative Client Software for mobile phones that use Qualcomm's Brew platform. The software combines presence technology, directory integration and secure messaging to bring additional functionality to standard mobile phones. The software supports some phones by Audiovox, LG, Motorola and Samsung, with more to come.
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