When is a notebook not a notebook? When it is a Netbook Pro, the new mobile computing device from Psion Teklogix. The company says the new handheld, which is based on Windows CE, is aimed at mobile Customer Relationship Management, including sales force automation, field service management, and field inspection/data collection. (However, thanks to its battery life, nice display, and keyboard, journalists or busy executives on the go might like it too.) The Netbook Pro is a clamshell mobile computer that combines the virtues of the PDA size, battery life, low support costs, weight, and touch screen and instant-on capabilities, with the benefits of a laptop large screen size, expansion, connectivity flexibility, and a full keyboard.
Based on a preview look at the system given last month to Supply Chain Systems Magazine, the system avoids some of the aspects of mobile Tablet PCs that users have complained about. For one thing, Psion Teklogix's device runs on Windows CE, which requires less battery power and computing resources than other OSes such as Windows XP. The Netbook Pro doesn't require an active stylus as do Tablet PCs: if you lose the Netbook Stylus, no worry, you can use your finger. The tablet easily fits into your lap, but didn't appear to run nearly as hot as other "laptop" devices.
But other aspects of the Netbook Pro are sure to remind users of full notebooks. For one, it has a bright, crisp, full-color SVGA screen, which lets you view Web pages and other business applications as you're used to seeing them. The same cannot be said for Pocket PC type devices with their small screens. The Netbook Pro also provides a full keyboard that is large enough for comfortable touch-typing, allowing extensive amounts of data to be entered quickly. The device runs the latest Windows CE.NET platform and uses the Intel XScale PXA 255 processor. Industry standards such as 802.11b, Bluetooth, GSM/GPRS, and CDMA/1xRTT can be easily integrated into the Netbook PRO to address a wide variety of enterprise mobile computing needs, both today and in the future. The Netbook Pro will be available in North America and Europe at the end of October 2003 from Psion Teklogix' sales offices, distributors, and value-added resellers. Psion Teklogix, 905.813.9900.
