Palm/Wireless Comparison Report

[Guy Martin <guym@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hey folks,

My apologies for not getting this report on Palm & Wireless together 
sooner.  I know I promised it several weeks ago, but between JavaOne
preparations, vacation afterward to recover, plus time to do all the things 
that got put on the back burner because of JavaOne, time slipped away 
quickly...  However, I finally sat down and just banged it out.  It is 
attached to this email as plain text.  

Please feel free to send comments/corrections to me... thanks.

	-Guy Martin
	-Sun Labs Skunkworks

		      Palm/Wireless Connectivity Comparison 

				  Guy Martin
				Staff Engineer
			 Sun Microsystems Laboratories


Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to compare/contrast the various Palm
Computing (3Com) Pilot models, specifically with their respective wireless 
network access solutions.  Note that a lot of this comparison is from 
my personal experience in using these devices.  Some of it is from
research done online or from talking to people who have used a device (for
example, the Palm VII).  Note that this paper does not reflect the corporate
views of Sun Microsystems, Inc., and that I do not speak officially for Sun 
Microsystems, Inc.

Overview

The following device and wireless combinations will be reviewed:

Palm III with CDPD cradle from Novatel Wireless (www.novatelwireless.com)
Palm III with Metricom Ricochet Modem (www.metricom.com)
Palm III with Snap-On cellular modem from Option International (www.option.com)
Qualcomm PDQ1900 (CDMA cell phone/pilot combination)  (www.qualcomm.com/pdq)
Palm V (no wireless connectivity - yet)
Palm VII (Integrated 'web clipping'/email via BellSouth Network) 

Comparisons will be drawn based on:

Functionality
Ergonomics
Price
Overall Utility

Overall conclusions will be drawn, based on the comparisons made for all the
devices.

Palm III/CDPD

The Palm III/CDPD combination consists of the Palm unit married to what looks
like an oversized flat 'cradle', complete with a retractable antenna and 
rechargeable lithium-ion battery.  The Novatel unit tested was their Minstrel II
modem, which is a bit clunkier from a weight and design perspective than their
latest model (Minstrel III).  CDPD (Cellular Digital Packet Data) has been
somewhat of a non-starter, mainly due to a per byte pricing structure that 
created huge bills for customers who sent a lot of data across the system.  That
changed recently with 'all you can eat' pricing models from vendors such
as AT&T Wireless and GoAmerica.  GoAmerica offers unlimited CDPD nationwide
coverage (CDPD is a digital overlay onto the existings analog cellular network)
for roughly $60 a month.  This is not an unreasonable price if you travel a lot
and need access to internet email/browsing.  CDPD's big drawback is its speed,
around 14.4 kbits/sec on a good day.  However, for simple email messaging or
simple web page downloads, it works fine.  From an ergonomic standpoint, this
marriage is a bit chunky, but it is nice not to have external cables hooked
up to flop around as you are carrying it.  

Palm III/Metricom Ricochet

The Palm III/Metricom Ricochet SE modem combination is a bit lighter than the
CDPD solution, but requires a special cable to attach it to the Palm.  It is
also useful to velcro the modem to the back of the Palm unit while in use.
Metricom is a small start-up here in Silicon Valley that is creating a data
only network for use in Metropolitan areas.  It uses the US FCC unlicensed radio
spectrum (902-928Mhz) with a frequency hopping architecture to provide current
users with the equivalent of a 28.8 kbits/sec modem connection to the net.
They recently received a cash infusion to expand their network nationwide, and to 
help fund their next generation network (Ricochet2), which is supposed to provide 
speeds of 128 kbits/sec.  Ricochet's biggest draw is their all you can eat pricing
at $30/month.  This makes a Palm device + ricochet modem a very useful combination 
for email and simple web browsing wherever you may be (as long as it is in the Bay 
Area of CA #:)))

Palm III/Snap-On modem from Option, International

The Palm III/Option modem solution suffers from a similiar ergonomic problem to
that of the Metricom Ricochet, namely, it needs an external cable from the modem
(which looks similiar to the original snap-on modems from 3Com) to the cellular phone.
In addition, the modem needs to be mated to the particular brand/model of GSM based
phone.  Transmission speed is about 9600 baud, so it is only truly useful for small
email messages, and not really terribly useful for general web browsing.  It does
have the benefit of allowing your Palm address book to dial the phone for you during
voice calls.  Pricing is what bites users of this service however, since data minutes
are not included in most GSM rate plans in the US, and they are usually charged at
higher rates than voice minutes.

Qualcomm PDQ1900 (Integrated cell phone/palm)

This device is what prompted the writing of this comparison report, since many
people expressed interest in its features/capabilities.  It is not in wide-scale
deployment yet, and rumors still run rampant that Qualcomm will be
forced to kill it due to their recent marriage to Microsoft in the venture known as
WirelessKnowledge.  Nevertheless, this device is interesting from an integration 
standpoint.  It is a true Palm III processor board, running Palm OS 3.0.2, with 
significant software and hardware integration into a Qualcomm CDMA based cell phone.
The phone can be used to make regular voice calls, using either a soft keypad, or the
normal hardware keypad.  Integration with the Palm address book is very good, 
allowing you to lookup an address, and simply click on it to dial.  Data transmission
rates are rated at 19.2 kbits/sec, but that appears to be best case.  More realistic
rates of around 14.4 were seen consistently during testing.  Qualcomm engineers did
a good job of integrating the hardware and software, but this unit is BIG, compared to
current generation cell phones from other vendors.  Standard email and browsing is 
possible with few problems, but size and price (we've heard various numbers, but it looks
like at least $500 for the unit) may conspire to kill this one in the early stages.

Palm V (no wireless solution - yet)

The Palm V is being included in this report because I just got one at JavaOne. #:)
However, it is worth mentioning, both because the ergonomics are so
much better than previous Palm generations, and because there are wireless solutions
on the horizon for this device.  The screen contrast, thinness of the unit, and on
board rechargeable lithium-ion batteries all combine to make this a very nice unit
from an ergonomic standpoint.  Since it runs Palm OS 3.1, most of the popular Palm
software will still run on it, including browsers, email clients, and anything else
that takes advantage of the TCP/IP stack.  The size difference really does matter,
as even a Palm III seems clunky in comparison next to this thing, and the PDQ seems
downright monsterous when compared to it.  The aforementioned Novatel Wireless has
stated their intention to make a CDPD cradle for this device.  It remains to be seen
what this will be like, but if they can do a good job mechanically, and it doesn't
increase the size/weight too much, this could be a very nice wireless solution for
folks who like small.  The next generation of Metricom Ricochet modems may also be
nice solutions in this space, but they are a bit further out than the Novatel modem
(slated for second half of this year).  Pricing for the CDPD access should probably
remain about the same, or even decline a bit, with pressure from upcoming cellular
data.  The Palm V is a bit pricey now (~$450), but that might come down some if 3Com is
trying to move their Palm VII device.

Palm VII - the first integrated wireless Palm

The Palm VII was a product that was much anticipated, but frankly, it landed with
a hollow thud when the details were released.  The unit is a bit larger (but not by
much) than the current Palm III, and uses a flexible antenna to connect to the BellSouth
Wireless data network (Palm.Net).  While some folks have been excited by the possibilities
of this device, it is very restrictive and very pricey.  It is NOT a general purpose
Internet access device.  The 'Web Clipping' paradigm was a good engineering idea, since
it limits the amount of data needed to get timely information from the Internet, such
as flights, stocks, etc., but 3Com has not published the APIs to the wireless device
in the Palm, so third party apps that get around this web clipping restriction (and the
initial 500 character email download restriction) don't seem to be on the horizon.
Hopefully, this will change, but I'm not holding my breath.  The price of the unit 
(~700), plus the per byte network charges (remember comments about CDPD?), coupled with
the inflexibility of this device to be a true wireless internet access device make it
a bad choice, in my opinion.  That probably means that 3Com will sell millions of them
to unsuspecting non-technical consumers.  #:)

Conclusions

Which device/wireless access to choose is, of course, highly subjective.  There will
be as many opinions as there are people who read this report.  From a personal preference
standpoint, I'd probably go with the Palm V and upcoming CDPD cradle for most needs.
The Palm III solutions are a good second choice, with the PDQ coming in after that, and
the Palm VII dead last.  This report is a mixture of personal ergonomic preference, and
actual experience using most of these devices (except the Palm VII), so please take it
in the spirit it was intended, to give the reader an idea of the different options
out there.

For questions or comments, please contact me at: guy.martin@xxxxxxxxxxx