Handspring gains FCC approval for its GPRS and CDMA Treo 600

Dom · Jul 30, 2003, 05:30 PM

According to the US Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) website, Handspring’s newest GPRS and CDMA Treo 600 smart phones were given approval on July 21. Based on their application documentation, it appears that the test devices were given codenames “Batman” for the GPRS version and “Robin” for the CDMA 1x version.

The Treo 600 uses a Texas Instruments (TI) OMAP 310 processor. Relatively slow at 133MHz and using Palm OS 5.2.1, it is yet to be proven if it can deliver today’s wireless multimedia. Other specs include 32MB of RAM, 160×160 STN color screen, digital camera, SD/MMC slot and an 1800mA non-removable battery. Dimensions are 4.41×2.26×0.87 inches, weighing about six ounces.

It is unknown who manufactures these devices for Handspring. In Taiwan, Asustek Computer, Inventec and Wistron have experience building Palm OS devices. All have experience with wireless devices as well, but Wistron and Asustek have been focusing on Intel’s XScale solutions for Microsoft Smartphones, not OMAP. Inventec manufactures OKWAP-branded handsets in Taiwan and works with Shenzhen Sed Electronics (SED) to sell SED-branded handsets in China.

Based on FCC documentation, it is believed that Motorola Embedded System Group (ESG) had something to do with this design, but it cannot be confirmed. Motorola was the supplier of all the Dragonball CPUs in earlier Palm, Handspring, HandEra and Sony devices.

The CDMA version appears to be designed for Sprint PCS’s 1x CMDA network and the GPRS version will probably be sold by all three US GSM/GPRS networks. Good Technology will be one of the distributors. Good has worked in the past with Cingular Wireless and is a RIM Blackberry competitor.

The high hopes that Handspring and Palm (as Palm is in the process of acquiring Handspring) have on the success of this model may be one of the reasons investors have flocked to Sierra Wireless, the new owner of Airprime, whose EM3420 module is being used in the CDMA version. Sierra’s stock in the last few months has skyrocketed from around US$3.50 in May to over US$9.80 now.

Rumor has it that Sierra may have bought Airprime because its module is based on the Qualcomm 5100 chipset, which supports FCC mandated 9-11 emergency call rules. The MSM5100 comes with Qualcomm’s GPSOne hardware/firmware already built-in and is a key technology for selling CDMA handsets in the US market. The chip also features embedded Bluetooth, Qtunes and MP3 support, but it is unknown if Handspring will utilize these features.

It is also unknown which type of 9-11 solution will be used in their GPRS version. It will probably be up to each network to decide. GPRS 9-11 O-TED software is not as accurate as CDMA 9-11 and has caused most US carriers some grief to meet FCC deadlines. GPRS handsets need to have software loaded into each device that can only measure distance away from the base station, which may not be accurate enough for FCC 9-11 phase II.

Since the cost of the Treo is estimated to be in the US$400-500 range, it will be seriously challenged by Microsoft’s Smartphone and other lower cost, richer feature-set devices soon to come to market.

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Source: DigiTimes

Jul 30, 2003, 05:30 PM	#1
Dom DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 12,942 Rep Power: 0	Handspring gains FCC approval for its GPRS and CDMA Treo 600 According to the US Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) website, Handspring’s newest GPRS and CDMA Treo 600 smart phones were given approval on July 21. Based on their application documentation, it appears that the test devices were given codenames “Batman” for the GPRS version and “Robin” for the CDMA 1x version. The Treo 600 uses a Texas Instruments (TI) OMAP 310 processor. Relatively slow at 133MHz and using Palm OS 5.2.1, it is yet to be proven if it can deliver today’s wireless multimedia. Other specs include 32MB of RAM, 160×160 STN color screen, digital camera, SD/MMC slot and an 1800mA non-removable battery. Dimensions are 4.41×2.26×0.87 inches, weighing about six ounces. It is unknown who manufactures these devices for Handspring. In Taiwan, Asustek Computer, Inventec and Wistron have experience building Palm OS devices. All have experience with wireless devices as well, but Wistron and Asustek have been focusing on Intel’s XScale solutions for Microsoft Smartphones, not OMAP. Inventec manufactures OKWAP-branded handsets in Taiwan and works with Shenzhen Sed Electronics (SED) to sell SED-branded handsets in China. Based on FCC documentation, it is believed that Motorola Embedded System Group (ESG) had something to do with this design, but it cannot be confirmed. Motorola was the supplier of all the Dragonball CPUs in earlier Palm, Handspring, HandEra and Sony devices. The CDMA version appears to be designed for Sprint PCS’s 1x CMDA network and the GPRS version will probably be sold by all three US GSM/GPRS networks. Good Technology will be one of the distributors. Good has worked in the past with Cingular Wireless and is a RIM Blackberry competitor. The high hopes that Handspring and Palm (as Palm is in the process of acquiring Handspring) have on the success of this model may be one of the reasons investors have flocked to Sierra Wireless, the new owner of Airprime, whose EM3420 module is being used in the CDMA version. Sierra’s stock in the last few months has skyrocketed from around US$3.50 in May to over US$9.80 now. Rumor has it that Sierra may have bought Airprime because its module is based on the Qualcomm 5100 chipset, which supports FCC mandated 9-11 emergency call rules. The MSM5100 comes with Qualcomm’s GPSOne hardware/firmware already built-in and is a key technology for selling CDMA handsets in the US market. The chip also features embedded Bluetooth, Qtunes and MP3 support, but it is unknown if Handspring will utilize these features. It is also unknown which type of 9-11 solution will be used in their GPRS version. It will probably be up to each network to decide. GPRS 9-11 O-TED software is not as accurate as CDMA 9-11 and has caused most US carriers some grief to meet FCC deadlines. GPRS handsets need to have software loaded into each device that can only measure distance away from the base station, which may not be accurate enough for FCC 9-11 phase II. Since the cost of the Treo is estimated to be in the US$400-500 range, it will be seriously challenged by Microsoft’s Smartphone and other lower cost, richer feature-set devices soon to come to market. ______________________ Source: DigiTimes