Palm V series and IBM WorkPad c3 owners can join the “always on” revolution. Two-way wireless carrier Motient Corp., which also sells RIM devices through its eLink service, has launched the MobileModem, a device that attaches to a Palm V or IBM WorkPad to give users the same kind of “always on” wireless e-mail access that RIM pager owners get. The device is always talking to the Motient network and automatically “wakes up” the Palm with each incoming message. Users of the MobileModem can be wirelessly connected to many messaging programs, including Microsoft Exchange, Lotus Notes and Novell GroupWise. The MobileModem is scheduled to be available by the end of November and will cost between US$180 and US$280 (depending on rebates), plus service plan. For more information, head to www.motient.com.
Keynote Systems Inc. is launching a new monitoring service, this time inspecting the performance of wireless – as opposed to landline – ISPs. The Keynote Wireless Perspective service lets users better understand the performance over their wireless service provider’s network, the company says. Service-level agreements (SLA) for wireless Internet access or other mobile data services, such as Short Message Service, are not currently offered. To determine how these services perform, users must turn to third-party companies such as Keynote. For the wireless service, Keynote is deploying software and hardware agents at 10 sites in the U.S. and the U.K. These agents can gather real-time information about how long it takes for a Web page or application to be displayed on a handheld device. The agent imitates a typical wireless user. It sends and receives wireless messages, purchases items over the Internet, trades stocks or simply views certain Web sites. The agent gathers this information and sends it to Keynote’s database system where the performance information is stored. The system is also designed to alert users if transactions take more than a specified amount of time.