Hitachi upgrades SDIO Capabilities for Windows Mobile-Based PCS Phone by Hitachi Model SH-G1000
TOKYO, Japan, March 2, 2004 – Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE: HIT), Ubiquitous Platform Systems Group, today announced that SDIO enhancement will be available on the Windows Mobile™-based PCS Phone by Hitachi Model SH-G1000, featuring an integrated QWERTY keyboard, camera and wireless phone. The device is offered nationwide exclusively to Sprint customers. The SDIO enhancement program can be downloaded through Sprint at www.sprint.com/pcsbusiness (click on ‘Downloads’) and will enable mobile workers to use the device with SDIO Wireless LAN or Bluetooth cards to take advantage of high-speed wireless connectivity via an 802.11b Hot Spot.
SD is an acronym for Secure Digital, a technology standard for providing portable devices with non-volatile storage and peripheral I/O expansion capability. SDIO is a superset of the SD Memory specification. It enables I/O expansion for peripherals such as wireless LAN or Bluetooth cards. The SDIO enhancement program supports a variety of peripheral devices that utilize BSQUARE Corporation’s SDIO Now! system software. By using SDIO Now! system software, Hitachi is delivering support for the popular SD and SDIO standards.
“The Hitachi G1000 is a powerful productivity tool designed to allow mobile professionals to stay in touch faster, easier and with more flexibility,” said Phil Bowman, vice president of Integrated Solutions, Sprint Business Solutions. “By upgrading the SDIO capabilities, Sprint customers now have more options to help them conduct business while they are on the go, including accessing the high speeds of public Wi-Fi ZONES™ providing wireless data service at speeds of up to 11 Mbps.”
“Enterprises are looking for ways to extend the connectivity to mobile workers. In conjunction with this SDIO enhancement, the Hitachi SH-G1000 can provide a complete, cost-effective solution for handheld device that allows corporations to leverage existing wireless communications infrastructure. Dedicated to meeting the needs of business professionals, Sprint views the added connectivity capabilities as part of a complete mobility solution. Through this enhancement, we will help Sprint provide the most enhanced wireless connectivity to its customers.” said Yasuo Sakai, director, Business Strategies, Mobile Information & Communication Appliance Division, Ubiquitous Platform Systems Group of Hitachi, Ltd.
The Hitachi G1000 combines the functionality of a Pocket PC with the advanced wireless data applications delivered by the faster data speeds of the enhanced Sprint Nationwide PCS Network. The Hitachi G1000 is a first-in-its-class “converged device” meaning it offers the power of a PC and convenience of a wireless phone in one compact unit (8.4 oz, 5.8” x 3.3” x 0.9”). It comes loaded with Windows Mobile 2002 software for Pocket PC, 32 MB of memory, a 400 MHz Intel® XScale™ Processor and a 65K TFT (Thin Film Transistor) color display. In addition, it is the first wireless Pocket PC device to feature a built-in QWERTY keypad and scroll dial. This single band PCS Vision Phone by Sprint also incorporates a rotating VGA-quality digital camera and is now equipped with an SDIO expansion slot with multimedia card capabilities.
Tested SDIO cards with the SH-G1000 are as follows:
Wireless LAN card: Socket WL6200-480
Bluetooth card: Socket BL4800-392
"With the Hitachi SH-G1000, enterprise customers can now get high speed wireless connectivity through one highly integrated device," said Mike Gifford, Socket's founder and executive vice president. "Socket has worked with Hitachi for years in the mobile and handheld markets, and the new SH-G1000 is an excellent indication of Hitachi's high technology market awareness, integration, engineering, and manufacturing capabilities. Socket is pleased to be an approved supplier of Secure Digital IO wireless LAN and Bluetooth solutions for this product."
Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE: HIT), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company, with approximately 340,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2002 (ended March 31, 2003) consolidated sales totaled 8,191.7 billion yen ($68.3 billion). The company offers a wide range of systems, products and services in market sectors, including information systems, electronic devices, power and industrial systems, consumer products, materials and financial services. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's Web sites at http://www.hitachi.com/or http://www.hitachi.us/.
Sprint is a global integrated communications provider serving more than 26 million customers in over 100 countries. With approximately 67,000 employees worldwide and over $26 billion in annual revenues in 2003, Sprint is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying state-of-the-art network technologies, including the United States’ first nationwide all-digital, fiber-optic network and an award-winning Tier 1 Internet backbone. Sprint provides local communications services in 39 states and the District of Columbia and operates the largest 100-percent digital, nationwide PCS wireless network in the United States. For more information, visit www.sprint.com.
BSQUARE Corporation (NSDQ:BSQR) developed the SDIO Now! system software and a program to help manufacturers like Hitachi to provide a common platform, a standard driver architecture, and APIs enabling support for popular SD and SDIO standards on Windows Mobile and Windows CE based devices. For more information, please visit www.bsquare.com.
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