(Nikkei BP Group)
(No.1 High-Tech News Site in Japanese)
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| Mitsubishi Details 'Altair' Java Portable Terminal
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August 25, 1998 (TOKYO) -- Mitsubishi Electric Corp. unveiled the specifications
of its Virtual Remote PC (VRPC) portable terminal, code-named "Altair,"
during an interview with Nikkei Java Review.
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This
device integrates Lotus eSuite for VRPC (code name "Vega") as an application
and is also capable of executing Java applets. Lotus eSuite for VRPC
has been jointly developed with Lotus Development Corp. of the United
States based on Lotus eSuite.
The product features wireless communication capability with PCs and terminal
software applets, which makes it possible to control PC screens via
the VRPC. A prototype model of eSuite for VRPC is almost complete. A
prototype for a software development model will be completed this autumn.
Mitsubishi plans to exhibit the prototype terminals at the Consumer Electronics
Show (CES) to be held in January 1999 in Las Vegas, with general production
within 1999 in the United States.
The company started VRPC development in December 1997 using Mitsubishi's
M32R/D with built-in DRAM, a 32-bit microcontroller developed in July
1997.
The trial model is equipped with a color liquid-crystal display (LCD)
with a 320 x 240 resolution. A 480 x 320 resolution will be added to
production models. Features provided will be 4MB of flash memory, 8MB
of main memory and a PC card slot.
In addition to eSuite for VRPC firmware, Internet Inter-ORB Protocol
(IIOP) engine and English handwritten input capability will be available.
Body size for a production model is not determined yet. The evaluation
mock-up model is similar in size to the Palm Pilot of 3Com Corp., but
it is thinner. It weighs about 210g and fits into the chest pocket of
a shirt.
Mitsubishi intends to make the system board specification public to promote
OEM business to system vendors. The market price of this type of device
is US$300-US$350 in the United States. Therefore, the present objective
is to realize a production cost of US$120-US$130 level, the company
said.
(Nikkei Java Review)
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