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Wireless Networking Handhelds Hardware

802.11b Memory Stick for CLIE 95

Posted by CmdrTaco from the i-got-no-strings-to-hold-me-down dept.
prostoalex writes "InfoSync talks about a new MemoryStick card with wireless 802.11b support. The launch date is Dec 1st, the price is $130." Update by J : It's for Palm OS 5 devices like the CLIE, and not made by Sony.
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802.11b Memory Stick for CLIE More

802.11b Memory Stick for CLIE

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  • Picture (Score:5, Informative)

    by r_glen ( 679664 ) on Sunday November 16, 2003 @11:41AM (#7487585)
    A picture of the card is here [brighthand.com], which was developed by Hagiwara Sys-Com (and simply name-branded by Sony).

    • Re:Picture (Score:4, Informative)

      by penguin7of9 ( 697383 ) on Sunday November 16, 2003 @12:23PM (#7487818)
      I think that comparison between the Bluetooth stick and the WiFi stick speaks for itself. What you don't see is that the WiFi stick will also suck your battery dry very quickly.

      WiFi makes little sense for PDAs--it's too big and too power hungry. If you really must have something like that, get one of the Enfora WiFi cases (search on Google), which at least includes its own battery.
      • ...something like this? [enfora.com]

        It's really tempting, although the ironic thing is that my refurbed m125 cost half the price of this case/802.11b docking system. Yeah, WiFi would suck copious amounts of battery life from my poor m125...it eats batteries as it is for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I wonder if a Bluetooth SDIO card has a similarly voracious appetite...my soon-come Ericsson cell phone has not only Bluetooth but a built-in cell modem.

      • Wifi makes little sense for some PDAs, especially ones equipped with a poor battery. On other PDAs, wifi makes a lot of sense; at least, as much sense as wifi makes on any other computing device.

        On a PDA I owned but sold a few months ago, I could get 8 hours straight of wifi-enabled usage. That is, web browsing, ssh, irc, email etc etc. No, some PDAs don't make sense- like a Palm m130 or a Zaurus SL-5500 where you're talking about two hours or less doing wifi stuff. But there are PDAs out there with the
      • OK, silly me, I thought it was useful being able to read BBC News, Slashdot and The Register in bed. Ho hum, I'll get over it.

        Blanket statements like "it's not useful" miss the point - for me, catching up on the new headlines anywhere in my house is just great - since I'm rarely far from my PDA charger it's not an issue if the battery will only last 2-3 hours while using wireless..

        Why on earth would you want to surf for 4 hours continously on a PDA anyhow? I don't get it.. but if you do, that's fine, just

  • WiFi storage? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by bobthemuse ( 574400 ) on Sunday November 16, 2003 @11:44AM (#7487601)
    What I'd like to see is a WiFi memory stick which emulates local storage. Allows you to connect to and store your photos on a PC in range. If the power consumption and security concerns were addressed, professional photographers could transmit their photos to a nearby laptop, eliminating the need for a bulky storage device on the waist or frequently swapping memory cards.

    I wonder what such a thing would do for write times? I've been told that the delay between pictures on high-end digital cameras was due to solid state memory write times, would an 11mbit link solve this?

    • Re:WiFi storage? (Score:5, Informative)

      by cloudmaster ( 10662 ) on Sunday November 16, 2003 @11:48AM (#7487624) Homepage Journal
      I've found that my cameraapearently writes to an internal buffer and then copies from that buffer to the memory card. Moving to higher-speed cards hasn't affected the delay between shots (or tha maximum recoardable video size) because the buffer, I'm guessing, was designed with the speed of slower flash memory in mind.

      Do with that what you may, but the wireless "virtual file system" wouldn't help much in that case.
    • Sounds like a nifty application for Bluetooth at least.

      Unfortunately, they're much too busy putting Bluetooth into cellphones so you can send IMs to your friends who are sitting next to you, because your mouth is not 'cool' enough or something. And then they complain that no one buys bluetooth phones. God forbid they do something actually useful with it.

    • Re:WiFi storage? (Score:1, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      http://www.dpreview.com/articles/nikond2h/

      already done.

      "Optional WT-1 Wireless Transmitter (802.11b) - This is significant news, the ability for the D2H to transmit images directly back to a laptop or server is an important step forward for the implementation of this camera in a fast moving environment (such as sports events). The WT-1 unit connects to the camera via the USB 2.0 port and tripod screw, connectors on the camera base provide power from the camera's battery. The camera uses the WT-1 to send i

  • Uses... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by wed128 ( 722152 ) on Sunday November 16, 2003 @11:44AM (#7487602)
    would this enable memory stick-enabled devices such as mp3 players or cameras to exchange data wirelessly, or allow you to use a memory stick without plugging it in...the former allows for quite interesting uses...

    for instance...use the 802.11 memorystick in your car for instant mp3s playing through your car stereo...walk inside and the song continues...

    no more need for the "kodak" style camera dock for instant picture posting to the internet, either.

  • Oh the possibilities... (Score:5, Funny)

    by MoeMoe ( 659154 ) on Sunday November 16, 2003 @11:47AM (#7487618)
    I can see it now...

    Father: Hey son, come take a look at all the new pictures we took from our trip

    Son: Ummm, dad that may not be such a good idea.

    Father: Hmmmmm, there seems to be another memory stick in the area, it's probably from your mothers camera, let's have a look...

    Son: NO DAD DON'T!

    Father: Son, where did this picture of our dog taking a bong hit come from?

    Son: Ummmmmm.... it's moms camera, ask her...

    **Son runs off and moves out of the country**
    • i'm sure they would use some sort of authentication scheme to prevent this sort of thing...so you couldn't see your neighbors pics and stuff...
      • But there in lies the problem. How many people save passwords and other means of authentication for personal use into their local computers without giving any thought to what information may be derived from it when another person in the vicinity may gain access to said computer?
    • Man, you know you haven't been out of the house enough when... I really thought you were going somewhere else (read: worse). Son, Mom, doesn't want Dad to see...

      I really need to get out of here ;)

  • Very convenient... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by zeux ( 129034 ) on Sunday November 16, 2003 @11:52AM (#7487636)
    I wonder if we could use it as an identification device.

    You wlak to your door, it connects to the key, check you ID an open itself. Same for cars and so on.

    Also you could use it to exchange your contact information (phone number, address, etc) to someone who has another stick.

  • man. (Score:5, Funny)

    by mcpkaaos ( 449561 ) on Sunday November 16, 2003 @11:53AM (#7487648)
    With all these new wireless products for the home, I'm going to have to start wearing my tin foil hat indoors, too!
  • Hard drives ? Backup your machine by dumping an external box somewhere close to your machine. Auto sync. Auto-run-backup...

    Simon
  • if one stick can connect to another and exchange data directly ?

    I don't think so because we would have no way to control what happens, but I can foresee here many applications...
  • a VLC client for Palm OS 5...by the way, do you think this will work with a Memory Stick enabled TV? I doubt it since the TV runs an internal OS, but it would be very nice to hack that firmware and make a VLC like player built in to the TV.......nevermind. I'm dreaming again....

  • Typical Sony (Score:1, Flamebait)

    by Fubar411 ( 562908 )
    Once again, Sony creates a problem by creating a proprietary standard. How long have we had CF WiFi adapters? SD WiFi are coming out, getting better among the manufacturers. While I love Sony's quality, I prefer the cheaper CF storage and adapters. Good for Sony for putting CF on its high end PDA, but I can't believe they disabled them for storage.
  • It seems to me that Wi-fi is appearing in places where you would expect bluetooth to be, granted it is not as fast as 802.11b but I cant help but get the feeling that with low-range/low-power chipsets arriving all the time 802.11b could kill bluetooth.

    • Short answer: no (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Long answer: no, because BlueTooth uses much less power than 802.11b.

      Any other questions?

    • Bluetooth is dead.

      didn't you get the memo??
    • Bluetooth is still around? Jesus, how many wireless "standards" are there? Next thing you know, computer will come bristling with 15 antennas just to keep up with every new "standard". There's no room in the consumer market for more than one wireless "standard".
      • They were SUPPOSED to do different things. What I figured out to tell people was to think of bluetooth as wireless USB and wifi as wireless ethernet. That usually worked well.
      • Bluetooth, ya see, isn't going anywhere. How do I know this? Because when a "standard" is optional on a lot of new cars, it's entrenched.

        I'd love to see them shove 802.11 into a car. But then again, that's not what it was designed for. It is a great application for bluetooth.
        • Bluetooth in cars? What cars? I've never heard of that. That sounds incredibly frivolous.
          • I know some Toyotas, some Audis, etc have bluetooth.

            And frivolous? Yeah, I guess if the idea of having your cellphone patch into your car's audio system sounds frivolous to you. I guess if the idea of not having people fumbling with phones as they drive down the parkway sounds frivolous to you. To me, it sounds like a pretty good idea.
  • And this is a good thing because?
  • crap is included? I wouldn't trust Sony any farther than I could throw them.
    • yeah. they lost my trust when I found out that I couldn't reload songs transfer to my MD back to my PC. What if I recorded a show or something. I'd have to lose more quality by using the line-in jack on my computer...

    • Re:What kind of DRM (Score:2, Informative)

      by epall ( 632054 )
      Um, it's not a sony product. Thus, there's no DRM crap. This is a 3rd party trying to circumvent Sony's stranglehold on which CLIEs have WiFi.
      • Whoops. Guess I should have RTFA, or at least RTFP.

      • Um, it's not a sony product. Thus, there's no DRM crap.

        Even if it was a Sony, it wouldn't have DRM. It's a network adapter. How can you put DRM in a network adapter and still conform to the standard?

        This is a 3rd party trying to circumvent Sony's stranglehold on which CLIEs have WiFi.

        When Compaq only puts 802.11b in select iPaqs, it's product differentiation. When Sony does it, it's a "stranglehold"? Please. If you like to hate Sony, at least hate them for the right reasons. If people really want

  • Excellent! (Score:5, Funny)

    by jarran ( 91204 ) on Sunday November 16, 2003 @12:10PM (#7487750)
    Fantastic for those of us who always lose things.

    If we could increase the speed of wireless networking by a few orders of magnitude, and invent wireless power, we could build entire computers this way. Imagine being able to upgrade your computer by buying a new CPU and just sticking it in your house "somewhere". :)

    Or even better, just swipe the spare cycles from the luser next door who forgot to check the "don't let my neighbours use my stuff" box.
  • Ive only been able to find ONE of those out there.. Rather expensive, and from a company i dont know diddly about...

  • Wow, Sony's Memory Stick is still behind (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Cecil ( 37810 ) on Sunday November 16, 2003 @12:23PM (#7487822) Homepage
    So there have been SecureDigital cards which do this for awhile now, and CompactFlash cards for longer still.

    That's right Sony, keep dragging Memory Stick down the road in the hopes that you'll someday catch up to everyone else. It is possible -- you do have enough money to blow, right?

    Memory Sticks are retarded. Less features, smaller capacity, more price, harder to find. I'd never buy anything that uses them. Not that I care for SD cards either. There's nothing wrong with CF, it's in more devices, and it's large enough to have IBM Microdrives.
    • and it's large enough to have IBM Microdrives.

      No it is not. You need a double thick CF slot to put a microdrive in. Besides, microdrives will be out of the picture it flash memory keeps scaling the way it does.

      Microdrives currently are only interesting for professionals. And even those would be carrying something to copy their digital photo's onto anyway.

      Note that every Sonly memory stick is priced about 30 euro's above comparable memory slot devices in NL. IMHO, they can stick it up ...
    • It's also built on existing standards. SD is pretty open, but all by itself. Memorystick is propriety garbage. What I like about CF is that you can trace it directly through PC-card, IDE, and ISA - all you need are pinout converters. For example, you can plug a CF card into an IDE socket with just a dumb pin converter. Same thing for PC cards (of course, the average IDE controller only recognizes ATA mass storage, but oh well). The only problem is that it's soon going to be too slow to keep up well.
      • CF is cool, it hits the sweet spot between size and features for a mobile device nicely. It's also nice that the same card will store mp3s and boot a computer.

        Something I've wondered for a while though - could an adaptor be made allowing a CF host (ie a Zaurus or Ipaq) to talk to a full blown IDE hard drive. Obviously the speed would suck compared to an IDE controller, but it would be cool.

        Do you know if this has been, or could be done?

        Regards

        Alex
  • Tom's [tomshardware.com] has an article detailing the poor range and dreaddully slow connection rates of the SD Wifi card. Anyone know if the memory stick is going to be plagued by the same problems? I can't imagine Sony will have solved them for "the stick."
  • Unless this has upwards of 128MB included then its just completely useless.

  • Now this only further lends credence to my fear that one day my PDA will lose wi-fi connectivity followed by my friend telling me my fancy pez dispenser has the worst gum he's ever tasted.
  • IIRC, the manufacturer also has an SD Card 802.11b device that works with PalmOS 4.x upward. Bit odd considering that there's not a single PalmOS 4.x device that I can think of which supports an SD Card slot. OTOH, I mailed them asking to support PalmOS4.x with their MemoryStick device - benefitting users of slightly older Clies like my NR70 - but it would seem the request fell on deaf ears.
  • They would make a lot of money selling WiFi cards for OS 4 Palm's. The T, SJ series were very successful, yet Palm OS 4 only. Many still exist. Many (like myself) who don't want to upgrade, but want WiFi.

    I would gladly pay some cash for a Palm OS 4 compatible MS card. Would be great to get email, IM, etc. on the go.
  • Am I the only one who read that as:

    Memory for CLUE sticks

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