Intermec's Choice Plain and Simple -- WinCE Over Palm

By Michael Foley
iApplianceWeb
(07/24/01, 08:32:37 AM EDT)

The die has been cast at Intermec Technologies Corp. In its decision, Windows CE wins hands down over Palm in performance for its line of handheld devices for field service organizations and other mobile workers. Intermec is now shipping its 5020 family of handheld data collection computers pre-loaded with Microsoft Windows CE 3.0 and SQL Server 2000 Windows CE Edition (SQL Server CE).

Intermec made this decision because it believes Windows CE is more scalable, provides more sophisticated operations on the data with more complex programs or business logic,and offers better connectivity options. Palm devices have more limited memory space, the operating system does not generally support data integrity checking due to memory constraints or unavailability of robust software programs, and Internet connectivity is restricted through the Palm.Net network.

The Intermec 5020 and 5023 handheld computers are designed specifically for rugged enterprise-wide duty and remote data collection.

The Intermec 5020 family of handheld computers offers:

• Configurability via a desktop Web browser
• Open Air and 802.11b 2.4 GHz wireless RF options
• Hitachi SH3 32-bit RISC Processor
• 16 MB RAM, 32 MB flash memory
• 1 PC card- and 1 CompactFlash card expansion slot
• Large 1/4 VGA display for easy viewing
• 43-key alphanumeric keypad for efficient data entry