RIM Offers OEM GSM/GPRS Wireless Radio Modems

By
iApplianceWeb
(03/20/02, 10:14:16 AM EDT)

Research In Motion Limited (RIM) announced a new family of OEM radio modems for GSM/GPRS wireless networks. The new embedded radio modems are designed for Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) customers and incorporate the same core radio frequency(RF) technology built into BlackBerry Wireless Handhelds* (5800 Series). RIM has already begun working with a number of OEM customers to integrate the new radio modems.

RIM's radio modems are designed to allow OEM manufacturers to wirelessly enable a variety of products including laptops, handheld devices, point-of-sale terminals, bank machines, billboards, monitoring and metering equipment, vending machines, GPS systems and automobiles. For example, manufacturers use RIM's OEM radio modems to wirelessly enable ruggedized computers and provide field service personnel with remote access to corporate information systems. This constant connectivity enables field service personnel to increase both productivity and customer service. Also, point-of-sale terminal manufacturers use RIM's radio modems to provide wireless credit and debit card authorization for remote sales transactions that occur with residential and commercial deliveries and taxi fares.

RIM's OEM customers are provided with reliable, high-quality radio modems that offer efficient power management, small and lightweight designs, proven radio code and easy integration. The new RIM GSM/GPRS radio modems have similar form factors and electromechanical interfaces to RIM's current 902M (Mobitex) and 802D (DataTAC) OEM radio modems, providing manufacturers the versatility to easily deploy products for multiple wireless networks.

RIM's GSM/GPRS OEM radio modems offer both off-board (models 1802G and 1902G) and on-board (models 1802GS and 1902GS) SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) chip configurations. An off-board SIM chip configuration allows integrators to make the SIM chip user accessible, while a fully integrated on-board SIM chip configuration saves integrators development time and money by eliminating the need for a separate SIM holder.

General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) is a global wireless standard that uses existing GSM (Global System for Mobile telecommunications) radio base stations and converts wireless data into standard Internet packets, enabling interoperability between the Internet and the GSM/GPRS network.