NEC releases PDA with desktop capabilities

The latest handheld device featuring desktop capabilities from NEC came out Monday.

The NEC MobilePro 900, known as the “clamshell” for its petite-laptop look, features an Intel PXA255 processor with XScale technology and has more memory — 64MB of RAM Base SDRAM (synchronous dynamic RAM) — than its predecessor, the MobilePro 790.

The offering’s desktop capabilities include 32MB Flash ROM with additional 32MB Flash ROM for customer applications. Built on the Microsoft Windows CE 3.0 Handheld PC platform, MobilePro 900 comes with Pocket Word, Excel, Pocket PowerPoint and Internet Explorer applications. Weighing less than 2 pounds and measuring 9.69-inches wide by 5.05-inches long by 1.19-inches thick, the product also features a nearly full-sized keyboard and an 8.1-inch HVGA (640 x 240) touch-screen display that supports up to 65,000 colors.

Available now globally through NEC and direct resellers with a list price of $899, MobilePro 900 also comes with a standard lithium ion battery, which lasts up to eight hours and also features an A/C adapter for battery charging.

Designed with the needs of field force automation, professional services and health care professionals in mind, NEC said MobilePro 900 gives users an instant-on delivery of enterprise applications without the bulk of a full-sized notebook.

“This release is the ninth generation of the MobilePro line,” said Joe Harris, director of product marketing with NEC Solutions in Santa Clara, Calif. “Being a Windows CE-based device, users get the instant-on capability of a PDA with a nearly full-sized keyboard for desktop functionality. We have increased the performance with the Intel XScale processor and have increased ROM and RAM as well and anticipate phenomenal success with this converged device.”

While Harris said the decision to opt for Windows CE 3.0 was based on customer demand, the company said it has plans to migrate to the newly announced Windows CE .Net platform over time.