Toronto’s Microcell Connexions and Waterloo, Ont.’s Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM) last month announced a wholesale agreement by which RIM will buy airtime and services from Microcell Connexions in an effort to offer high-speed wireless data services to Canadians. RIM’s “always-on” services will be based on General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) technology and operate on Microcell’s Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) network. Microcell said GPRS technology can reach data speeds of up to 115kbps and supports fast point-to-point communication through devices that enable “always-on” Internet connections. RIM is on the Web at www.rim.net. For details visit www.microcell.com.
Chicago-based Tripp Lite, a manufacturer of power protection equipment, has released an upgraded version of its PowerAlert Software, Version 11. Tripp Lite said Version 11 is a UPS power management software product that facilitates network power control from any Web-enabled device, including wireless phones and PDAs. The company said PowerAlert Version 11 will provide a secure Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) Web server that simplifies messaging into a text-only format that is compatible with all wireless Internet browsers. With the upgraded version, IS personnel can check UPS status, reboot outlets, or reset critical settings from any Web-enabled device and IS managers no longer have to log into the network from resident workstations to check on network power conditions, the company said. For details visit www.tripplite.com.
Blue Nomad LLC, out of Redwood City, Calif. recently released WordSmith version 1.0, a full-featured word processor, enhanced memo pad and rich document viewer available for the Palm organizer. The company said WordSmith 1.0 supports rich text, paragraph formatting, justification and font selection on organizers. Co-developed by Blue Nomad and Quik Sense Software, the makers of Quik Budget, WordSmith 1.0 is fully compatible with Microsoft Word and is compatible with any word processor capable of reading RTF files. For Linux and Macintosh users, WordSmith includes a command-line converter and a separate document converter application, Blue Nomad said. WordSmith 1.0 is available now and is priced at US$39.95. For details visit www.bluenomad.com.