Network convergence steals Cebit limelight
Telecoms link-ups again took centre stage at the world's largest IT fair, lending some substance to last year's key themes of convergence, consolidation and the internet in the networking industry.
3Com confirmed it will develop a smartphone combining Palm Pilot and GSM mobile phone technology, but failed to provide the expected details, even though the vendor announced a link up with Alcatel earlier in the week.
Mark Bercow, vice president of strategic alliances and platform development at 3Com's palm computing division, said it was 'very committed' to the development of a single piece device, but refused to comment on its smartphone plans in Europe.
Ericsson showed off its latest range of mobile communications devices, which ranged from a low-end handset to a smartphone which it claimed would rival the Nokia Communicator. Announcing the R380, a smartphone using the Symbian-developed operating system Epoc, Sven-Christer Nilsson, chief executive of Ericsson, said he believed the firm could become the world's second largest mobile phone maker, despite fierce competition from Motorola and Nokia.
The Symbian partnership was given a significant boost as Scott McNealy, chief executive of Sun Microsystems, flew in to Hanover to unveil plans to incorporate Java into the Epoc operating system.
Symbian, which was originally founded and funded by Psion, Ericsson and Nokia, signed a joint development deal with Sun which it is claimed will benefit up to 60 million users of wireless information in the next five years.
Microsoft previewed a plethora of Web-enabled phones based on its CE operating system, which combined traditional telephone services, such as voice messaging and caller ID, with enhanced data capabilities, including internet access and email. The preview was made in conjunction with a number of phone manufacturers, including Philips and Panasonic.
Meanwhile, the momentum behind Linux showed no sign of fading as SAP said it planned to ship its first R/3 business suite running on the free operating system in the third quarter.
With backing from Siemens, Compaq, Hewlett Packard and IBM, the German software giant said version 2 of Linux would be integrated more tightly with R/3.
Bernd Puschendorf, head of computer systems marketing at Siemens, said it would provide Linux on PCs, thin client systems, workstations and Intel servers and unveiled a deal with German Linux specialist Suse to provide technical support to Siemens' customers.