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Palm goes for voice over WiFi and Internet - using Cisco tech

The product is called Gphone, and it means free phone calls to other Internet phones as long as your Tungsten C Palm computer is logged into a wireless ISP. But it could involve leading all Palm users into the Cisco web.

The product is the offspring of five agreements with other companies for voice over Internet technology, said Palm - and marks the end of one of the longest failures to smell burning toast in the history of the industry, as Palm finally accepts the need for voice through a PDA. But it still leaves Palm without a dual-purpose GSM/WiFi device. And it still leaves the device without a working Bluetooth driver. And it involves Palm "selling out" to Cisco in exchange for help with the networking drivers. The bare announcement is for: "Five agreements with technology companies for voice over IP (VoIP), WiFi, and authentication software based on protocols developed by Cisco."

These agreements (says Palm) make wirelessly using the Internet or corporate network more accessible, versatile and secure for professionals using the Palm(TM) Tungsten(TM) C handheld while away from their desks or out of the office(1). VLI, Linksys, Wayport, WiFinder and Meetinghouse Data Communications introduced products, services and special offers that capitalize on the integrated WiFi of the Tungsten C handheld for WiFi campus networkers and small office or home office (SOHO) professionals.

The company dug out the traditional "analyst_quote_goes_here" from Alex Slawsby, who is with IDC. Palm itself says that Slawsby says: "Given the expansion of WiFi networks in homes, in enterprises, and in public hotspots, it is becoming increasingly important for handheld device vendors to offer compelling WiFi solutions." These marketing-supportive quotes do a bit to publicise the research company, and give the press release a bit of spurious objectivity, but of course, they don't address the real problem.

With Palm, the real problem is that the company has spent five years steadfastly ignoring connectivity, on the grounds that its users didn't want it; they got all that through the PC.

The result is that, despite having the market lead in the US, the company is still not able to take proper advantage of the Internet, because the OS itself doesn't support the IP stack the way a rival device from Microsoft can.

Voice over IP is a big step towards this goal. Slawsby again: "As use of VoIP expands through the enterprise and secure wireless corporate data access becomes a necessity, it's not enough to simply deliver a device -- handheld device vendors must partner to offer a compelling solution story."

Part of that story has to be properly integrated voice. That involves both sides of the PDA; Bluetooth to a head set, and GSM as an alternative to WiFi when out of range of a hotspot. The Tungsten has neither.

Palm devotees aren't all happy. A good sample of the response can be found at specialist Palm web site, Brighthand, where the debate had focused mostly on the absence of Bluetooth drivers, with Editor Ed Hardy reporting sadly that "A Palm VP told me today, after consulting with their Bluetooth lead, that, 'There are no plans at this time to make a driver for Palm OS 5.0'."

Palm no longer has direct control over these issues, which are the responsibility of software spinoff, PalmSource. Consistently, whenever taxed with Palm's poor Internet capabilities, David Nagel has said that the company is "aware of" these issues, but that the upgrade will appear "in a future version" of the operating software.

His problem, almost certainly, is footprint. Nagel could probably slot a fully operating TCP/IP stack into the Palm OS tomorrow, if he were prepared to pick something off the shelf - but crucial to his market strategy is the big advantage he gets from having a very compact operating system. It means two things; first: you don't include anything you don't absolutely have to have, and second: you don't add things till you've got them tuned, refined, and incredibly efficient.

The Tungsten has processing power to match almost anything Microsoft's Pocket PC has, with a 400 MHz ARM processor and 64 meg of memory. It also takes an SD expansion card - but putting a Bluetooth device in there is of limited value. And it is also capable of running LEAP (Lightweight Extensible Authentication Protocol)- if someone can get that working on the Palm platform. And with Cisco's help, it seems, Nagel may have pulled this off - or maybe, he's been circumvented by the networking giant.

Getting integrated WiFi is a big, exciting step in the right direction. But in doing this, Palm has taken a jump into the spider's web; it has signed up with Cisco which is moving rapidly into the WiFi market as a rival to the WiFi Alliance. Palm is using Cisco's LEAP technology for user authentication. This is technology which isn't available over standard WiFi access points, however, and pretty much forces you to buy Cisco access points and routers to take advantage of the feature.

"VoIP is fast becoming a compelling and cost-effective means of communication for wireless devices," said Ken Wirt, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Palm Solutions Group.

That's true enough: but the standards involved are not all public. Palm said: "Businesses and other organizations soon will be able to turn to Meetinghouse's Aegis WLAN security solution, which supports LEAP, a standards-based authentication method for Palm Tungsten C handhelds."

LEAP is indeed standards based, but without the permission of Cisco, nobody else can use it. It's one of the key CCX (Cisco Client Extensions, it used to be) enhancements to wireless networking which Cisco is "giving away" to makers of WLAN silicon.

LEAP, developed by Cisco, requires mutual authentication, which means both the user and access point to which the user is attempting to connect must authenticate one to the other before network access is granted. Aegis security enables businesses to deploy the "elegant and powerful" Tungsten C handheld in their WLANs with enterprise-level security.

VLI which is known for its SIP (session initiation protocol) based VoIP products for mobile devices, is introducing Gphone for Palm handhelds to enable VoIP for Palm Tungsten C handheld users. The Microsoft based version came out March 24th.

"With Gphone, Tungsten C handheld users will be able to connect to online directory services and SIP compatible IP devices, including personal computers and Internet phones, as well as make calls over the switched public telephone network," said Palm's announcement. However, it isn't clear whether this is possible from a public hotspot; normally, calls over the phone network are only possible from a VoIP "gateway" - an exchange which dials phone numbers and connects Internet calls.

In addition to LEAP security, an IPSec VPN (virtual private network) client will be available to address the remote access security needs of many WiFi networked professionals. More about this can be expected when Cisco releases news, Monday, about upgrades to its architecture.

The VPN will provide secure access to corporate networks so Tungsten C handheld users can wirelessly receive and respond to confidential, data-intensive applications from anywhere on their WiFi corporate campus, or from hotspot locations such as restaurants, hotels and airports. Palm says that Gphone for Palm handhelds from VLI is scheduled to be available in June. There are promotions to be launched by the "five partner" companies; Linksys discounts on WiFi cards and access points, and a Wayport free trial are available today with the purchase of a Palm Tungsten C handheld. Handheld registration also is required for the Wayport offer.

Aegis WLAN Security from Meetinghouse Data Communications and the IPSec VPN client are scheduled to be available later this summer.