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Viewsonic goes for wireless everything, announces first Tablet PC

It looks like the first Tablet PC will come from a company which specialises in wireless, not in PCs. It's a company which believes in wireless for EVERYTHING including TV screens - no more coax - and hi-fi and games, and even the kitchen.. and of course, business.

Viewsonic has announced a perfectly ordinary Microsoft Tablet. It will ship the same time as Microsoft makes it official, in November - but to the company, the announcement is not just a PC with a pen; it's the launch of wireless enterprise computing. And yet, Viewsonic is known, if at all, for displays. Why is it going hell for leather, for wireless?

"We have a belief in truth-seeking; we think our search for truth has led us to a lot of questions we don't know answers for, so don't go for the jugular!" said Marc McConnaughey, senior VP for advanced technologies. "But wireless looks like one of the questions," he adds.

The new Viewsonic is built on the wireless concept. "The key reason to do it is because of the advancing wireless infrastructure," said McConnaughey. "We localise everything on a mini-PCI card, so we can be agnostic as to whether it's wireless 802.11b or 802.11a or g or GSM or anything - we can cover wide area wireless through PC cards, or compact flash. And the idea is to give you your desktop, anywhere you want."

Viewsonic watched Blackberry's launch by Research In Motion (RIM) and decided it wasn't successful. "But he idea of being able to get your information or email anywhere you wanted attracted us."

The first products will be shipping over the next couple of years, starting with the Tablet PC. They will be aimed at both corporate and domestic environments, but the target is "the mobile executive." At home, at work, and travelling. After that, comes the next stage; products based on "Mirror" - Microsoft's code-name for Windows CE Smart Display technology, due for launch 2003.

Viewsonic's way into these markets has been unique. Rather than aim for mass markets with mass market products, it has clung to tiny niches, for specific customers. It started with Windows CE devices, like the Viewpad, which was sold to one company, Telus (one of Canada's larger wireless operators) or like one or two Oracle installers, who wanted something for warehouse use. These products appear to have worked as test beds, refining Viewsonic's understanding of the technology.

The result was that when Microsoft started doing its more advanced wireless and mobile research, Viewsonic found itself uniquely positioned to be involved at the heart of the project - it had actual experience with the problems around which the .Net Compact Framework would grow.

That, says McConnaughey, is why Viewsonic will be one of the first to launch a working Tablet.

It has now arrived in Europe, launching the first wireless monitor - the airpanel 100 - a business application. It's based on CE .NET, and uses WiFi 802.11b standard wireless "to literally let users unplug their monitors and walk away from their desks." Well, nearly; it lets you take your screen if you're happy with an 800 by 600 pixel display, so obviously it needs work before it will satisfy those who want 1280 by 1024 pixels - but this is, they say, just the beginning.

NewsWireless Net will be reporting on Viewsonic developments over the forthcoming months, and carrying bulletins - this looks like one of those stories that will run and run. Details in the UK from the London office, which - of course - isn't in London, but near Gatwick, in Crawley, West Sussex. Contact them on 01293 643 900.

And then sit back. Viewsonic is determined to get high bandwidth wireless into the home, with enough bandwidth to run video. They believe they can, eventually, get two wide-screen displays, fully wireless, plus enough wireless to run hi-fi sound from room to room. But, they admit, they aren't there yet.

But you should be able to get a demo of the PC V1100 now, because they have prototypes to show.