IBM has backed up Sony Ericsson's P900 smartphone with a
set of software offerings including a virtual private network
feature and an easier way to set up access to enterprise
applications.
The companies announced their partnership at the Cellular
Telecommunications & Internet Association's CTIA Wireless IT
& Entertainment conference taking place this week in Las
Vegas.
The deal extends a similar partnership involving Sony
Ericsson's P800.
Mobile employees will be able to connect securely to
applications over an intranet or the internet using the VPN
capability, said Letina Connelly, director of strategy and
marketing for the Pervasive Computing Division of IBM.
IBM's WebSphere Everyplace Connection Manager can create an
encrypted VPN on both IP networks and non-IP or private packet
radio networks.
The basic applications IBM is making available on the phone are
e-mail and personal information manager (PIM) functions. Its
WebSphere Everyplace Access middleware, which includes both
server-based and client elements, supports both Microsoft Outlook
and IBM Lotus Notes for e-mail and PIM. For now, it will support
only Lotus Notes Instant Messaging.
WebSphere Everyplace Access also will make it easier for IT
departments to get employees going with other enterprise
applications on the P900, Connelly said. These might include
inventory, order tracking and enterprise resource planning
applications from IBM or other suppliers.
Companies already can provide access to those kinds of
applications on the P800, but it requires special work for every
application. Adding new applications now will be faster and less
expensive, she said.
IBM client software for the P900 will also allow workers to move
among different networks without losing data or having their work
interrupted, Connelly said. No involvement by the carrier is
required.
Although the P900 does not come with Wi-Fi wireless Lan
capability, the software should be able to do smooth hand-offs
between Wi-Fi and cellular networks if P900 users are able to add
that capability in the future. The P900 already comes with
Bluetooth local wireless capability.
The software will be available beginning this quarter. A starter
package from IBM called Mobile Office Jumpstart, which limits
application support to PIM and e-mail, carries a one-time cost of
$25,000 and is designed for 25 to 100 users.
For more than 100 users, pricing is based on the number of
server processors being used. It should start around $80,000 per
processor.
The P900, a GSM/GPRS smartphone, will be available in Europe and
Asia this month and in North America and South America in the first
quarter of 2004. Not counting carrier discounts, its price should
range from €400 to €500.
Stephen Lawson writes for IDG News Service