Palm has announced plans to release an SDIO (Secure Digital Input/Output) Bluetooth expansion card for its Palm m500-series handhelds at the Bluetooth Congress 2001 in Monte Carlo.
Slightly larger than a postage stamp, the card will allow Palm handhelds to communicate with other Bluetooth-enabled devices, such as mobile phones, laptops, printers, network hubs and other handhelds, within a range of 10 metres.
An implementation of the open industry-standard SDIO interface specification, the Palm Bluetooth Card can be slipped into Palm products that have the SD/ MultiMediaCard expansion slot -- currently this is limited to Palm's m500 and m505 handhelds.
The card, jointly developed by Palm and Toshiba is expected to be available before the end of the year for under US$150 (estimated street price).
About Bluetooth
The Bluetooth wireless communication standard, supported by industry leaders such as IBM, Ericsson, Nokia, Toshiba and Intel, was developed to encourage the adoption of wireless communications worldwide.
The Bluetooth standard is a specification for small form-factor, low-cost, short-range radio links among devices, allowing a variety of portable and mobile computing products to talk to each other across platforms.
One of the initial uses of the Palm Bluetooth Card, says Palm, will be to wirelessly connect handhelds with mobile phones.
For example, someone who has a handheld and a Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone nearby (for example, in a purse or breifcase) may be able to dial up the Internet or a corporate network. Using Bluetooth communications to connect to the phone, dial on to service for connectivity and access the Internet or an Intranet.
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