TIQIT computers

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Overview
Tiqit Computers has created what conventional wisdom in the computing industry considered impossible with today's technology - a handheld computer that functions as a desktop PC and can be used while walking: the eightythree. Combining the portability of a handheld device with the compatibility of a Windows PC, the eightythree immediately meets the full needs of enterprise customers. It runs any enterprise standard operating system (OS) - Windows, Linux or UNIX - which lets users employ the same software and applications, including industry-specific packages and custom-designed software, that reside on their desktop PCs. The end result is a more mobile and efficient enterprise with reduced IT costs and simplified administration.

Handhelds in the Enterprise
The creation and advancement of PDAs and wireless solutions began the process of liberating the enterprise. From remote locations workers are able to achieve more, and do so more efficiently. However, unlike PCs and laptops, for which there are industry standard hardware and software options, the handheld market is still tricky for enterprises to navigate. Currently companies can choose from a range of handheld devices using different operating systems, including Palm OS and Pocket PC. The hardware industry has also introduced a variety of alternate mobile products such as web pads, internet appliances and tablet PCs, though these have not met with the same adoption as handhelds.

When used in concert with laptop PCs, the latest PDAs provide enterprise professionals with greater mobility than they previously experienced. E-mail is answerable by RIM/Blackberry and Palm 7; versions of Excel spreadsheets can run on Pocket PC. However, no current handheld can truly replace a laptop and act as a full stand-alone solution for various reasons. E.g.:

Increasingly, e-mail messages are more than plain text, and current devices cannot open all attachments with ease.
Pocket PC can only run slimmed down versions of programs like Excel, which means many application features like macros won’t work.
For the enterprise user, however, the single greatest drawback to current handheld technology is the incompatibility of handheld OS’s with the vast majority of the existing enterprise software applications.This problem is further compounded by companies’ need to depend on custom-designed software, which requires extensive expense and effort to adapt for use on a handheld – so that units which retail for hundreds of dollars can end up costing companies thousands in terms of IT costs. This disconnect limits PDA functionality for enterprise users. The bottom line: even when augmented with wireless modem capabilities, handhelds cannot really meet many of the routine demands an enterprise user places on a PC or a laptop.

The limitations of PDAs for mobile computing and enterprise use have largely been regarded as a software issue. Microsoft launched an ad campaign titled, “software matters.” Oracle has positioned itself as a ‘one-stop shop’ for enterprise needs.1 However, industry analysts predict the future of enterprise solutions lies with the systems that support collaborative inter-enterprise activity.

Ultimately, today’s enterprise users are forced to compromise the functionality they need by working with devices never built for such purposes. Only a minimal subset of features on the device are employed, and enterprise users must divide their tasks between a handheld and laptop. The combination of incompatible software, multiple operating systems, and restricted handheld capability limits the mobile enterprise from the outset.

A Word on Laptops
Laptops are getting ever smaller and ever lighter, a process which helps offset the software/IT issues still unsolved by handhelds. It is easier than ever before for enterprise workers to carry machines around that are loaded with legacy software applications, have high-resolution screens and can open attachments and access e-mail remotely and wirelessly. Still, there is one common enterprise demand as yet unmet by even the smallest laptop: it cannot truly be used while walking – and when frequent movement is called for, it is far less easy to deal with a laptop than with a handheld-sized device. For workers in hospitals, factories, or for those in the field, such as claims processors, the handheld form factor is clearly superior – and yet remains less functional than a laptop. The only existing proposed solution to this problem is the Webpad, or Tablet PC – but the device has remained hampered by handwriting-recognition and other problems, and it too is still significantly larger than a handheld.

Enterprise Demand for Mobile Computing
While growth in the PDA space initially occurred in the individual consumer market, business and enterprise use of handhelds is growing and is expected to increase. In 2000, $2.3 billion was spent on the PDA market, with 8.9 million units shipped. Analysts predict 2005 will bring $6.6 billion in spending with 39 million units shipped.2 The same Aberdeen Group report predicts the “PDA market will grow at 30% CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate), fueled chiefly by enterprise purchases,” presenting an opportunity for “enterprise-focused suppliers to assume a leadership role in the PDA marketplace as more enterprises look to deploy handheld computing solutions.”3

The eightythree Solution
The industry has largely regarded handheld computing capability as a software issue. That is, it has accepted dual-form-factor enterprise mobility: there will be laptops and there will be PDA-based handhelds, and it is modifications in software that will bridge the gap. The major problems with this are that PC applications have such a tremendous head start, and most handheld applications aren’t designed for the enterprise. The bottom line is: PDAs cannot run all the applications the enterprise requires and laptops lack the full mobility of a handheld.

Part of the reason for this software orientation is the extreme engineering problems involved in building a handheld that has the functionality of a desktop PC: screen resolution, processing power, battery life, heat dissipation, etc. Until now, these have been insurmountable challenges.

Tiqit, however, realized that if these technical challenges could be met, then a massive, still-untapped need in the enterprise for true mobile computing could be addressed. So Tiqit designers opted to re-examine the insurmountable and approached the issue as a hardware problem, setting out to build a PDA with the functionality of a PC that would solve enterprise needs now.

The goal was not a concept device – this unit had to be powerful, practical and producible right away. Tiqit also designed its device specifically for the enterprise, incorporating features and functionality that would add value to companies and their workers: e.g., multiple standard-use ports, multiple OS capability, good battery life, etc. Using cutting-edge but available components, the eightythree was created. The result is the first handheld mobile computing device that has the full power of an x86 PC and can be used while walking.

How eightythree benefits the enterprise is clear. Workers gain increased mobility and function with a single device, and companies can dramatically reduce their total cost of ownership (TCO). Possessing the storage capacity and processing power to drive the extension of many software services to areas formerly unreachable, the eightythree also has the flexibility to take advantage of all the software and hardware extensions available in the mainstream PC market. Moving an existing industry application onto the eightythree is no different from installing that software on a desktop or a laptop.

The eightythree meets the mobile needs of enterprise customers and moves ahead of the competition. Tiqit has created a product that opens up an entirely new growth market, and Tiqit’s patent-pending technology and significant time-to-market advantage make the time right for immediate production.