Salt Lake City-based Dayna Communications Inc has announced plans to ship the first wireless local area networking PC Card adaptor for Apple Computer Inc’s Newton MessagePad in mid- February. The CommuniCard Roamer will provide support not only for traditional AppleTalk applications but also for broad-based networking applications such as client-server database access and Internet communications. It is a credit card-sized Type II PC Card which connects directly through the Newton’s built-in PC Card slot. It includes a small integrated antenna and draws its power directly from the Newton. Based on Xircom Inc’s NetWave 2.4GHz spread spectrum frequency hopping radio technology, the Roamer is claimed to have a radio transmission rate of 1Mbps with actual throughput speeds of 400 to 500Kbps. Roamer wireless users can communicate peer-to-peer or connect to a wired Ethernet local network via Dayna’s Network Access Points. The Roamer provides a connection range from 150 to 800 feet depending on the building environment. Users can extend this by placing multiple Network Access Points throughout a building or warehouse, expanding the range to the entire size of the local network. The Roamer supports AppleTalk, and using third party software, supports tunnelled TCP/IP packets. Scrambling and frequency-hopping features provide complete data security for Roamer users. AddressBookIt has an estimated street price of $560, delivered with CommuniCard software and a five year warranty. The company has also launched a new communications package called the Dayna AddressBook. Developed in conjunction with Apple, it is claimed to be the first communication management software to support multiple communication technologies enabling users to organise voice, facsimile, electronic mail, and paging, from one location. Version 1.0 of the Dayna AddressBook will begin shipping with the CommuniCard product line in mid-February; future versions will support multiple communications technologies and will be offered to current users through an upgrade programme, according to the company. The cellular-ready CommuniCard 14.4 and 28.8 Modems have estimated street prices of $270 and $416 respectively. The non- cellular Communicard 28.8 model sells for an estimated street price of $345, and the CommuniCardPlus Ethernet/Modem Card goes for $520.
