Pen Systems NewsSpring 2003 


 

 
 
WELCOME CITYVIEW USERS
 
Town of East GwillimburyFreehold Township, New Jersey
Welcome to East Gwillimbury, Ontario (not to be confused with West Gwillimbury, Ontario) and Freehold, New Jersey; both new sales and installs this spring. Both cities are installing Inspector+ for building inspectors, and both cities are users of CityView from Municipal Software.
 
        Their inspectors will be running CityView on their front desks just as they always have, but now the inspectors' schedules will appear on their PalmOS devices and they can print the notices from the field.
        We are delighted to start these installs, they vindicate our earlier marketing efforts and partnership with Municipal Software and keep moving us towards total integration with the CityView modules.
        Other sites we are installing this Spring include:  Grand Prairie, AB., Cornwall, ON., Delta, BC and Redding, CA.  A couple of these installs are simpler one-way installations which allow the building and fire departments to start inspecting faster than ever before (one-way's are usually followed by a full integration exercise).
 
Fire Inspector with Palm Tungsten
FIRE DEPARTMENTS
 
 
        Inspector+ has a new Fire module which has just been successfully installed at the Sudbury Fire Department. The Sudbury Fire people run multiple fire halls throughout a huge geographic area. Inspections and activities for the inspectors are now scheduled from the field on their desktop using Inspector+, and the Chief can check all the completed results as soon as the Palm Tungsten's have been put in their cradle and hotsynced.
       
         The entire Fire Code is loaded on the Palm devices, as well as over 10,000 commercial, public and industrial buildings which are regularly inspected.  When the inspections are complete the inspectors can print the Fire Marshal report on-site, close the inspection and move to the next property. Further functionality is added through the use of a Novell Groupwise conduit; this allows the Fire Inspectors to access GroupWise data from the field.
 
        With the Fire module, the department can create and track reports on all types of fire prevention activities including public education, training, and any other additional  reasons for inspections.
 
 
PPC SUPPORT
 
Inspector+tm is now available on a variety of platforms including PalmOS, Pocket PC and Windows Tablet XP. All devices are managed by the same Admin so municipalities can choose the best mix of platforms for their field workforce.  Supported devices include:  iPAQ, Thera, Jordana, Symbol, most PalmOS devices and  PC's running Tablet XP.
 
WIRELESS PPC SUPPORT
 
        Wireless updating is now available for the Inspector+ suite. It is currently being certified over digital wireless networks such as Bell Mobility in Canada, Sprint in the US, and others.
        Pen Systems has created a new Wireless Module which provides the handheld and Tablet PC hardware with IP connectivity over the Bell (and other's) network.
        The wireless add-on will replace our users' ActiveSynch software with our own "connect-aware" software with it's own file transfer and session software.  Users with existing 1x cell phones will be able to plug-in to a PPC, but the most exciting solution is the "bundled" one: where the phone/wireless/handheld is one unit.
 
MIXED PLATFORM SUPPORT
 
        Inspector+ now supports a mixed hardware environment within the one Admin's sphere of influence!  In english that means you can run a Tablet, Palm and PPC in the same department and run the same field inspections as you do on a Tablet as on a Palm or PPC product. This is extremely useful as there are many departments we meet now with existing hardware, thus eliminating the need to replace the hardware. One of our oldest customers (Sudbury Building Department) has just added some Palms to their current Tablet environment, all working concurrently and generating the same reports in the field as the Tablets.
 
 
Palm TungstenWNEW HARDWARE
 
        Palm have released the TungstenW , the first tri-band GSMGPRS handheld, allowing high speed synchronizations from the field, with a new graffiti-less keyboard. Supported by Rogers  AT&T in Canada.  Palm's latest offerings, the Tungsten C (with built-in Wi-Fi) and Zire 71 (with built-in digital camera) are both exceptional offerings from Palm.         The Zire's new camera is easy to use and can truly enhance inspections. The C can eliminate the need for wires in the office and affords us very inexpensive communications; but, the Tungsten W's features are truly impressive. When connected to the providers' network the TungstenW can provide full Inspector+ wireless synching of city-wide data as well as function as the inspector's phone, GroupWise client and browser. Palm continues to impress with this new generation, keeping consistency of architecture and constantly innovating.
 
        We're working on a Samsung i330  , CDMA1x PalmOS based cellphone also. This unit is already supported by SprintPCS in the US and Bell Mobility in Canada. The Samsung is small, really small, which is just something you get used to. On the plus side, it's a full Palm that's no bigger than your current cellphone, it's 1x (truly fast transfer rates) and it surprisingly rugged and usable in the direct sunlight, making ideal for fire and building inspectors.  As soon as you hold the Samsung you notice that it fits your hand perfectly. Using the phone can cut battery life on this unit (as it does most), but with addition of a car charger the Samsung can run all day. Built in infrared allows the inspection hardcopies to be printed as per any handheld.  If you're in the market for a true cellphone replacement handheld, the Samsung i330 is an elegant solution.
 
        Other interesting hardware this month is the PalmOS Smartphone 7135 from  Kyocera --  we just got one in here yesterday and have not had a chance to put it to a true test, but it's beauty!  Inbuilt GPS, 1x, IR, SD and many, many extras make the Kyocera 7135 our Editors' pick for 2003 (so far!). The unit runs the PalmOS4, plays MP3's, better battery life than similar products thanks to it's large LiOn battery. Plus we can display maps and present relative GIS information due to the inbuilt GPS.  While there are more products coming in 2004 along the lines of the Kyocera, our hat's are off to the guys in California and the Qualcomm partnership in pulling off this fine 3G solution.
 
        Also, don't forget the Veo camera  promotion from Palm - free until mid-May.
Hardware's getting pretty exciting these days, integration is the keyword, expect cameras within Palms within cellphones by the end of the year!
 
FIND US THIS SPRING AT:
This spring we're visiting and presenting at: City Of Chattanooga, TN; City Of Chicago, ILL (Fire Departments); OMFPAO (Ontario Fire Preventions Officers Association) in Orangeville.
Look for us at the  Municipal Information Systems Trade Show (MISA) in Hamilton, Ontario, June 1-4.
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