Networking - Aqcess Technologies
Aqcess Technologies has introduced the Qbe (pronounced "cube") personal computer tablet. Designed for the mobility of a hand-held device combined with the speed and functionality of a desktop computer, Qbe combines TouchPen technology, handwriting and speech recognition, a CCD camera, multimedia features and Internet access in a single wireless device. Weighing 4 lbs. and measuring 14" x 10" x 1.5", the tablet is only slightly larger than a standard legal notepad.
Its 13.3" active matrix color display with resolutions of up to 1,024 x 768 combines a TouchPen overlay and handwriting recognition for intuitive computing using either a pen or fingertips. Qbe also features speech recognition software that allows users to navigate the system using voice commands and to generate documents up to 140 words per minute. Users can capture a photo or video with the unit's detachable camera or scan barcodes with an optional barcode reader. With wireless capabilities allowing connection to the Internet while on the go, the tablet is also a good tool for videoconferencing.
The Qbe is powered by a Pentium II 266MHz to 400MHz processor (Pentium III 400MHz to 600MHz models will be available in December) along with Windows 98 or NT. It comes standard with a 4.0GB hard drive (upgradeable to 6.0GB), 64MB of memory (upgradeable to 512MB), a modem/Ethernet mini-PCI card, internal microphone and stereo speakers, as well as a Smartcard (reader/writer) and a magnetic stripe card reader. A hot-swappable device bay, USB and Firewire ports and two PCMCIA slots allow for a wide variety of additional peripherals. Aqcess Technologies, Inc., Santa Ana, CA, (888) 818-0055, www.qbenet.com.
This article originally appeared in the 11/01/1999 issue of THE Journal.