12 July 2004 - Multenet releases the new low cost PocketPAD product range.
As announced at a new product launch in IT Web, the online magazine for the IT industry, SAN People today lifted the veil off the innovative Multenet PocketPAD range
of network connectivity and device server products.
Brisk sales of the one, two and four port RS232 serial to Ethernet protocol converters have already commenced. The first production run of 1000 units is nearly sold out
and the second batch is in production planning. These products have proved very popular in Banking and Retail applications at an early stage. Ease of configuration, low
latency together with amongst others the TC500 protocol and a selling price which puts a smile on the face of any IT manager are the strong points.
Hot on its heels in August, the one, two and four port RS422/485 trio follows. Due to its long reach these products will find favour with access control applications.
In the same month, the optical fibre interface product called the PocketPAD FX will arrive on our shelves. 10/100 BaseT becomes 100 BaseFX. The versatility of the range is
slowly beginning to tell, but wait;
September will see the release of the PocketPAD Power-over-Ethernet. The benefits this product provides is not only savings in power supply infrastructure costs but a
magical disappearance of clutter, especially at Point-of-sales locations. Coupled with the ability to supply power over the serial port to a downstream device we foresee a
bright future for this offering in the retail industry.
October will see the long awaited PocketPAD Multidrop Ethernet. This product is a low cost serial to Ethernet converter with an embedded ethernet switch on board which
allows the user to daisy chain the network cabling, as opposed to the traditional star topology. In the appropriate implementation this innovative product provides big
cost savings.
Last but not least; the PocketPAD Java will rollout in November. This PocketPAD four porter with a Java Vitual Machine on board is ideal for the user who wants to run
Java applications. It features a removable data flash card slot, ideal for the development of custom embedded applications.
Unlike the rugged EtherPAD range, the first noticeable characteristic that all PocketPADs have in common is the opaque green polycarbonate enclosure. This gives the
range a distinct IT flavour, which of course is not by accident.
About Multenet Technologies (Pty) Ltd.
Multenet is a developer and manufacturer of the EtherPAD and PocketPAD range of network connectivity and device server products. These are marketed locally via it's
own sales and distribution organisation. North American distribution is facilitated by a distribution centre in Dallas Texas. Elsewhere, products are marketed in
association with selected qualified resellers to ensure prompt service and local technical support.


