20 June 2005 - New solutions available to device manufacturers who need to network enable their products.
Since the meteoric rise of network communications on Ethernet/Internet topology, there has been a limited set of connectivity solutions available to newcomers.
To the manufacturer whose devices were equipped with a serial communication port, instant connectivity has been available in the form of a standalone protocol
converter serving as an integration tool. Thus the device could be networked instantly, albeit at a cost which would over time prove prohibitive due to the
competitive environment. Depending on the features required, the cost per device ranges from US$ 120 to US$ 350.
To overcome this disadvantage, the next step forward to achieve cost savings without having to invest in specialized development infrastructure, has been a module
integrated with the device to be networked. These modules have a code stack on board offering a full network connectivity infrastructure at a relatively low cost.
This solution can be obtained in a cost range of US$ 40 to US$ 120.
The emphasis on the latter solution is relatively low cost, since the lowest cost solution is available only to those organizations that can afford a team of
hardware and software development engineers to develop the required functionality. This typically is the case for large global players who turn out devices by
the thousands and are therefor able to amortize the implementation cost quite effectively. Networkability is embedded on the motherboard and integral to the entire
system. If the processor responsible for the OEM product functionality is also used for the networking functionality, the resulting networking cost per unit is also
the lowest achievable. The incremental cost of networking the device this way can be as low as US$ 10.
Thus far lower volume manufacturers have been excluded from this happy state of affairs. A solution is however to hand. At the cost of a small royalty per
implementation, Multenet now makes their development team available to OEMs to guide their own engineers through the networking development. Consultations
provided allow for site visits, telephone and Internet. Hourly rates are low. This includes the design, hardware specifications, etc and a proven code stack
to boot, supplied on a license in perpetuity. Future firmware upgrades are supplied at no additional cost.
Multenet has provided network connectivity solutions for the past ten years. The company takes pride in a large installed base of Ethernet connections worldwide.
The recently launched PocketPAD range uses a state-of-the-art ARM9 processor with tried and tested functionality.
