Bitstream Releases ThunderHawk Version 1.08

**Chris Leckness** · 08-07-03, 01:01 AM

Pioneering wireless Web browser adds support for latest iPAQ and Toshiba devices and Windows Mobile 2003

CAMBRIDGE, MA — August 6, 2003 — Bitstream Inc. (NASDAQ: BITS) announced today the availability of version 1.08 of ThunderHawk, its wireless Web browsing technology. This release adds support for all members of the iPAQ family of personal digital assistants (PDAs) to date, including the h1900, h2200, and h5000 series, for the new Toshiba e350 device, and for supported devices now running the new Microsoft Windows Mobile 2003 operating system.

“Lately Pocket PC users have been discovering the wireless potential of their PDA. Whether you use a wireless connection at home or on the road, a good Internet browser is a must. Even though Pocket PC comes with Internet Explorer, you’ll see only a portion of most Web pages,” say president of Executive Databases and personal technology writer William Hungerford at http://palmtops.about.com/cs/product...Hawk%20Web.htm.
His bottom line is, “If you want a true Web experience like you get on a PC, try ThunderHawk. This is definitely a Pocket PC surfer's dream product.”

“ThunderHawk lets users work quickly and easily with Web-based e-mail and applications,” explains Anna Chagnon, President of Bitstream. “And our large virtual 800x600 screen size emulates the view people are used to on desktop machines. As the PDA market evolves and our ThunderHawk development progresses, we will continue to add aggressively to the portfolio of handheld devices we support,” she added.

How It Works
ThunderHawk is available for a free 30-day trial and for purchase by monthly or annual subscription. Customers who have a Pocket PC can download, test-drive, and purchase ThunderHawk from the Bitstream website. To take full advantage of new features, existing customers can also upgrade versions on the site, located at http://www.bitstream.com/wireless.

ThunderHawk is also available as a client-server solution for wireless Web browsing across enterprise networks. ThunderHawk Enterprise Edition gives a company’s mobile workforce complete access to Internet and corporate Intranet Web pages. Bitstream is working with key strategic partners in the computer and telecommunications industries and welcomes inquiries from other organizations who wish to license ThunderHawk.

Current system requirements for ThunderHawk are as follows:
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-A Pocket PC running Windows CE 3.0, Windows Mobile 2003, -Pocket PC 2000, or Pocket PC 2002 OS, such as:
Audiovox Maestro, Audiovox Thera
Casio Cassiopeia E-115, E-125, or E-200
Compaq iPAQ
Dell Axim
Fujitsu/Siemens Loox
HP Jornada Pocket PC, 540 or later
Toshiba e310, e350, e570, or e740
Toshiba 2032 using Sprint Nationwide PCS Network

-02 XDA devices, including the Pocket PC Phone Edition from VoiceStream/T-Mobile
USB (cradle), serial (COM port), or IR (infrared) connection

-CompactFlash Type 1 or Type 1 extended modem or network interface card (NIC)

-An Internet service provider (ISP) account or network connection with Internet access

Oblox · 08-07-03, 03:36 AM

cool will download trial!

(note to moderators, the links dont work as a fullstop has been put at the end of both addresses fixed - cj)

BipolarChucker · 08-07-03, 06:37 AM

I would have been tempted into using this browser but since it asks for a subscription I've lost interest. Subscription = less customers.

AxiMonkey · 08-07-03, 07:42 AM

You're not actually subscribing to the software....you're subscibing to a service. When you go out to a site, the site first goes through Thunderhawk's servers which format it for the landscape virtual 800x600 view on your Ax.

I downloaded the trial a while ago and really like it. The question I'm stuck asking myself is how much would I really use it. Of all the things one can do with a PPC, surfing the web is dead last on my list. I have a laptop with a wireless card when I'm home and I could only see myself using the browser when I'm bored and don't have anything else to do from another location.

It's a great product for someone who knows that they will use it.

webmosher · 08-07-03, 09:49 AM

Thunderhawk's business model should orient itself toward free usage for home/personal use customers and work more on generating revenue from its enterprise side. This gets general users using the software and interested in it (and thus building a base for the enterprise to adopt it) rather than alienating a broad range of their potential customer base when free solutions (MSIE) are available. Yes, MSIE is not as slick, but I don't think the Pocket PC browser market is broad enough to support a pay per use browser. Even the only commercial browser for PC, Opera, charges for software license and not for service access.

I do know that if it were free, I would very seriously consider buying a wireless CF for my Axim though.

Just some thoughts...

JeffLewis · 08-07-03, 11:10 AM

$50/yr seems a bit much and $6/mo (equiv to $72/yr) seems worse for just the browser. Opera sells their browser outright for only $40 period (although, alas, no PocketPC version, so that's a bit academic...)

They seem to be trying to market it as a service, but it's not - it's just renting software. I don't use my browser anywhere near enough to justify the cost. If it were $50 one shot, I'd consider it.

08-07-03, 11:20 AM

It is a service. They are like a proxy that adjusts the pages to fit on your Axim. If you have tried you'd understand why it costs so much. Basically every page is rendered perfectly on your Axim. Is that work $50? You'll have to decide, but for me its well worth it. The mobile sites for ESPN is fine, but wouldn't you rather have the actual front page?

portmgr198 · 08-07-03, 11:46 AM

Product sounds great. Even like the idea of getting full page layouts. I have been using my Axim more and more to surf the web from other parts of home. Much easier to slap in a wifi card than to have to be tethered to my desk and carrying around my laptop is just too bulky. Is there a browser or pgm that is available that would allow me to to turn my Axim on its' side to view more of the page? I'd hate to pay $49.95 for this service even though the idea is a solid one. Charge a one-time software fee and I'd buy it yesterday!

08-07-03, 12:36 PM

Well look at it this way. They are always updating the server side stuff and that is what you are paying for. So you only get one year out of the program. It might be worth it just so that you can get every page on the internet readable on your axim.

Edge155 · 08-07-03, 04:54 PM

Do they have any competitors who sell something similar?

ApostolicFire · 08-07-03, 05:03 PM

Doesn't this do the same thing for less than $10? http://www.jimmysoftware.com/NL/Landscape3/index.html

08-07-03, 05:03 PM

There is nothing out there like this. There are other browsers, but none that render the pages this well. I've used Netfront, but have always come back to Thunderhawk because it renders the sites I read the best.

ErikT · 08-07-03, 07:22 PM

I too would not do a subscription service. Plus, if I'm surfing on my Axim I'm looking for information... most information is text based and easily enough read without special browsers.

Erik

08-07-03, 09:09 PM

Tried it. Liked it. Will not go with a subscription. No way. I am sure that there will be a competitor before long.

08-07-03, 09:15 PM

Is anyone using ThunderHawk with WM2003? If so, does it load pages any quicker than PIE? I am really interested in this product since I browse the Internet often on my PPC, but $50/year is too much for me. If I needed access to critcal information via the net wirelessly, this would be great. But for non-essential web surfing, I can't justify paying that much, especially now PIE renders pages so much better and faster in WM2003.