<s>
The	O
PCradio	B-Device
was	O
a	O
notebook	O
computer	O
released	O
by	O
International	O
Business	O
Machines	O
(	O
IBM	O
)	O
in	O
late	O
1991	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Designed	O
primarily	O
for	O
mobile	O
workers	O
such	O
as	O
service	O
technicians	O
,	O
salespersons	O
and	O
public	O
safety	O
workers	O
,	O
the	O
PCradio	B-Device
featured	O
a	O
ruggedized	B-Device
build	I-Device
with	O
no	O
internal	O
hard	B-Device
disk	I-Device
drive	I-Device
and	O
was	O
optioned	O
with	O
either	O
a	O
cellular	B-Device
or	O
ARDIS	B-General_Concept
RF	O
modem	O
,	O
in	O
addition	O
to	O
a	O
standard	O
landline	B-Application
modem	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
internals	O
of	O
the	O
PCradio	B-Device
were	O
encased	O
in	O
a	O
slate-gray	O
,	O
hardened	O
plastic	O
case	O
,	O
which	O
IBM	O
said	O
was	O
resistant	O
to	O
heat	O
,	O
moisture	O
,	O
impact	O
and	O
certain	O
chemicals	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
featured	O
a	O
monochrome	O
LCD	B-Device
capable	O
of	O
rendering	O
graphics	O
in	O
CGA	B-Device
mode	O
and	O
text	O
at	O
80	O
columns	O
by	O
25	O
lines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
keep	O
the	O
PCradio	B-Device
ruggedized	B-Device
,	O
IBM	O
offered	O
SRAM	B-Architecture
modules	O
of	O
various	O
capacities	O
up	O
to	O
2	O
MB	O
for	O
file	O
storage	O
,	O
in	O
lieu	O
of	O
a	O
mechanical	O
hard	B-Device
disk	I-Device
drive	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Special	O
versions	O
of	O
Siega	O
System	O
's	O
One-Button	O
Mail	O
,	O
an	O
e-mail	O
client	O
,	O
Traveling	O
Software	O
's	O
Battery	O
Watch	O
,	O
a	O
battery	O
management	O
application	O
,	O
and	O
LapLink	B-Application
,	O
a	O
file	O
transfer	O
program	O
,	O
were	O
developed	O
with	O
drivers	O
to	O
support	O
the	O
PCradio	B-Device
's	O
special	O
hardware	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
latter	O
,	O
renamed	O
to	O
Notebook	O
Manager	O
,	O
came	O
bundled	O
with	O
the	O
PCradio	B-Device
as	O
a	O
ROM	B-Device
module	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Owing	O
to	O
its	O
ruggedized	B-Device
nature	O
,	O
the	O
PCradio	B-Device
could	O
operate	O
between	O
32	O
degrees	O
and	O
132	O
degrees	O
Fahrenheit	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
cellular	B-Device
model	O
was	O
capable	O
of	O
sending	O
and	O
receiving	O
faxes	O
,	O
at	O
a	O
rate	O
of	O
9.6	O
KB	O
per	O
second	O
—	O
twice	O
that	O
of	O
its	O
cellular	B-Device
data	O
speed	O
of	O
4.8	O
KB	O
per	O
second	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Meanwhile	O
the	O
landline	B-Application
model	O
was	O
capable	O
of	O
sending	O
but	O
not	O
receiving	O
faxes	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
ARDIS	B-General_Concept
model	O
could	O
not	O
receive	O
faxes	O
whatsoever	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
cellular	B-Device
model	O
could	O
also	O
be	O
used	O
for	O
voice	O
communications	O
with	O
the	O
optional	O
handset	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PCradio	B-Device
project	O
was	O
helmed	O
by	O
Robert	O
A	O
.	O
Lundy	O
,	O
a	O
director	O
and	O
general	O
manager	O
in	O
charge	O
of	O
the	O
wireless	O
business	O
unit	O
of	O
IBM	O
's	O
Industry	O
Products	O
Group	O
facility	O
Boca	O
Raton	O
,	O
Florida	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PCradio	B-Device
was	O
ultimately	O
manufactured	O
at	O
IBM	O
's	O
North	O
Carolina	O
and	O
Scotland	O
facilities	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
cellular	B-Device
modem	I-Device
made	O
by	O
Novatel	O
Communications	O
at	O
their	O
Lethbridge	O
,	O
Alberta	O
,	O
factory	O
and	O
IBM	O
's	O
Don	O
Mills	O
,	O
Toronto	O
,	O
facility	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ARDIS	B-General_Concept
modem	O
,	O
meanwhile	O
,	O
was	O
manufactured	O
by	O
Motorola	O
and	O
designed	O
at	O
their	O
Richmond	O
,	O
British	O
Columbia	O
,	O
facility	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
ARDIS	B-General_Concept
modem	O
was	O
designed	O
to	O
consume	O
less	O
power	O
than	O
conventional	O
data	O
radios	O
,	O
enabling	O
the	O
PCradio	B-Device
's	O
battery	O
to	O
last	O
longer	O
on	O
a	O
charge	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
month	O
before	O
its	O
FCC	O
approval	O
in	O
December	O
1991	O
,	O
McCaw	O
Cellular	B-Device
forged	O
a	O
relationship	O
with	O
IBM	O
to	O
become	O
the	O
first	O
carrier	O
of	O
the	O
cellular	B-Device
model	O
of	O
PCradio	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
analyst	O
saw	O
a	O
large	O
market	O
for	O
the	O
PCradio	B-Device
and	O
other	O
digital	O
wireless	O
devices	O
,	O
which	O
IBM	O
hoped	O
to	O
dominate	O
similar	O
to	O
how	O
they	O
captured	O
the	O
personal	O
computer	O
market	O
with	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
in	O
the	O
early	O
1980s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
only	O
slightly	O
fewer	O
than	O
10,000	O
units	O
of	O
the	O
PCradio	B-Device
were	O
sold	O
by	O
August	O
1994	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Among	O
the	O
few	O
and	O
first	O
to	O
use	O
it	O
was	O
Sears	O
,	O
whose	O
service	O
technicians	O
in	O
California	O
used	O
the	O
PCradio	B-Device
to	O
receive	O
timely	O
updates	O
to	O
parts	O
availability	O
and	O
prices	O
from	O
1992	O
until	O
1994	O
,	O
when	O
they	O
replaced	O
it	O
with	O
a	O
more	O
powerful	O
unit	O
produced	O
by	O
Itronix	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
police	O
departments	O
and	O
emergency	O
services	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
also	O
used	O
the	O
PCradio	B-Device
,	O
including	O
the	O
Baltimore	O
Police	O
Department	O
,	O
who	O
purchased	O
a	O
fleet	O
of	O
PCradios	B-Device
for	O
their	O
officers	O
and	O
dispatchers	O
,	O
where	O
it	O
was	O
used	O
to	O
call	O
up	O
vehicle	O
information	O
and	O
map	O
directions	O
and	O
send	O
and	O
receive	O
incident	O
reports	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
discontinued	O
the	O
PCradio	B-Device
in	O
1993	O
,	O
and	O
in	O
August	O
1994	O
,	O
they	O
sold	O
their	O
remaining	O
stock	O
,	O
parts	O
and	O
tooling	O
to	O
Aspen	O
Marine	O
Group	O
of	O
West	O
Palm	O
Beach	O
,	O
Florida	O
,	O
where	O
they	O
rebadged	O
the	O
unsold	O
PCradios	B-Device
under	O
their	O
Aptek	O
sub-brand	O
and	O
sold	O
an	O
equivalent	O
model	O
targeting	O
the	O
same	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
same	O
month	O
,	O
IBM	O
released	O
the	O
Simon	B-Device
,	O
a	O
BellSouth-powered	O
cellular	B-Device
PDA	B-Application
that	O
could	O
place	O
phone	O
calls	O
and	O
access	O
the	O
Internet	O
.	O
</s>
