Andy Yeong,

The Palm is a blessing to industrial applications. We used to supply big LCD user interfaces on our equipment so the customer could access data and change settings. That required bigger micros with more pinouts, more power, bigger cases, and more memory to code the interface.

Since we've switched to Palm user interfaces we only require a simple serial IO to the Palm and a terse communications protocol. The Palm can take that terse comm and make it pretty for the user.

We have two interfaces to the Palm. On cheaper modules we use serial cable connect to the Palm since the IrDA won't fit in the PICs we use therein. The customers tolerate cables though we are getting away from them as soon as possible.

For higher cost modules we use IrDA and for that we use 8051RD2s. The customer appreciates the lack of cabling!

In the lab, we are doing radio links to the company ethernet. We're doing that in Z180. We see this as the future... why put panels on modules when the humans don't use them often enough to REMEMBER how to operate them?