GOOD THING, SMALL PACKAGE

Test and measurement products aren't necessarily as exciting as some of the other technologies that catch Wall Street's eye. But it's the sheer utility of Tempo's Teammate testing platform that makes this particular T&M product stand out.

As a handheld device for workers in the field, the Teammate platform essentially consists of a shell into which users can insert modular testing packages, which can test for POTS, ADSL and throw verification.

To create these modules, Tempo made use of an idea that has been bouncing around the testing world for some time but hasn't been widely implemented. According to Paul DeWinter, product marketing manager for Tempo, the modules consist of standard HandSpring Visor PDAs that use the Palm operating system, onto which the testing software is downloaded.

Size, or lack thereof, is Teammate's primary virtue. Weighing less than 3 pounds, the Teammate is smaller and easier to handle than some of the other handheld devices that weigh in at 10 to 15 pounds.

As a PDA-based tool, Teammate is “less intimidating in terms of usage. You can give it to somebody who may not have the expertise of a technician,” said Sailaja Vepa, market research analyst with Frost & Sullivan. In addition, as a modular testing package, upgrades can be completed for less money.

And like other testing tools, the information that a group of Teammates gathers can be collected on a central computer for further facility analysis.
— Toby Weber
www.tempocomm.com