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Learning to Program with the Cybiko Handheld Computer Using<br>B2C

Chapter 1 : Introducing the Cybiko

Teen Computer

Donald Wisniewski and David Yang created the Cybiko as a portable computer<br>for tweens (ages 10-12) and teens (ages 13-17). It was designed to fill a<br>niche left between the Palm Pilot and Nintendo Game boy.

Look & Feel

The original Cybiko looks like a walkie talkie encased in a transparent shell<br>from one of five colors (black, clear, yellow, blue, and purple – and<br>a promotional red). It has an array of white buttons comprising a QWERTY-style<br>keyboard, a joystick pad, and some function keys. The original, older model<br>(released in April 2000) had a power slide switch on the side, which was<br>later replaced by an "Esc" key.

The new Cybiko Xtreme (CyX2) is very different from the original<br>Cybiko. Released in September of 2001, the CyX2 body has a trim feel<br>to it compared to the Cybiko. It is roughly the same size as the original<br>Cybiko. It's molded as all one unit and shaped like a figure 8 (curved edges,<br>wide at the top, narrow waist, and wide near the bottom). In this way it<br>resembles the m100 model of the Palm Pilot. And like the m100 series, there<br>are skins that cover the silverized CyX2 body. There are also separate panels<br>for the areas around the keyboard, arrow keys, and the Enter pad. Red, green,<br>blue, and zebra colors are available. You can even mix and match colors for<br>a unique color scheme.

The CyX2 keyboard has larger keys and they are of a solid black rubbarized<br>material. The arrow keys resemble the Game Boy keys and are separate from<br>the ESC key. In a brilliant and very welcome move, there is an ON/OFF key<br>situated in the center of the keyboard. One drawback to the new, larger keyboard<br>is that Cybiko removed the top row of number keys (1-9). To type numbers<br>into the unit you must use the FN key to 'shift'. The F1-F7 keys still exist<br>at the top of the unit.

The CyX2 antenna is no longer the 6" long rod rising from the back of the<br>unit. Instead, a slim side-antenna (again resembling the Palm Pilot VII antenna).<br>CyX2 sports a mini USB port at the bottom of the case. This USB port will<br>be used to download games. It also doubles as the battery charger connection.<br>A supplied cable connects the USB port to a power adapter. The display<br>is the same as on the Cybiko. 160x100 pixels, 4-color greyscale. A<br>slot for additional devices is now at the top of the unit.

Donald Wisniewski & Cybiko Inc.

The creators of the Cybiko – Donald Wisniewski (President of Cybiko,<br>Inc.) and David Yang started the company in early 1999. They recognized a<br>need in the teen marketplace for a handheld wireless entertainment device<br>that teens could call their own.

Wisniewski (born in 1960) is a former executive of V-Tech (another high-tech<br>firm in the business of creating devices for young people). He holds a BS<br>in mechanical engineering from Purdue University. "We want to create a social<br>environment where teens can chat and interact," he said in a recent interview,<br>"We see a huge opportunity with 12- to 16-year olds."

The Cybiko was released in April of 2000 with a price tag of $170. At that<br>time, New York-based Cybiko had 85 engineers who had created the device.<br>As of January 2001 Cybiko had a staff of around 170 Russian-based software<br>developers and retailed for about $99. They had successfully delivered a<br>new application daily from about January 2000 to July 2001. The product was<br>first introduced at a number of toy and electronics retailers like FAO Schwarz,<br>Virgin Records, CompUSA, Babbage's, and Software Etc. Now, it is available<br>at over 9000 locations across the USA and online at<br>www.cybiko.com.<br>Cybiko is privately held and owns all of the intellectual property.

The CyX2 was released in September 2001. The game-a-day policy has<br>changed to a trickle of just one game per week.

Teens and Cybiko

There are 30 million teens in the United States, 65 percent of whom have<br>a computer in the home. 45 percent have Internet access and none of them<br>had a mobile wireless product. That is a market of 13.5 million people. The<br>Cybiko is aimed at Nine to 20-year-olds. They felt interconnectivity and<br>communication was a key feature left out of other devices for teens. "We<br>wanted to create a social environment where teens can chat and interact,"<br>said Wisniewski.

And they wanted to create a device that was more than a game machine –<br>so they included single and multiplayer wireless games, support applications<br>like the planner, email, Friend Finder, and a way to chat with anyone in<br>the network. "I've seen users as young as five and old as 55," Wisniewski<br>said in a recent interview.

Technical Details

*(Note: See the glossary for a description of new terms)

The operating system for the Cybiko is called CyOS. It is now (Sept/2001)<br>up to version 1.3.57. The original Cybiko (v1.2) advertised a mere<br>256KB<br>of<br>RAM.<br>Currently the memory is divided into 2 segments : 512KB of RAM and 512KB<br>or...