Is the Deeda the First Real iPhone Competitor?

There have been a lot of news stories since the announcement of the Apple iPhone touting multimedia or smartphone products from other companies as "iPhone killers" or some other label that suggests the device might beat the iPhone to it's proverbial punch. The only problem has been that these devices don't stand up to what we know about the iPhone, or fall into another device genre altogether. The announcement of a new line of products from Brevisys Technologies, a Boston, MA company, may change all of that.

Brevisys recently announced a trio of hand-held, touch screen multimedia devices named the Kiku, Menx, and Pi. Of the three devices, only the latter is a cellular devices with the Kiku and Menx being a compact multimedia devices intended for music, video, and imagery - but not for use as a phone. The beefiest of the three devices, the Pi, has obviously been inspired by the Apple iPhone, regardless of what the company might claim.

What does the company claim? Well, that's largely subjective. According to Brevisys, their devices "began their design and development process over a year before the recently unveiled Apple iPhone® and LG Prada Phone." Not necessarily that hard to believe, considering their indication that the devices will be available to consumers this summer, not long after the launch of the iPhone.

Like the iPhone, the Pi offers itself up as an attractive, slim, touch screen device complete with WiFi, enhanced mobile web browsing, a music browser and player, Bluetooth, and more. Unlike the iPhone, however, the Pi offers UWB (Ultra Wideband) connectivity, optional storage up to 60GB, and the Linux operating system - which Brevisys is happy to point out will allow the user to fully customize their device to suit their needs.

Also available for the devices is a line of product accessories which might raise a few eyebrows. Brevisys is offering up an attachable keyboard, attachable joystick, and the "deeda Box" - a wireless multimedia interface unit which offers inputs and outputs such as S-Video, DVI, USB 2.0, coaxial, and component - which would allow users to easily connect the deeda devices to any variety of home entertainment electronics as well as their PCs.

Brevisys is offering themselves up as a bastion of hope within the world of wireless device manufacturers. The company writes, "A lot of our technology is designed to allow you to wirelessly stream and share your videos and digital media, as well as interact with your friends, family and groups through our devices in personal ways that have never been possible before. From our social networking enabled devices to online interaction with personalized modal windows and widgets, we want you to be able to access all the amazing information stored online from the devices in your hand without having to use a traditional browser interface. For all of this to work there are overlapping areas of trust that must be maintained, and we intend to maintain that trust from the beginning. Our primary goal is to give you what you want while protecting your privacy and personal information. Devices, hardware, software and online applications that let individuals control all forms of media, content and information is the future, and we are proud to be leading the charge."

Are Brevisys and it's devices a new force in the ever changing world of wireless and mobile communications, or just another ill-fated experiment from high-minded tech junkies with too much capital? Either way, can their open source frame of thinking catch the spirit of even a handful of those of us caught up in the iPhone and it's marketing frenzy? One this is for sure, it will be interesting to watch this line of devices and the company bringing them to market.