Upcoming Product: IPR4500 Handheld Radio

The second member of the IPR family is the IPR4500, a version of the IP Radio that is configured as a handheld version instead of the mobile radio form. Internally the electronics between the two units is the same but the outside enclosure is reconfigured as a handheld radio.

The handheld contains the cellular, WiFi and GPS components, but does not have an easy method to access the satellite (yet). The users of the IPR4500 will be using the radio in a city urban environment or in facilities or areas where cellular is not available. The IPR4500 is expected to be the most popular of the four IPR units because it can be hand carried and used where most people are located.

Its LCD display will be a color display with the ability to support maps and other color information. Designed to be rugged with a single antenna (as displayed), the IPR4500 will have the same look and feel as typical commercial/industrial 2-way radios (such as Motorola, Kenwood…). There will be a removable battery on the rear of the radio that can be changed in the field by the user, and a drop-in charger will also be available with the radio. Functionally it will support the same features as the IPR-5000 including least cost routing, caller identification, GPS tracking and so on.

Where the IPR4500 shines is in its portability. A user can grab the radio at home, turn it on and talk immediately with his co-workers hundreds or thousands of miles away. When he gets to the office and the IPR4500 finds an authorized WiFi access point, the radio now jumps over and uses the lower cost IP routing to allow continued operation. This example can be on-land or on a Navy Destroyer with no access to cellular data but access points scattered throughout the ship. Now a user never loses communications when moving about the ship.