Sep 1, 2009 12:00 PM, DONNY JACKSON

Motorola announced SmartX, a gateway-based system that is designed to allow roaming between the company's analog and digital systems. It is expected to appeal to public-safety entities that currently use Motorola analog technology and want to migrate to a digital protocol such as the company's Astro 25 system.

If the entity cannot afford a digital system throughout its coverage area, SmartX uses gateways to translate older Motorola proprietary protocols — such as SmartNet and SmartZone — in a manner that lets the Astro 25 network understand them, said Michele Shaughnessy, director of Motorola's public-safety systems marketing.

“It's a migration that takes place over time, instead of the big-bang theory,” Shaughnessy said. “This product allows you to mix and match your analog and digital infrastructure.”

In other news, Motorola unveiled the APX 09 integrated control head that is designed to save in-vehicle space and ease operation for users of its APX multiband mobile radio line.

Most public-safety vehicles today have separate controllers for radio, siren and lightbar use, said Steve Young, Motorola's director of Astro subscriber products. With the APX 09, these functions can be accessed from a single control head, he said.

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