|
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||
Getting connected, getting ahea... Keeping your phone secure by number... Tracking system gives hijackers no place... A mobile office in your pocke... Never having to say you're sorr... The new digital technology lets its voic... Who's afraid of a little extra competiti... In touch with the outside worl... Smart usage can cut your cost... Bad driving under the cellular influenc... High-speed data transfer the next ste... |
QUOTE: The success of handsets will depend
on their ability to handle
data as well as voice
The new digital technology lets its voice be heardMANY people and companies have invested in what is known as the information age. We are now on the verge of the digital age - a time when new devices become available that give us access to that information anywhere, any time. "Cellular technology will play a large role in making information available wherever you happen to be," says Mike Myers, managing director of Nokia Southern Africa. "Cellphones are evolving into information devices rather than just instruments for making and receiving voice calls. They are more like interactive terminals capable of browsing the Web or sending and receiving E-mail. Voice is just one facet of what modern devices are capable of." Myers says new cellular technology allows people to be "techno-nomadic" - they do not have to be tied to a particular geographic location to communicate. "Cellular devices are set to become the most personal possessions a person has. Now, when you go out, you tend to take your car keys and wallet - soon you will take not just a cellphone as well, but a device that is capable of a lot more. "Data communications is going two-way over cellular networks, too, unlike in the old days where it tended to be one-way traffic. It presents a wealth of new opportunities. If you want to book a flight or accommodation, just use the phone to view available flights, times and pricing and then book it using the phone. The network sends back a reference number which you can use when collecting a ticket or checking in to a hotel." Myers says the technology that will turn the cellular industry on its head will be based on a cellular data card. This credit card-sized device contains an aerial that makes it possible to send and receive data via the cellular network. "Let's take the simple example of what this card allows you to do in a car. Plug it into a module in the car and it activates an in-car phone facility and downloads a map of your current position and intended route off the network. It can plot your route via live cellular updates. Actually, you can get any Internet information via the cellular card. "If the car is running short of petrol, you stop at a petrol station and plug the card into the petrol pump. It dials the bank, debits your account with the amount of petrol you've pumped into the car and credits the service station's account. "After a while the kids get restless. No problem, just download some entertainment off the Internet for them and send it to the terminals in the back of the car's front seats. That's just the beginning - the cellular data card can be used to access anything from vending machines to hotel rooms," says Myers. "We are about to release new phones that make cellular telephony a whole lot easier. We have managed to do away with eight keys on the keypad and replace them with three. "People are no longer dazzled by bright lights and hundreds of push buttons - they want technology that's simple and with a virtually zero learning curve. The physical size of phones is pretty much as small as they are going to get and they may become lighter and get longer battery life. However, in future, the success of handsets will depend on their ability to handle data as well as voice calls and their ease of use."
|