This press release is copyright by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE). Its use is granted only for journalists and news media.
Proponents of personal digital assistants say that it will be one of these handheld units that tie the on-the-go executive of the future to the wireless Internet. Coming out strong is a whole new generation of Web-enabled PDAs, made not only by the manufacturers that have dominated the market so far but also a host of new ones, some backed by Microsoft, the hulking giant from Redmond, Wash.
Looking just as strong, however, is the other big contender for providing the executive with wireless Internet access: the next-generation cell phone.
In this two-article series, IEEE Spectrum examines the realities of today's run for the wireless-Internet prize. The smaller screens and keyboards available on cell phones, and their somewhat lesser processing capabilities, might seem to be crippling handicaps. Yet these phones already enable users to access the Web and exchange messages at a fraction of what it costs to do so using PDAs. And what is more, whereas access of PDAs to the Internet is quite limited geographically, next-generation cell phones promise ubiquitous coverage within a single family of standards.
Contacts: Richard Comerford, 212-419-7567, [email protected]; William Sweet, 212-419-7559, [email protected]
For faxed copies of the complete articles ("Handhelds duke it out for the Internet," Richard Comerford, IEEE Spectrum, August 2000, pp. 35-41; "Cell phones answer the Internet's call," William Sweet, IEEE Spectrum, August 2000, pp. 42-46) or to arrange an interview, contact: Nancy T. Hantman, 212-419-7561, [email protected]
URL: http://www.spectrum.ieee.org
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