Wireless Muse: Reiter's Wireless Internet Weblog

Forbes examines wireless Internet trends

Forbes has published an interesting article about the future of wireless Internet and I agree with the predictions.  (A “thank you” to Paul Whyte, a Fulbright Scholar, who alerted me to the article in his comment on my “Thinkernet” column examining the MacBook Air’s ramifications for wired versus wireless access; see left.)

The article notes that wireless Internet’s future will include:  Cellular phones with larger screens, touch screens, better Web browsers, more intuitive Web navigation on the phone and better integration of the browser with applications and searching.

One of my many pet peeves about today’s cellular phones — even the Apple iPhone — is the Web browser.  The iPhone’s browser is probably the best of the lot, certainly the best cellular browsing device when you consider the relatively large, high resolution screen.

Cautiously optimistic about browsers

But no cellular browser can display every Web format, and many cellular operators won’t allow browser plug-ins, such as Flash. 

I am cautiously optimistic that 2008 will be a better year for browsers, especially if Verizon Wireless’ “open” network fosters the introduction of more cellular phones with WiFi that can download any type of audio and video format without being restricted by cellular network prohibitions.

Will Sony's electronic book reader get wireless soon?

Robert Scoble, who just joined Fast Company to develop online videos, is interviewing attendees at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland and might have gotten something of a small scoop regarding the future of the Sony electronic book reader (see below).

This morning at the WEF, Robert was interviewing two well known technology journalists, David Kirkpatrick of Fortune and John Markoff of The New York Times.  Robert has been conducting many interviews of WEF attendees and streaming the videos live on the Qik video hosting site.  Based on a question from someone viewing the interview live on Qik, Robert asked the journalists what they thought about Amazon’s ebook reader, the Kindle (see top left).

Kirkpatrick said (see top) he had spoken this morning to Howard Stringer, the chairman and CEO of Sony Corp. of America, and Stringer was “jealous” that Amazon had introduced the Kindle with free wireless.  The Kindle incorporates a 1xEV-DO modem from Sprint, as I discussed in my “Thinkernet” column examining the ramifications of the ebook reader.

Kirkpatrick also said Stringer told him wireless for the Sony ebook reader is “not too far in the future.”  Kirkpatrick didn’t elaborate.  So, will the next Sony reader incorporate cellular (or even WiFi)?

Robert has been doing a great job of interviewing people from the WEF, and I wrote about it this morning in my mobile television weblog.

Effects of microblogging, politics and The New York Times

I live in one of the most political — perhaps the most political — areas in the world:  Washington, D.C.  I hate politics; I especially hate national politicians. 

All too many politicians are amoral or immoral.  They don’t have the morality of normal Americans and they don’t realize their failings or they know but they don’t care.  As Mark Twain said in Pudd’nhead Wilson, “It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress.”

What does this have to do with wireless data?  Microblogging.  More people are posting microblogs — short comments — from their cellular phones.  I wrote about the ramifications of microblogging in my latest weekly “Thinkernet” mobile communications column in CMP’s “Internet Evolution” (see below).

Today I see The New York Times published an article about microblogging in the current Presidential campaigns.

Pondering the future of MIDs, UMPCs, subnotebooks and cellular

I’d love to find a carry-around-all-the-time computer with a screen that’s easy to view Web pages and documents, a QWERTY keyboard that’s good enough to type relatively quickly, WiFi, Bluetooth, the ability to connect an HSDPA and a 1xEV-DO cellular modem — and fits inside my pocket (okay, it can be a very big pocket).

I haven’t found anything that meets all those requirements, although it’s getting close.  The new “Mobile Internet Devices” (MIDs) introduced last week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, offer features that are good enough for me.  However, the ergonomics that combine a semi-touch (at least) typeable keyboard with a small size might not be here yet.

My most recent weekly “Thinkernet” column for CMP’s “Internet Evolution” site discusses the relationship among MIDs, UMPCs (Ultra Mobile PCs), subnotebook computers and cellular phones (see below).

Update (1/20/08):  Engadget has posted an article about two UMPCs from Inventec that look very interesting.  The UMPC 7–A with the slideout keyboard (see below) looks like it could fulfill my requirements, except that I wonder how big, heavy and expensive it is.  It appears too large for my take-anywhere/anytime requirement.

The UMPC 5–D doesn’t have an attached keyboard, but it can be connected to a variety of docks (see below).  This is an interesting capability, but for some time I’ve been pondering the concept of docking cellular phones.

My pondering is whether high end cellular phones are becoming so powerful and feature-rich that they will replace laptop computers for some people.  Analysts for years have been discussing phones versus laptops, but I’m thinking about cellular phones that could be connected to docks with a monitor, regular QWERTY keyboard, etc.