New Year, new gear

What are we going to see in 2003? Certainly, we shall see more people brandishing their sleek PDAs and busily writing e-mails from wherever they happen to be.

In fact, today we are already seeing people pressing characters on their cellular phones to send SMSes to their friends, colleagues and family members almost anywhere -- in elevators, in meetings, and even behind the wheel of a moving car. No matter how much we hate to see these dangerously multitasking drivers, it seems that we will have to live with them.

Wireless LAN will enable people in wired metropolitan cities to access the Internet without having to use cables. It is unlikely that you will have it in Jakarta this year, unfortunately, but you may have a lot of hotspots in highly wired cities like Singapore and Hong Kong. Perhaps it is a good thing that wireless Internet hotspots are unlikely to be available here in the near future. Just imagine if people read, write and send their e-mails while negotiating the traffic along Jl. Jend. Sudirman, Jakarta.

Chips that emit radio frequencies have been predicted to become much less expensive. Now, depending on how cheap the chips become, we may see more and more of them being used to track objects, animals and -- frighteningly as it may sound -- humans. Combined with cheaper, better and richer GPS services, it should become easier to track down stolen notebooks, PDAs, cellular phones, cars, boats, cats, dogs as well as fugitives.

Bluetooth will find new homes in more gadgets this year for sure. At the moment, Sony has video cameras that are Bluetooth capable or Bluetooth ready. This year we should see notebooks, PDA and printers with built-in Bluetooth capability. And, still in the area of wireless connection, Intel has just announced Centrino, the new brand for its wireless computing technology. It shows Intel's commitment in bringing wireless technology to mobile devices, including notebooks.

It is very easy to predict that we will have a lot of new cellular phone handsets with stylish designs. However, it seems that more and more of them will have support for Java. Called a Mobile Information Device Platform (MIDP), it will make it easier for game makers to create more interesting games for the handsets. More useful is perhaps the ability to access Internet- based services and software downloads. Again, along with this development, we may be seeing a lot of drivers immersed in their cellular phone games while waiting for traffic to inch ahead. Scary!

Portable CD-Writer drives have been around for some time, and this year we may be seeing portable DVD-Writers while standard DVD-Writers will be replacing CD-RWs in new PCs, especially the branded ones.

Fuel cell-powered gadgets will also appear slowly, although the technology still needs to be perfected. Where should the water emission go will be one of the tough questions, because no one wants their shirt pocket to become wet each time they put their cellular phone in there for too long.

More notable is perhaps the fact that Microsoft is also invading the world of personal gadgets with its SPOT (Smart Personal Objects Technology). SPOT is aimed at turning everyday objects such as wristwatches and refrigerator magnets into information devices. Data will be beamed using FM radio frequencies that currently allow you see station IDs on your tuner's display. No surprise that a lot of electronics makers such as Phillips, BenQ, Samsung, Sanyo and Viewsonic have thrown their weight behind Gates' SPOT initiative.

So, it seems that 2003 will bring a lot of new, interesting gear. Hopefully, most of them will be usable and useful, too.

-- Zatni Arbi