Tips on wireless mobile devices
Tips on wireless mobile devices
By Mila Day
JAKARTA (JP): The latest PDAs (personal digital assistants)
are now able to define words in Chinese or English. They can also
browse the Net, feature a calculator, memo and sketch pad, an
address book, calendar and diary. In other words, they provide
you with all the features of a standard office, though in
wireless format.
Three mobile phone companies, Motorolla, Ericsson, and Nokia
have formed a Wireless Village to develop and promote universal
standards for wireless mobile devices. The focus of this
initiative is to create a mobile world (browse www.wireless-
village.com for details).
Make no mistake, not all wireless devices are mobile. You
cannot carry a heavy laser printer or server around with you.
Although the size and work speed of these devices is getting
slimmer, you don't want to have a business lunch with a printer
in your pocket.
Still, a mobile device is something that can be carried,
handheld, or stored in a limited space, such as a handbag.
Initially, mobile phones and PDAs were made to meet
businesspeople's demands. However, their popularity has
flourished so that nowadays even housewives use mobile phones to
keep in touch.
As the name suggest, wireless devices do not require cables to
plug them into a nearby electric socket. Instead, they use
infrared or bluetooth technology to connect to an electricity
socket or to other electronic devices.
Laser printers, for example, are usually connected with one or
more PC workstations in an office. Cordless telephones are simply
phones with a very short wireless connection to a local phone
outlet. A mobile phone, however, features more advanced
technology. It uses short-wave analog or digital transmission.
Look around at some of the electronic devices around you and
you will find that many of them are wired. However, we are not
far off from the day when those devices will become wireless and
you will only need to clap your hands or push a remote box to
activate home appliances or office equipment. It really will be
as simple as that.
At your fingertips: The wireless Internet
The merging of wireless technology and the Internet is set to
become a powerful combination. The Internet has already been
around for some time now, as have mobile phones and, more
recently, PDAs. Many of us are used to the habit of accessing the
Internet from our wired PCs. However, are you aware that you can
access the Internet from your mobile phone?
For techno-fiends, this technical innovation may not seem
anything new or special. However, for most of us, when it comes
to new electronic devices, new combinations, commands or features
it becomes difficult to keep up with their rapid development. How
does one remain regularly updated on the release of the latest
wireless gadgets? How does one use them? Let me give you a tip or
two.
Tip number one, when you read a magazine or newspaper, scan
the entire advertisement. The most recently released electronic
devices are always introduced through advertising. Don't forget
to read the ad's specifications, even if you do not know the
difference between bits from bytes.
Tip number two, take some time to go to an electronic
exhibition at a local mall or convention center. If you are more
curious and live in Jakarta, check out the prices in Glodok or
Mangga Dua, Jakarta.
For my final tip, if you have the latest Siemens SL45 mobile
phone, use it only for voice calls and don't know what an MP3
player is, I suggest you give your phone to one of your teenage
kids. Believe it or not, teenagers these days are more aware of
electronic gadgets than you might think. However, if you still
want to keep a sophisticated mobile device in your pocket, just
make sure the battery is well charged!