With
information pipes getting fatter and access becoming faster, mobile data
communication products are ready to take their place beside the PC. More people
are entering the world of the Internet, using cell phones, PDAs and embedded
devices to meet their information, communication and lifestyle needs.
"What’s emerging is a third-generation Internet, based
on pocket-sized, untethered devices," says Richard A Shaffer in Fortune. If
the Net-linked dumb terminals and PCs represented the earlier two generations,
then the small wireless gizmos represent the third. These could be a cell phone
from Panasonic or an Internet radio device from a Silicon Valley start-up–intelligent
appliances that are making the Internet really ubiquitous.
In India, the non-PC Internet device market is catching up.
With the national Internet backbone expected to become a reality in the next few
months, data, text and voice transfer may not be as tardy as at present. For the
new-tech companies, something new is happening every day, either providing more
data services over the cell phone or launching intelligent consumer appliances
like a microwave oven communicating over the Internet. Technologies like
Bluetooth, WAP or global packet radio service (GPRS) are changing the world
around us. As a connection technology, Bluetooth is a single, standard, wireless
interface, which replaces proprietary sockets and connectors. A small Bluetooth
radio transceiver component can reliably connect a gamut of information tools.
While Bluetooth links the appliances inside a home or an office to networks, WAP
helps small devices like pagers, cell phones and PDAs to access networks–intranets,
extranets and the Internet.
With advancement in technology, and with wireless devices
getting handier and access becoming faster, major online services like AOL,
Microsoft’s MSN and Yahoo! are providing wireless Internet connectivity. Major
companies like Sony, Nokia, Motorola and Ericsson, as also smaller players are
coming out with mobile products for the growing consumer segment.
The WAP-enabled cell phone from Nokia and Palm Pilot–which
can act as schedulers as well as Web surfing tools–from 3Com palm gadgets and
wrist watches with built-in global positioning systems from Sony and Compaq’s
iPAQ are some of the early trends in the intelligent devices world. Ericsson’s
effort to develop mobile e-commerce will perhaps extend the experience of
electronic shopping to a mobile device like the cell phone. As Shaffer wrote,
"Several start-ups are supplying information to be sent over the air for
display on the latest generation of Internet-enabled cell phones. @Mobile.com, a
start-up in Santa Clara, California, is working with Yahoo! among others, to
beam weather forecasts, stock quotes, and even the available tee times at the
local golf course to mobile phones."
Home connect
In the recent International Houseware 2000 show held in
Chicago, houseware vendors presented their latest smart appliances that could
transfer dumb houseware products into interactive gadgets. General Electric
showcased an array of appliances that connected refrigerators and microwave
ovens to the Internet–one refrigerator had a Web pad with a link to an online
grocery store. Sharp presented a microwave, which could download recipes from
the Internet and cook food according to the given instructions.
If home utility goods are undergoing metamorphosis, so are
home entertainment products. Game consoles like Sega’s Dreamcast or Sony’s
Playstation 2 are catching the wildest dreams of gamers. Soon, Sega will be
launching its Net service for online multi-player games. Look at the Dreamcast
specifications–four built-in controller ports for multi-player action, 24MB
memory for complex game worlds, audio with 128-bit 3D processing power and a
56Kbps modem for online gaming. With Microsoft’s video game machine X-Box
coming into the market, the standalone gaming consoles may make the traditional
PCs redundant for avid gamers. Also on the cards are set-top boxes and small
keyboards that would turn a TV into a Web access device.
Local wiring
The Indian market has started getting the taste of
intelligent gizmos. From major players like Samsung and Videocon to small
distributors, several companies are offering set-top boxes for dial-up access of
the Internet on TV. With big cable TV operators like RPG Netcom in Calcutta and
City Cable in Delhi intending to provide Internet access through cable, demand
is all set to grow for set-top boxes for Internet over cable TV.
Palmtops and WAP-enabled cell phones are already common to
the Indian market. And cellular service providers like BPL Mobile, Bharti and
Hutchison have set up their WAP servers to enable their customers in the metros
to read and send e-mails over the cell phone. These service providers have also
tied up with major banks for services like instant bank statements. Recently,
BPL Mobile has announced its plan to enter the mobile Internet service using
GPRS, at a flat rate of less than
Rs 1,000 per month. Though WAP-enabled cellular services are already available
in select metros, the deterring factors right now are high handset prices and
steep
tariff rates. However, once the local information needs of users begin to be to
met and browsing becomes faster, demand will drive the service.
In the next six months, the market may witness a plethora of
appliances driven by Bluetooth-enabled chips appearing on the shelf. Already
some Indian companies are working on the technology.
A Bangalore-based company, Impulsesoft, plans to launch its Bluetooth chip later
this year for desktops, laptops and handheld devices. According to IDC India’s
Millennium Home survey 2000, 68% of 1,449 households surveyed were comfortable
with the concept of Internet access sans PCs while 69% were receptive to the
idea of receiving and sending e-mail without using the PC.
According to a survey conducted by the US-based market
research agency, eTForecasts, Asia is the largest market for information
appliances, with sales of over 12 million expected this year, which is expected
to grow to
over 93 million units in 2005. The Indian market is still at a nascent stage.
The setting up of the national Internet backbone by DoT along with the WAP
servers will, most likely, open up a host of applications for end-users.
Indranil Chakraborty
in New Delhi