IPhones and Rumors and Curves, Oh My!

It seems a new and exciting entry to the wireless space arrives on the scene on an almost daily basis. Apple has pushed RIM’s BlackBerry, who has pushed Palm, who pushes LG, and on and on. As you walk down the street, or through the mall, you cannot help but see more and more people using these new PDAs or smartphones. The features are endless it seems: music, internet access, QWERTY, disk space and more disk space, cameras, games, VCASTing and other methods to view live action content are just a few.

Where has all of this push for more and more on a smaller device come from? For one thing, in the business world, folks are finding it more efficient to ditch the organizer and move to a BlackBerry or Palm Centro or Motorola Q to organize and keep tracking of email. Parents find it easier to track their children through GPS capabilities that can be loaded into the child’s phone through plans such as Sprint’s Everything plan.

But even good old-fashioned courtship has changed - remember the days when you would have to actually talk to the person you were interested in? The New York Times published an interesting piece on how more and more folks are using text messaging to get and keep the fires burning.

With all of these different ways to use a device, it then comes down to what device and what innovation is best for a particular user. If hardcore business needs for email and communication drive the decision, RIM’s BlackBerry products have consistently been a leader. If it is a teen or college student looking to text, products such as LG’s Rumor or T-Mobile’s Sidekick have blown up in the marketplace with their slick style and multi-function keyboard for easy typing.

But the advent of Apple’s iPhone has pushed the envelope further, with its unique appearance, multi-function capabilities of iTunes, Internet, and email, all with a touch screen. HTC’s Touch has stepped into the fray with its own touch screen technology, and RIM is gearing up to release a device of its own to rival the highly coveted iPhone.

Finally, there’s a whole new segment of wireless innovation taking root: the use of Wireless Cards to hook your PC up wherever you go and use a wireless cell signal to access the Internet. In the park, at the library, at home, wherever you may be, just pop in your Broadband Card and you will be surfing in seconds. UTStarcom, Kyocera, and Novatel all compete in this space with the major carriers such as Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon Wireless providing the minutes.

Where do we go next? It will be fun to watch as we continue to stroll through the ‘Wonderful World of Wireless’.