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

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