AnchorDesk |
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3G disappoints... Wi-Fi speeding up... Wireless revives PC sales |
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Sylvia Carr Senior Editor, AnchorDesk Monday, December 9, 2002 |
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If you feel like you've been waiting a long time for a speedy wireless data connection on your cell phone, well, you're gonna have to keep on waiting. While the new 3G wireless networks are capable of delivering speeds as high 144kbps (more than twice as fast as the average 56kbps modem), the actual speeds you experience are usually slower than a dial-up connection. That's quite a disappointment for anyone hoping to surf the Web or read all their e-mails from a mobile device. It's even more disappointing for the companies who spent so dearly to build these networks. But something quicker could still come along. AT&T Wireless, for example, is said to be testing a network in Dallas, Texas, on which phones can download files at close to 400kbps.
Go to the full story by Ben Charny.
Wi-Fi is becoming more and more popular, with over 8 million wireless networks in the U.S. using the technology. But Vic Hayes, the man known as the "father of Wi-Fi," says the fun will really start when the technology speeds up to 100mbps. And it may not take that long to get there. Hayes, who oversaw the first working group to draft what became the 802.11b standard, says we could reach that speed before 2005. Once data moves that fast over Wi-Fi networks, we'll be able to include a lot more visual information and animation, as well as back-and-forth interactions, in wireless communications. Since the limited amount of spectrum is holding Wi-Fi back, Hayes says using spectrum more efficiently will be the most important achievement in the near future.
Go to the full story by Ben Charny.
The PC market is set to spring back, according to market researcher IDC, and for that it has wireless to thank. IDC expects shipments of desktop PCs, notebooks, and servers to rise 8.3 percent in 2003, then another 11 percent in 2004. In 2002, PC shipments will increase only 1.2 percent, but that's better than in 2001, when they shrank 4.2 percent worldwide and 11.4 percent in the United States. IDC says the turnaround will be attributable in part to the growing popularity of wireless networks and improved notebook technology, both of which are encouraging people to buy. One such upcoming improvement: the release in early 2003 of Banias, Intel's new energy-efficient notebook chip, and a round of Banias-based notebooks--many of which will include a PC card for wireless Internet connectivity.
Go to the full story by Michael Kanellos.
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