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Wireless convention showcases untethered future


Everything from wireless devices to integration was on display at the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association's Wireless 2001 show

In this story:

Frustrations and challenges

Throw in some fun

Flirting with technology

Integration theme still strong

Disposable phones, streaming video

Avoiding the busy signal

RELATED STORIES, SITES

By Marsha Walton
CNN

LAS VEGAS, Nevada (CNN) -- In a town famous for white tigers, dancing waters and X-rated hypnotists, it isn't too surprising to spot a herd of cows in downtown Las Vegas.

But these aren't the kind that go "moo" -- they're portable cell phone towers, nicknamed "cows" for "Cell On Wheels."

The cows graze in the parking lot of the Sands Expo and Venetian Hotel, a little too big to fit inside with the other exhibitors at last week's Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association's (CTIA) Wireless 2001 Show.


Portable cell phone towers exhibited at the CTIA were built to alleviate some of the problems users experience with cell phones

Inside, thousands of feet of show space are crammed with the latest gadgets, including phones that carry everying from talking cartoon characters to live television to instant messaging capabilities.

Frustrations and challenges

On the show floor, conversations often turned to a recurring theme: frustrations in the wireless world.

The portable cell towers are one proposed way to deal with the biggest complaints of cell phone users in the United States: inconsistent service, dropped calls and dead spots.

"We're sure frustrated by some of the challenges because we're consumers too," said Tom Wheeler, CTIA president and CEO.

With 112 million cell phone users in the United States, Wheeler says there just isn't enough spectrum (airwaves) to deliver the voice and data services now in demand.

"One of the issues we are working with the government on, we're begging them, we need more pathways. It's the wireless information highway; we need the asphalt for that highway," Wheeler said.

Throw in some fun

That unfinished highway means some parts of the world are getting much more creative calls than users in the United States.

A demonstration by "FunMail," a wireless animated messaging technology, showed the contrast between what's available in Japan and in the United States. With Japanese "i-mode" technology, you see monkeys, rabbits, kittens and goats in fully animated color. Viewing the same "thank you" or "I love you" message in the United States is like passing from an IMAX theater into a cramped room showing a grainy black and white film.

FunMail CEO Adam Lavine says when the technology catches up, the U.S. market will be there.

"We're looking at three basic audiences: young people, which is a natural with these characters; what I call the Hallmark crowd, women 25 to 45; and gadget-oriented guys who like to show off the latest thing on their cell phones," Lavine said.

While much of the next generation of wireless will include fun features, usefulness is also in demand.

A service called NextBus tells commuters with great precision when their bus will arrive. With an Internet-enabled cell phone, two-way pager or a handheld device with a modem, riders can find out if the bus will reach their stop at the scheduled time. GPS (global positioning system) technology and a tracking device on every bus makes it happen.


A music video by Madonna is shown here on Samsung's SPH-X2000 phone

The service is free to riders, who can stay out of the rain an extra five minutes or be confident they can run a quick errand without missing their ride. NextBus is operational in California, Delaware and Massachusetts, with demonstration projects in New York and Pennsylvania.

Flirting with technology

Perhaps that extra five minutes waiting could be invested in another growing wireless pastime -- flirting.

Aspiro is a Swedish company with 130 products. Its "Dating Game" is among the most popular. Subscribers can communicate with others who have the service, sending text messages and cutesy icons. But if a "Roamin' Romeo" gets too brazen with messages, the recipient can select the prompt "give them the elbow," which means any further messages will be blocked.

Constant communication is the goal of AOL's Mobile Instant Messaging -- a way to keep 84 million "buddies" worldwide connected more hours of the day. (AOL Time Warner is the parent company of CNN.com.)

"The point is you want to make it available no matter where they are, no matter what device they use," said Rick Robinson of AOL Mobile.

The service works with two-way SMS (short message service) -enabled phones. The phone displays which of the user's buddies are online and activates an alert when a message is received.

Often, the hard part is getting fluent typing with thumbs on a cell phone. The design is more for short bursts, which is why several icons -- like the ubiquitous computer wink and other emoticons -- are programmed to be sent quickly and easily.

Integration theme still strong

Integration is still a huge theme among the show's 934 exhibitors. Among the popular couples: phones and palm devices, phones and MP3 players, phones and video.

Japan's Kyocera just introduced a combination tri-mode phone and Palm 5x. The device weighs just 7.3 ounces, and has 8 megabytes of memory. It's available in the United States for $499 with a contract from Verizon.


Wireless technology demonstrated by "FunMail" and "Dating Game"

A dead battery in such a combo-device could cause an ugly double whammy for mobile users who live and breathe by their contact lists.

Rick Goetter, senior manager of Kyocera Wireless, says the company made long battery life a priority.

"If you're a road warrior and forget to charge your battery, there's supplemental battery power to preserve the memory for the contacts in the Palm portion of the device," he said.

Ericsson is showing off phones with small MP3 and FM radio add-ons.

The MP3 player clips on the bottom of a mobile phone and holds 32MB of MP3 music. That's about eight songs, or half an hour.

When a call comes in, the music automatically mutes on both the MP3 and FM radio accessories, and the user just presses a button to answer the call. The music additions are available through cell phone carriers. The MP3 player lists at $199. The FM module is $59.

Nokia says there are more of its model 5100 than any other phone in the world. And they're anxious to make every one of them look different. At the Nokia Web site, users can order quirky or colorful faceplates.

Choices range from animals to sports to cultural designs, or they can draw their own. And within a few weeks, users will be able to upload a logo or a photograph so their phone can show off the kids or the pets. The cost is $29.99-$34.99 plus shipping.

Disposable phones, streaming video

Just as disposable cameras can come in handy, the company telespree is betting that disposable cell phones can also find a niche. Its device has two parts: a first-time purchaser would buy a handset and an "AirClip" with pre-packaged minutes. The phone has no keypad, rather just say the number into the phone and it dials. Current models can make only outgoing calls.

Company officials say that with no contract or credit card necessary, it makes wireless communication available for a whole new wave of users.

As for the debris created by the used minutes, the AirClips are designed to be recycled. Telespree is looking for sponsors, so that when returned, the user might get a coupon for a movie rental or a discount from a retailer.

The Israeli company Celvibe has come up with the technology to deliver live television broadcasts to mobile devices. It enables wireless carriers to deliver streamed video and audio directly to smart phones, laptops and PDAs.

The company hopes to capture a market for people who'd like to get spurts of live television for special events. Users could follow an important news story, catch a sporting event in which they have a particular investment or watch a climactic moment in a favorite soap opera.

The service is expected to work on a pay-per-view setup.

EMBLAZE Systems showed off its MPEG4 streaming video, available on the Samsung SPH-X2000 phone. (It didn't hurt that the company was featuring a Madonna music video from the film "Austin Powers.") The company has signed an agreement with Microsoft to provide streaming video for wireless devices.

The video is available now in Japan and Korea, said EMBLAZE President Sasson Darwish. It should launch in Europe in six months and hit the United States by the end of the year. Darwish sees corporate uses, such as video messaging, as the first applications.

Avoiding the busy signal

With music, TV, radio and Madonna now coming to a phone near your eyes and ears, what tops the list of an average wireless convention attendee?

"I think the most important thing is the actual voice on the phone," said Rich Wilson, general manager of business to business services for Wireless Retail.

"Everybody has all these different bells and whistles, but voice is where the money is, that's why people are buying phones. Being able to do video or video games or any of those things on a phone is great, as long as the voice is there to support them," he said.

His biggest frustration at the show?

"When you are dealing with hundreds of thousands of people trying to use their phones all at once the systems are breaking down here and there, so you're ending up with fast busy signals, phones not ringing on the other side, peoples' voice mail not functioning. So here we are at the wireless show without the ability to use our wireless devices."