Things are getting serious in the mobile services and applications arena. I'm likely the one person in the country who still has a cell phone that's only a cell phone--no camera, no streaming digital video, no text messaging. In fact, I don't even have voice mail on the phone. I can't instant message or email anyone. I can't browse the Web and find a location with GPS technology. I can't post to my blog, I can't carry data files with me. All I can do is make a call when I need to, and if it's on, get calls I'm expecting. I'm so far away from what an Intel executive calls the "real Internet" mobile that I feel like I'm living in Bedrock with Fred and Barney. The "real Internet" mobile universe will let mobile users do all I can't do right now and likely do it within this year. Intel, as outlined in this CIO Today article [1], is just one vendor pushing ahead on all fronts to make being mobile the most Internet friendly place to be. I was thinking about getting a new phone, but I'm thinking of waiting a few more months to see what other features come to the forefront.

On a related mobile note, there's an interesting article [2] over at Vnunet about how disconnecting a bit--turning the mobile device off--can prove productive and valuable in the quest to balance life and work. According to a new report, companies and IT leaders should be encouraging the user base to go offline now and then and disconnect in order to reconnect with their non-work lives. But since many mobile users can't seem to get through a supermarket checkout line, the movies or even dinner without making a connection to someone, it's going to be difficult. Mobility is blurring more than the lines between work and play. - Judy [3]