Editor's Corner

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, 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 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