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Published in the August edition of 
Computer Link Magazine

Today the majority of people access the Internet via a personal computer, however, I can see this changing radically in the near future.

I recently purchased a Sprint PCS Kyocera Smartphone. This is a digital cell phone with an integrated Palm Pilot. Wow! What a device! Using this device has been quite an eye-opening experience. Suddenly the Internet was immediately available from seemingly anywhere at anytime in the palm of my hand.

Formerly, I carried two devices, a cell phone and a Palm Pilot. This new Smartphone has consolidated the two devices into a single unit with a comfortable form factor. It’s about 1/3 larger then my cell phone was and the Palm Pilot screen has a smaller number of square inches, yet the screen with, what appears to be, the same number of pixels creates a high resolution and a very readable screen. 

This device consists of four general types of services. The first service being cell phone functions with headset capability voice dial, internal speakerphone and a zillion other features too numerous to mention. 

Second is a Sprint download service that calls my telephone and delivers broadcast information. I receive the daily weather report at precisely 7:00 AM every morning on my telephone. There are many downloads to select from on a wide variety of subjects. If you can’t find the download you are looking for from Sprint then check out Avantgo.com who also offers applications for this wireless device. 

Third, there are added features, such as the entire Palm Pilot and Palm VII functionality. My Palm telephone directory is synchronized with my corporate Microsoft Outlook and Exchange system. Now, all my telephone numbers are always with me, which is very convenient. Additionally, I have the ability to simply touch the number in my Palm telephone directory and it dials the number. It’s actually easier to touch the number than to dial it on an office telephone. As a result of this feature I have been making more outbound calls over my digital cell phone, especially since there is free long distance included in my service plan. Most people I call and speak with never detect that I’m using a cell phone. 

The Palm VII clipping applications are great. These are applications built to the Palm operating environment that deliver hundreds of functions that can be downloaded at the Palm Web site. Clipping applications are applications originally built for the Palm VII that have been created for the Palm form factor and screen size. They are very small and in order to function they require data received over the cell phone that is hosted from a server over the Internet. I’m currently using ABC News, Miriam Webster Dictionary, E*trade, Fodor’s Restaurant guide, Map Quest, The Weather Channel, and Moviefone. 

Finally, The Smartphone comes standard with Eudora Mail and a Eudora text-only Internet browser that accesses the entire Internet. It’s interesting to see how different web sites are conditioned for this and finding the ones that aren’t even close. 

I’m receiving my email from our corporate Exchange IMAP web server using a Palm clipping application called Thin Air. My digital cell phone connects with a Sprint access number and transfers data at 14.4 baud that is adequate for text-only messages displayed on my telephone. The first day I had my email running I received a meeting confirmation while reading my email on my boat in the middle of Canandaigua Lake. It did make me wonder… do I want to receive email when relaxing on my boat?? 

I’ve witnessed this type of transformation before. I watched the Mainframe Computer era give way to the Mini-Computer. Then, the Mini-Computer gave way to the Personal Computer. Now, this Kyocera is beginning to show me the same type of paradigm shift to the new mobile wireless era. This machine is a very capable, general-purpose computer that is designed to be mobile and wireless. It has to be the ultimate device for the road-warrior who is on the run and not in an office every day. This mobile computing platform has much richer functionality than early personal computers and, in my opinion, it’s definitely here to stay. 

The future of the Ubiquitous Internet is easily seen though this device. It already has rich capabilities that will only improve with new technologies, such as 2.5G or 3G, which will deliver the speeds necessary to provide video on a telephone. 3G is now being tested and implemented in Japan, however, there is considerable debate that 2.5G will become the default standard in the United States. 

Now is the time to explore and understand the early adoption of these devices. I already want to start adding additional applications, such as online banking transactions or locating metro-tellers over my telephone from anywhere. It’s very easy to see how these devices can be cost effectively deployed across sales forces for many companies with access to real-time information. The number of applications is infinite and custom applications will also develop rapidly. 

This general-purpose computing platform is definitely a challenge to Microsoft’s dominance in today’s marketplace. It will be interesting to watch Microsoft’s reaction to the lead that Palm’s operating environment has, and will continue to make in the wireless arena. 

The Kyocera Smartphone allows me access to the Internet, applications, and information anytime, anywhere, which is truly ubiquitous.