New Deals Make For A Wireless Future
As reported by Engadget (and others) the latest round of industry deals regarding the WiMAX wireless data standard is setting the stage for the next big internet access slugfest. Although WiMAX has yet to really get noticed by the general public there are clear indications that wireless data services such as this are going to be one of the big things this year and not for traditional reasons. Up till now most folks think of wireless as either cell phone data services, home cable or DSL connections (via WiFi 802.11a/b/g) or WiFi hotspot services but with both cable and cell phone providers joining forces this distinction is likely to blur somewhat in the near future. So what does this future look like? Read on….
Ok, long time readers of this blog know that I don’t pull any punches when it comes to making a point on a new piece of technology that I think is going to have a huge impact. In the case of WiMAX the impact has little to do with the standard itself (which is likely only to be relevant for a few years anyway) but the recent push by major industry players like Sprint and Comcast to get into the high speed wireless data markets is something to watch closely. There are many reasons for this but the biggest is the gradual trend for devices to become what I like to call “internet always-aware”. This new class of device (think iPhone 2.0 etc…) is designed from the ground up to be constantly online providing users with a rich internet experience. I don’t mean services like Blackberry that can “push” email out to a handset, this is more like a home internet connection in both speed and availability being included with the purchase of a handheld device. The possibilities are very compelling and make for more than ample justification for the deals now being setup. Imagine being able to use your cellphone/pda/whatever to access the internet at high speed to the level that you never really need another connection.
We are already starting to see this transition with a limited number of devices; the Amazon Kindle e-book reader comes complete with a always-on style of connection for easy downloading of new e-books, and iPhone users will get to experience this with the new iPhone 2.0 software coming this summer.
Bottom line: As much as the high speed of WiMAX services will be enticing to mobile power users the more far reaching impact of this technology is going to be found in how it enabled hardware manufacturers to create devices that can be sold with bundled “full-speed” access for those who don’t need or want dedicated home internet access.
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