"The new handsets make today's most advanced phones, which are already equipped with personal organizers, color screens, cameras, and rudimentary video recorders, look clunky. They'll start appearing on store shelves next year. Improving on everything from displays to audio, these devices continue to blur the line between cell phones and multimedia computers, making them well suited for applications way beyond voice (see BW Special Report, 10/20/03, 'The Wireless Challenge')....
For sheer visual brilliance, nothing beats the Samsung GHX400. Intended for younger users, it displays 3D animation, bringing gaming to another level. It will be available next month in Europe and later in the U.S. And just for fun, the phone includes an FM radio. The price hasn't been set, says a Samsung spokesperson.
How good are the latest screens? Well, cutting-edge camera-phones in the U.S. have screens that display about 350,000 pixels. But Samsung's new SGH Intenna, named for an internal antenna hidden in the handset's body, blows them away. Available next year in Europe, it has 650,000 pixels, which means it looks more like a flat-screen TV than a cell-phone display. Samsung says the SGH Intenna will sell for close to $500, without subsidies.
Big advances are being made in audio, too. A new software technology from Panasonic replicates the quality of a surround-sound home theater. It can be embedded in a mobile device during the manufacturing process or downloaded by consumers. Designed for use with headphones, the sound quality is so high that even listening to voice is an exciting new experience. And music sounds amazing as well, even over regular headphones. Clearly, wireless handsets are entering a whole new zone." [BusinessWeek, via Tomalak's Realm]
Must... stop... drooling on keyboard. For those of you that attended my presentation last week about wireless, think about what I said in the context of these types of cell phones, which actually will be smartphones (combo cell phone + PDA functionality). As they become more and more prevalent and prices start to drop, we'll continue to see an increase in the number of people that use their cell phones for more than just voice calls. How many of them will be your patrons, and what library services will they expect to be able to access via said phones?
And hey, at some point you'll probably be one of them....
Tuesday, October 21, 2003
