Tech gadgets all set to rule in 2002

Lucas van Grinsven

LONDON: If 2000 was the year of the Internet, and 2001 the year most people
would best like forget, next year could be the one for gadget envy.

It is no longer about choosing a cellphone, an MP3 player or a handheld
computer. Next year will bring personal technology gadgets that fit with your
lifestyle, your commute or your friends. A revealing trend is that after years
of shrinking cellphone sizes, they are growing bigger again. Manufacturers are
starting to cram lots more features into these devices.

Take the new Nokia 5510, a bulky cellphone that looks like a glasses case
with a full keyboard on top for easy texting. It also stores a few hours of
music, has a radio and can act as a miniature gaming device. The year 2002 will
herald the blurring of boundaries between computers, cellphones, cameras, music
players, games consoles and TV sets.

Dozens of new devices are flooding the market, all sporting new looks as
electronics makers push every button in an attempt to jolt stagnating markets
into growth mode again.

The new gadgets combine well-known favorites such as music and
communications, and will bring in completely new features such as sending
pictures and viewing video.

All different

Train commuters who want to block out other passengers may want to opt for the
new handheld computer from Japan's Sony Corp, elegantly redesigned and with a
music player.

Hewlett-Packard and others have taken the high-tech road, using Microsoft's
new Pocket PC software for handheld computers that can hold a tiny camera lens
which allows users to take snapshots.

The Treo by Handspring will be one of many crosses between a handheld
computer and a cellphone. They are meant for business people who don't want to
carry two separate products. Sony Ericsson, the new Swedish-Japanese cellphone
joint venture, sells cameras, earpieces, MP3 players and radios that clip onto a
phone or connect wirelessly.

In Japan, NEC has introduced the world's first video cellphone for NTT
DoCoMo's fast network, while South Korea's Samsung Electronics has started
selling a clam-shell mobile phone that can download Karaoke tunes and play back
audio on tiny but powerful built-in speakers.

On the fringes of the personal technology that people carry on them, Japan's
Nintendo is getting rave reviews for its new color-screen Gameboy Advance.
Full-color downloadable games have already become a key feature on Japanese
cellphones and will next year come to Europe with java-enabled handsets.

Technology is fashion

Technology companies say the time for separate categories of gadget is over --
the new devices that people carry will need to suit many different lifestyles.

In Finland, the world's largest mobile phone maker Nokia has fragmented its
potential market into dozens of segments, such as the fashionable set in search
of an "entertainment" phone, or sports enthusiasts looking for an
imaging-enhancing product.

"Nokia is looking at cellphones, handheld computers and everything in
between," says Gartner Dataquest analyst Ben Wood.

The keyword here is improved communications. More reliable mobile data
networks (GPRS) that are always connected to the wireless web have been
installed in Europe this summer. Even faster wireless networks (3G), in
operation in Japan since October, will be switched on in Europe by late 2002.

Next year will also be the first big year for two new short-range wireless
standards, Bluetooth and Wireless LAN. In 2002 they will connect dozens of
millions of cellphones, laptops, camcorders and headsets, says research group
Cahners In-Stat.

Sony Ericsson is offering a mobile web service that shows users what the new
networks are capable of doing. The site stores photo albums for later viewing on
cellphones.

"We have to show people what they can do with these new devices. In 2002
the whole industry will articulate much better the kind of services you can get
from this stuff," said Steve Walker, Sony Ericsson's global product
marketing director.

Gadget burnout or envy?

It's about time the consumer came first. Why would people buy new products if
they have frustrating experiences with the current generation of cellphones, MP3
players and digital assistants -- all using different software?

The big challenge for manufacturers is to turn gadget burnout, reflected this
year in lower sales for cellphones and handheld computers, back into gadget
envy.

If electronics makers put different functions into one device, this at least
means that users will have to deal with just one instruction manual. Another
improvement is that the latest phone models are pre-configured for wireless web
services.

But the new products, and the envy they may inspire, do not come cheap.
Although they fit into a breast pocket, they are as expensive as a full-sized
desktop computer.

A personal lifestyle comes at a price.

(C) Reuters Limited.