Mobile manipulation - 12/2000

Mobile phones will overtake PCs as the primary devices for Internet access by 2003, according to Ericsson CEO Kurt Hellstrm.

In a keynote speech at the Comdex trade show in Las Vegas, Hellstrm said that there are about 650 million mobile phone users worldwide, with 700,000 new users signing up each day.

Hellstrm claimed that the number of WAP-enabled phones worldwide will increase from three million in July to 26 million by the end of the year. Text messaging has become the most widely-used cellphone application, with 10 billion messages sent each month.

Japan will become the first nation to offer third-generation wireless next year, which will provide mobile users with faster access to the Internet. Europe and Asia will offer the same service shortly after.

Hellstrm predicted that telecommunications companies will offer even faster mobile Internet access, called fourth-generation wireless, by 2010.

news.cnet.com