Product Pipeline

Wireless growth spurt

Wireless technologies (802.11) continue to be the fastest growing sector of the technology market, as well as the one with the most innovation. In 2002, WiFi products concentrated on the equipment to implement a wireless network within a given area. This year is already shaping up as the period in which more ordinary objects take advantage of those networks.

One example is the Sony VPL-PX15 projector. It includes the features you expect in a standard projector (composite and S-Video jacks, 1280 x 1024 resolution), plus an Ethernet port and a Type II PC Card slot. It can become part of your network, and in a roomful of 802.11b-capable devices, any user could send images and data to the projector. In a nice twist, the VPL-PX15 also has 64MB of internal storage; save presentations and documents directly on the projector itself, negating the need to carry a laptop. The VPL-PX15 is available and retails for $6100. Other companies are also entering this arena, including Boxlight with the Projector Director and Hitachi with the CP-X880W and CP-X885W.

Projectors can be expensive, and libraries that own one are unlikely to purchase a new one. A less expensive option is the Linksys WPG11 Wireless Presentation Gateway. This handy device plugs into any projector that has a standard VGA port, thereby emulating some of the wireless functionality provided in the high-end LCD projectors. Multiple users can send data to the projector without having to deal with video cables. Like the wireless projectors, the WP Gateway runs 802.11b, so its range is about 300 feet. It is a more affordable $300.

It may seem like few patrons currently use wireless technologies, but we'll see an increase as companies like Dell begin embedding 802.11 components as standard equipment in laptops. For patrons with WiFi-capable devices, it's just a matter of detecting open networks, and a new device, the Mini Stumbler, does just that. This credit card–sized gadget automatically "sniffs" for accessible WLANs when you push a button, without having to turn on a laptop. You can't get these yet, but the technology will likely be incorporated into cell phones, PDAs, and laptops.

For librarians? The projectors have implications for college classrooms and collaborative learning. Groups using the meeting room might want this equipment so participants can work together easily. Wireless technology will continue to be embedded in more ordinary objects such as DVD players, stereos, and even cars, and library users will become comfortable with it. Ultimately, this type of functionality will be expected in libraries.

Embedded wireless functionality is a given in future PDAs, but these devices are also adding new types of functionality at an amazing rate. For example, Garmin has introduced the iQue 3600, the first PDA that has integrated GPS (Global Positioning System) technology. It runs Palm OS 5, comes with 32MB of internal memory, includes a voice recorder and an SD expansion slot, and plays MP3s. It retails for $589, less than the most expensive Pocket PC. But the embedded GPS is the real news. For directions to a location, flip up the antenna and open the Garmin mapping software. The PDA will map a route from your current location and even provide voice-guidance commands so you don't have to watch the screen while driving. As location-based services are introduced over the next few years (coupons for restaurants when you walk by, show times for the closest theater), PDAs and cell phones loaded with GPS will be able to pull localized information, seemingly out of thin air.

The Hewlett Packard iPAQ PocketPC has long been considered a pioneer in the PDA market, and the latest version is no exception. Not surprisingly, HP has added wireless functionality (WiFi and Bluetooth), but in a bid to make more headway in the enterprise market, the iPAQ H5450 also includes as a security measure a biometric thermal fingerprint reader, rather than a password. You can even use the fingerprint scanner in conjunction with a password for the highest security level. Of course, all of this extra capability comes at a higher price ($699), but eventually these features will find their way to lower-end handhelds.

We are already seeing this trickle-down effect with PDAs. Scaled-down versions make their way into younger markets. The Cybiko handheld for tweens/ teens has been around for several years, but recent improvements are accelerating the trend. The latest learning toy for ages ten and up is the iQuest Handheld ($59). While its primary purpose is learning, it also incorporates more PDA-like functionality than the earliest handhelds: a personal organizer, a dictionary, a calculator, an address book, a scheduler, an electronic notepad, and a thumb-based keyboard. Although it doesn't connect to other iQuests (the way Cybikos can talk to each other), it does offer specialized learning functions. Math, science, or social studies cartridges contain questions, based on actual school textbooks, for grades five through eight. There are also special quiz packs for older students studying for the PSAT, SAT, and ACT. Quizzes use animations, music, speech, and games. In addition, the Mind Station accessory (sold separately) lets students download additional quiz packs from the LeapFrog web site.

For librarians? PDAs are fulfilling their original promise, becoming small, but powerful, minicomputers. We need to learn how library services fit into on-the-go computing. Librarians are examining how to offer e-books, wireless access to catalogs, and data transfer to users with these devices. But we need to see if there is a viable channel for providing our information. Are there location-based services libraries can offer? For learning-centric mini-PDAs like the iQuest, we need to incorporate bibliographic instruction into the lessons. As students learn history or science on PDAs, we must convince vendors to include questions about library use. What will students who grow up using PDAs expect from their library?

The fabric of our lives

Children won't be growing up with just PDAs and cell phones. Technology is quickly becoming a background fabric—literally. The FPS Personal Backpack Audio System is exactly what it sounds like. If you thought kids play their music too loud now, just wait until these hit stores. The FPS Backpack has two water-resistant flat-panel loudspeakers, a micro-digital amplifier, a battery case, and a power/volume control all sewn into the pack itself. Plug in a portable music device (Walkman, MP3 player, CD player), and music streams out of the backpack. Unfortunately for those who don't share the owner's musical tastes, the flat-panel speakers emit the sound in a full circle, rather than in just one direction. Final price for the FPS System is not yet available.

In a frame right out of a Dick Tracy comic strip, Samsung has been working on a watch that has an embedded cell phone in it. The prototype SPH-S100 offers 90 minutes of continuous talk time, 60 hours of standby time, voice-activated dialing, and a phone book. Luckily, it comes with earphones so those nearby don't have to hear both sides of the conversation. Samsung hopes to integrate a text-to-speech feature that would let the user hear text messages and e-mails. The prototype still looks a little bulky and sterile, but it won't be long before this marriage of technology becomes a reality on store shelves. Can the "Get Smart Shoe Phone" be far off?

For librarians? The pace of technological innovation is overwhelming, and it's difficult to keep up with new gadgets, let alone understand them. While some are here to stay (electronic clothes), others are targeting a demand that doesn't exist and will quickly fade (the Watch Phone). The common denominator is that, like television, technology will cease to become technology when it becomes pervasive. A jacket that lets you set its temperature for your own personal preferences will become popular, even with technophobes, when the price point becomes right. Teens who grow up with technologies that let them take and hear their music everywhere will expect library services to be the same way—everywhere.

Photography: mobile and wireless

While the Watch Phone may not even make it to market, Casio’s WQV3D-8BNDL Watch is already available with a retail price of $230. Instead of an embedded cell phone, it offers a "wearable color digital camera" capable of displaying 25,344-pixel color on its LCD. It has 1MB of built-in memory, which means it can hold up to 80 images, and you can even add up to 24 text characters for a description of each picture. The downside is that it uses infrared beaming to transfer images to a computer, slower than USB cables or WiFi.

Cell phones are where the big camera push is these days, and it's surprising what manufacturers think consumers want in a camera/cell phone. What could be better than a phone with one built-in camera? Sony Ericsson’s Z1010 is a phone with two built-in cameras. The camera on the back takes pictures at VGA resolution, while the one on the front is intended for videoconferencing. So you can send streaming video, attach a video to an e-mail or text message, or watch videos on the phone's 65K color screen. When first announced, this phone made a big media splash because it is Sony Ericsson's first device created specifically for high-speed cellular networks (known as "3G," or "3rd generation" networks). Currently, 3G networks are only available in Asia, where the Z1010 will be released this fall.

For librarians? These hybrid devices will have an impact on library policies. Cameras are about to appear everywhere but not necessarily from "Big Brother." As teens and college students start carrying their phones/cameras around with them, we're going to find out how elastic society's privacy boundaries truly are. After all, someone could easily take pictures inside your library without you even realizing it; you will only see someone with a watch or a cell phone. What is acceptable use of an unobtrusive camera in a library? It's a brave new world on the horizon.