This week celebrates the 25th anniversary of the first commercial wireless call. It happened in Chicago at Soldier Field on Oct. 13, 1983. Bob Barnett, former president of Ameritech Mobile Communications called the grandson of Alexander Graham Bell who was in Germany at the time. The phone was a Motorola DynaTAC 8000X which cost $4000, weighed 1.75 pounds and was 13 inches long. Today the Apple iPhone 3G costs $200, weighs 4.7 oz. and is 4.5 inches long. The exploding market for business technology gives us faster, cheaper and easier tools every year. These gadgets can be fun for personal use and invaluable work tools. Take a look at the current market to see if there’s something new out there to help your business grow.
Wireless technology means we don’t have to be tethered to our desks when we need to get work done. Mobile phones have come a long way since that first wireless call at Soldier Field, and the Blackberry has become the quintessential business phone. The new Blackberry Storm features touch screen navigation and offers video recording and playback – a great tool for recording an event that your colleague or customer has to miss. Whether you use a Blackberry or another mobile phone, use Bluetooth technology for hands free and secure wireless communications. Bluetooth headsets make it possible to talk while driving, typing or working with cumbersome documentation or plans. Wireless Technology also allows you to access your desktop from anywhere. Not confined to “hotspots” anymore, broadband access is everywhere. Verizon and AT&T offer you access to their wireless networks via a card that fits into your laptop.
Check out the large array of new web based applications. These will allow you to create and share files on the Internet, instead of using a server housed at one location. Google Docs offers a free word processor and spreadsheet creator. If you are familiar with MSWord and Excel you’ll find them very easy to use. 37signals.com provides low cost web based business software including file storage and project management. Their innovations are exactly what a mobile or decentralized work force needs for effective collaboration.
Thirty years ago, I would be typing this sentence into a display terminal just like the one pictured above. Adjusted for inflation, it would cost me over $4000 to buy one of those today! What’s next in the evolution of business technology? Many Japanese have already replaced their wallets with their cell phones. “Near Field Communication” allows them to make purchases by “beaming” money from their bank account to a merchant’s. Computerized clothing is also on the way. One button on your shirt collar will record your voice memos while another one will place a call. Non-traditional wireless devices such as wristwatches with browsers on their “faces” and eyeglasses with built-in displays will project information to the wearer. We will see many milestone innovations during the next decade. Allowing time for new inventions to become affordable and more efficient is a good idea, but don’t get stuck using outdated equipment. Keeping up with new business technology is a great way to keep your company current, flexible and efficient.
