Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Nextel Problems-Coverage-dead cells inside buildings and outside metropolitan areas can make connecting hit-or-miss.

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 25 Apr 2003 12:11:09 -0400

April 24, 2003
Wi-Fi Phones Bring Freedom, Phobia
By Jim Louderback

I really like the Nextel service. Its direct connect feature—basically a walkie-talkie on
steroids—is just so darn useful. But coverage problems limit its effectiveness—dead cells
inside buildings and outside metropolitan areas can make connecting hit-or-miss.

But help is coming from a new direction. Wi-Fi, the panacea for just about everything, may
well help solve cell-phone connection problems, and also usher in a new era of one-person
one-phone. From my perspective, it can't happen soon enough.

Let's take it one step at a time.
First Wi-Fi phones. Why add
the 802.11 networking
capability into a cell phone?
For Cisco, which announced
last week that it'll deliver a
Wi-Fi phone in June, it's all
about Voice over IP in the
enterprise. Your phone works
when it's connected to your
Cisco-based Wi-Fi network,
but turns into a doorstop when
you walk out the door.

I'm more excited about traditionalcellular phones combined with Wi-Fi. Ericsson last week
announced a dual-mode chipset that combines CDMA2000 with 802.11, a melding of
technologies that lets you bypass the standard cell-phone network whenever you're within
range of an open Wi-Fi hub. And Motorola says they'll deliver a Wi-Fi-based iDen phone—for
the Nextel network—within a year or so.

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,3959,1041788,00.asp

------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-->
Get A Free Psychic Reading!
Your Online Answer To Life's Important Questions.
http://us.click.yahoo.com/cjB9SD/od7FAA/AG3JAA/61FxlB/TM
---------------------------------------------------------------------~->

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/