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			Bluetooth PDA MP3 Napster GPRS 3G Telephones

Just as a clothes designer may develop a theme in their current season's collection, technology comes in and out of fashion, and accompanying every major breakthrough is a flurry of related development.

Large electronic corporations will focus their research and development teams on an area that is going to yield results that; the public demand, is in line with other development, and that is seen as being currently 'en vogue'

Today's prevalent trend is towards high-speed portable communication, extensions to the functionality of the internet and new and improved forms of digital storage.

Keeping up to date with these latest technological advances can be a difficult job so Jobsite has compiled a basic guide to the technology thats only just around the corner.

Bluetooth
Bluetooth refers to a short-range radio technology aimed at simplifying communications between net enabled devices and other appliances. It also aims to simplify data synchronization between internet devices and other computers.

A tiny microchip, incorporating a radio transceiver, is built into such digital devices. The Bluetooth technology makes all connections instantly and without an inch of cable. It facilitates fast and secure transmissions of both voice and data, even when the devices are not within line-of-sight. The radio operates in a globally available frequency band, ensuring compatibility worldwide.

Its unusual name derives from Viking King Harald Blaatand (Bluetooth) II who united and controlled Denmark and Norway (hence the inspiration on the name: uniting devices through Bluetooth).

Apparently old Harald had an inclination towards eating Blueberries, so much so his teeth became stained with the colour, leaving Harald with a rather unique set of molars.

One of the first practical uses for Bluetooth will be in hands-free mobile phones. A cordless ear module (possibly in the form of an earring) can be worn to hear and receive conversations while the main phone unit can be in the pocket without the need for a connection between the two.

Bluetooth's founding members include Ericsson, IBM, Intel, Nokia and Toshiba, and the technology promises to potentially revolutionize network systems.

In the office, computers and handheld devices will communicate with one another free of cables. Printers, scanners, and fax machines, will all have Bluetooth technology so wireless tasks can be carried out.

In conferences a base unit in the room will transmit data to delegate's handheld devices and at home your refrigerator will tell your personal organiser when you are out of milk.

PDA
PDA stands for Personal Digital Assistant and they are compact computer devices. In their simplest form they carry out all the functions of your old personal organiser or filofax such as store addresses, phone numbers, appointments, important days such as birthdays and anniversaries, and lists of things you're supposed to pick up at the shops after work.

PDA's can be networked with your home computer via their accompanying interface connection. Files can be transferred from your computer onto the PDA and vice-versa. Using this system files can be downloaded to your computers hard drive from the internet and then transferred onto your PDA. The range of software for your PDA is extensive and includes text editing software, e-books, games, and personal accounting software.

With a modem attachment your PDA can be connected directly to the internet where WAP pages, tailored PDA pages, or real HTML websites can be viewed.

There are several different ways to enter information onto a PDA. You can type the information into your PC and then download it to your PDA, or you can use a virtual keyboard on the PDA's screen to enter information by tapping the letters with your stylus, the small inkless pen that comes with every PDA.

Finally, you can use the handwriting-recognition option, where you write letters onto the PDA screen using the stylus. Handwriting recognition is the easiest solution, but you'll have to learn a slightly modified alphabet that only lets you enter one letter at a time. This may sound a little daunting, but every PDA comes with a program that will get you up to speed in a few short hours.

The two current popular operating systems are Palm and PocketPC. Palm's system is very simple and fast and the Pocket PC system is a slimmed down version of Windows.

MP3
MPEG is the acronym for Moving Picture Experts Group. This group has developed compression systems used for video data. For example, DVD movies, HDTV broadcasts and DSS satellite systems use MPEG compression to fit video and movie data into smaller spaces. The MPEG compression system includes a subsystem to compress sound, called MPEG audio Layer-3.

The MP3 movement is one of the most exciting phenomena that the music industry has ever seen. Unlike other movements - for example, the introduction of the cassette tape or the CD - the MP3 movement started not with the industry itself but with a huge audience of music lovers on the Internet. The MP3 format for digital music has had, and will continue to have, a huge impact on how people collect, listen to, and distribute music.

The MP3 format is a compression system for music that helps to reduce the number of bytes in a song without neglecting the sound quality. The goal of the MP3 format is to compress a CD-quality song by a factor between 10 to 14 without losing the CD quality of the sound. With MP3, a 32-megabyte song on a CD compresses down to 3 megabytes or so. This lets you download a song in minutes rather than hours, and it lets you store hundreds of songs on your computer's hard disk without taking up that much space.

From this description you can see that MP3 is nothing magical. It is simply a file format that compresses a song into a smaller size so it is easier to move around on the Internet and store.

Napster
Napster is a peer to peer file-sharing utility. It comprises a downloadable program, which allows users to make files on their hard drive available to other Napster users. You can search for a file name you are looking for using the simple interface and the chances are that someone else will have it available on their computer. You can then download that file, in this way Napster has become the world's leading file-sharing community.

MP3 audio files are the main format of files exchanged and the distribution of copyrighted material has raised the heckles of music companies who want a piece of the action.

Resulting legal action filed against Napster has led to a subscription charge for each download and a tighter searching system which aims to prevents copyrighted material being exchanged.

Napster was founded by Shawn Fanning, an American teenager while he was a freshman at Boston's Northeastern University. Since its huge success there have been a number of copycat utilities all offering similar services.

GPRS
GPRS stands for 'general packet radio service' and is a system that allows your mobile phone or PDA to be constantly connected to the internet. Think of an advanced pager device that can receive text and email messages at any time. No more dialing up for WAP services, the information will be available rapidly when you want it and sent to you anyway when you don't.

3G Telephones
3G (3rd Generation) mobile phones will be GPRS enabled and will combine the basic functionality of a mobile handset with advanced internet, email, and GPS (global positioning system) technology.

The devices will make mobile business applications, picture messaging and mobile gaming a reality. It is predicted that within a decade, annual revenue from 3G phones will reach $300bn. It expects cumulative revenue by 2010 to exceed $1 trillion.

By 2010, it is predicted, the average subscriber will spend $30 a month on data services and $12 a month on voice calls. Some 28% of callers will be using third-generation phones.

New mobile services will include, banking from your phone, ticket booking, an information source and multiple player online gaming.

Network operators' such as BT and Vodafone have laid out billions on third-generation licences we can expect these companies to really push these new services.

These are just some of the latest developments which are available to you now or will be in the near future. Jobsite will keep you informed as new products and exciting technologies are conceived.