Applications, Competitiveness To Drive Wireless Growth

Compiled ByTonya Vinas The need for businesses to offer employees "anywhere, anytime access" to task-specific information will be one major contributor to the growth of the wireless Internet market, according to Probe Research Inc., Cedar Knolls, N.J. The company expects the market to reach US$21.6 billion in the United States and Europe by 2006. Devices used in this area include but aren't limited to laptop computers, WAP handsets and PDAs. "Businesses no longer see these tools as a 'nice-to-have' option," says Probe Research Director David Chamberlain. "Communication delays and errors hamper productivity. Instant communication is now a competitive necessity." Also contributing to the growth will be a proliferation of custom applications driven by the emergence of third-generation wireless networks and application development products such as Java 2 Micro Edition (J2ME), according to Probe. "As with other open technology platforms, J2ME, which is becoming more common in phones around the world, should provide developers with more ways to design and distribute mobile business applications."