A=Nokia
B=Ericsson C=Philip D=Siemens
E=Motorola Which mobile phone(s) ...
Once the exclusive domain of executives with expense accounts,
the mobile phone is set to become one of the central technologies of the 21st
century. Within a few years, the mobile phone will evolve from a voice-only
device to a multi-functional communicator capable of transmitting and receiving
not only sound, but video, still images, data and text. A whole new era of
personal communication is on the way. Thanks in part to the
growth of wireless networks, the telephone is converging with the personal
computer and the television. Soon lightweight phones outfitted with
high-resolution screens -- which can be embedded in everything from wristwatches
to palm held units -- will be connected to series of low orbit satellites
rambling people to talk, send and receive e-mail, or take part in video
conferences anytime, anywhere. These phones might also absorb many of the key
functions of the desktop computer. Mobile devices are expected to be ideal for
some of the new personalized services that are becoming available via the
Internet, such as trading stocks, gambling, shopping and buying theater and
airline tickets. The communications revolution is already taking
shape around the globe. In Europe, small-scale trials are under way using mobile
phones for electronic commerce. For example, most phones contain a subscriber
identification module (SIM) card that serves primarily to identify a user to the
phone network. But the card could also facilitate limited financial
transactions. Deutsche Bank and Nokia, for example, are working together
to develop mobile banking services. Some manufacturers plan to upgrade the SIM
card to an all in-one personal identification and credit card. Another approach
is to add a slot to mobile phones for a second smart card designed specifically
for mobile ecommerce. These cards could be used to make payments over the
Internet or removed from the phone for use in point-of-sale terminals to pay for
things like public transportation, movie tickets or a round of drinks at the
bar. In France, Motorola is currently testing a dual slot
phone, the StarTACD, in a trial with France Telecom, while in Finland
Nokia is testing a phone that uses a special plug-in reader for a tiny
smart card. Siemens is pursuing a different approach. Since it is not yet
clear whether it’s best to do everything with a single device, Siemens is
developing dual slot phones and Einstein, a device equipped with a smart card
reader and keypad that can be linked to the phone via infrared wireless
technology. For those who want to, though, it will be possible
to receive almost all forms of electronic communication through a single device,
most likely a three-in-one phone that serves as a cordless at home, a cell phone
on the road and an intercom at work. "The mobile phone will become increasingly
multifunctional;" says Burghardt Schallenberger, vice president for technology
and innovation at Siemens Information and Consumer Products in Munich,
"and fingerprint technology or advanced speech recognition will ensure that only
one or two authorized users will be able to operate it." New hybrid devices,
such as Nokia’s 9110 Communicator, a combination phone and personal
digital assistant (PDA), are already on the market. But some customers feel the
keyboard and screen are too small and complex for comfort. To
gel around these problems, Nokia’s 7110 mobile phone has a larger screen
and is operated by a tracking ball in addition to a keyboard. The phone has
found a ready market among young people, who tend to send more text messages
than they make mobile phone calls -- not surprising given the fact that text is
approximately a tenth as costly as voice. The Nokia 7110 also offers
Internet access via Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), an open standard that
allows streamlined versions of website contents to be displayed on mobile phone
screens. Phones equipped with WAP enable people on the move to access basic
information -- such as news services, stock prices and flight timetables -- from
specially "cut-down" sites. For some, any device that bridges
the gap between handwriting and keying in text will be a world-beater.
Ericsson is researching a "smart quill" pen that could do just that.
Though the smart quill looks like any other pen, it permits writers to write on
any surface -- or even in the air -- while a microchip in the tip of the pen
records tile shape of the scribblings and transmits them to a remote PC, where
special software converts them into normal text. Gould this mean the end of
typing Not yet. Ericsson cannot say when a prototype will be
ready. Keyboards might eventually be unnecessary on mobile
handsets if speech recognition software continues to improve. Mobile phones
might then be reduced to a few computer chips, a microphone and a receiver
embedded in an earring. The Philips Genie, a lightweight mobile phone,
can be operated by uttering a single word. When you type a name into the Genie’s
keypad, the system asks whether you would like to assign a voice-dial tag to
that name. Through a series of yes or no prompts, the Genie compiles a list of
up to 10 voice tags. The next time you want to call a person listed as one of
these tags, just say that person’s name or a relevant code word. The word
"home", for example, is sufficient to place a call to your family. ·has a too
small and complex keyboard and screen
71. ______ ·has combined handwriting and
keying
72. ______ ·can recognize
voices
73. ______ ·has a voice dial tag
74.
______ ·has a pen which can write in the air
75. ______ ·might carry out financial transactions
76. ______ ·has a dual slot
77.
______ ·can be connected to your home by saying "Home"
78. ______ ·is
popular among young users
79. ______ ·is both a phone and personal digital assistant
80.
______