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Over the past year I've previewed new technologies and products that promised to be the next big thing. But in the back of my mind has always been the question, "Will they become anything at all?" Even great ideas often fail to become great products, for various reasons. Remember the technically superior Betamax? So it has been encouraging, after another year of the tech industry slump, to see so many companies not only come up with great ideas but also actually take them to market.

Power in Your Pocket

Many of the gizmos PCWorld.com editors looked at in 2002 were mobile computing and communication devices.

In February's "Seeking the Handheld Holy Grail ," I explored the nascent move to hybrid devices combining PDAs, mobile phones, and Internet clients. As in February, Palm OS still rules this category. Hybrid pioneer Kyocera introduced its second-generation device, the 7135, which upgrades to a color screen and a more compact flip-phone design. Handspring introduced a version of the Treo that works on the faster GPRS data networks, and Samsung has a successor to its sleek I300 in the works.

Other players are joining in. Microsoft introduced its own hybrid operating system, Pocket PC 2002 Phone Edition, which debuted in the United States in an offering from wireless provider T-Mobile. Phones running Microsoft's SmartPhone 2002 OS (once called Stinger) have not been released yet, but Microsoft says AT&T will have one in the first half of 2003. In addition, Verizon Wireless plans to offer the phone in the future.

T-Mobile is offering the truly unique Sidekick (née Danger HipTop) that we previewed in February and that wowed us in its final form in December; see"T-Mobile Asks: Need a Good Sidekick?"

Web surfing on the Sidekick is more enjoyable thanks to T-Mobile's GPRS wireless network, a so-called 2.5G technology that is an interim step on the way to the fat-pipe nirvana of true 3G. Other carriers, including AT&T, also began offering GPRS in the past year, while Sprint and Verizon rolled out another 2.5G technology called 1XRTT. 2.5G does not offer the bandwidth to transmit live video, but you can send small video clips or still images thanks to a bunch of new mobile phones, such as Motorola's T720i, Nokia's 3650, and Sanyo's 5300 that include integrated cameras. (Watch for our February issue for a review of all three.)

Mainly due to cost, the emergence of true 3G-compatible devices appears about as far off as it always has, at least in the United States, but handheld makers are finding other networks to plug into. The new Palm 5 OS has built-in support for the short-range Bluetooth protocol and for the 802.11 networks increasingly found in universities, offices, airports, coffee houses--and sidewalks near any unsecured Wi-Fi site. (For more info, see "The New (Improved?) Wireless Web.")

Hand Power

People who think convergence should mean fitting an entire PC into a handheld device still have a bit longer to wait. In June's "The Real Pocket PCs," I looked at pocket-size (or at least purse-size) x86-based PCs from OQO and Tiqit. OQO was aiming to squeeze its IPod-reminiscent PC out by Christmas, but CEO Colin Hunter says the company is now shooting for the first few months of 2003. Meanwhile, Tiqit continues to tweak its Eightythree handheld design while seeking a buyer for the technology.

The Eightythree has a tiny Blackberry-style keyboard, and the OQO may adopt a similar setup. They are okay in a pinch (which also describes the effect on your fingers) but these tiny typing platforms are not ready for serious computing. However, Canesta is coming closer to offering a solution. The company's "Electronic Perception Technology" sensor can track movements in three dimensions, allowing you to type in the air on a virtual keyboard illuminated by a small projector. April's column, "Keyless (Data) Entry," examined a crude prototype that simulated a small virtual piano keyboard.

In September Canesta came back to demonstrate a full PC keyboard that read finger movements extremely well. And in October, the company announced an agreement to work with NEC on integrating the virtual keyboard into handhelds. I haven't heard details of actual products yet, though.

Hand-talkers who just can't wait for a device that understands them can now pick up Essential Reality's P5 glove, which translates both finger movements and wild gesticulations into PC input. The P5 comes bundled with a few games that are optimized for the device, but you can use it to replace mouse input (and many keyboard functions) with any game or application.

With the P5 plugged into my system, I could crudely mimic detective John Anderton, who waves his hands in the air to control a supercomputer in the film Minority Report, the subject of July's column, "Spielberg's Computer." Since Minority Report is set about fifty years in the future, its technologies were unlikely to come about in 2002--but there has been some progress. We don't have holographic glass discs that hold petabytes of 3D video, but companies such as Philips are developing blue-laser DVDs that will hold up to 50GB. (Imagine all the James Bond films fitting on four or five discs, instead of 21.) Unlike holographic storage, which some experts still doubt will ever work, blue-laser DVDs are real and coming to a store near you in the next few years.

Other Minority Report technologies are on the way. The wirelessly connected newspapers and magazines of the movie are still in the distance, but Microsoft and chip maker National Semiconductor are gradually providing information about other wireless knick-knacks called "smart personal object technology." At Comdex in early November, they offered a few examples such as travel alarms that can check the time at your location and refrigerator magnets that retrieve information to display on tiny LCDs. Microsoft plans to provide more details at the Consumer Electronics Show in early January.

The Year of the Living Room

Another Microsoft development touted at Comdex was the proliferation of its Windows XP Media Center operating system, which integrates a TV tuner, a video recorder, and support for a wireless remote control. In August's "New Windows for Your Home," I looked at the first prototype system from Hewlett-Packard and wondered if other vendors would offer systems that meet Microsoft's high performance standards for running the OS. In November, ABS, Alienware, Cyberpower, and Gateway announced their own Media Center PCs.

Notably absent from that list is Sony, whose products always prominently feature entertainment functions. That's because the electronics giant is going its own way, promoting file-sharing software and fast 802.11a wireless connections to stream music and even video around the home. To bring the TV into the picture, Sony also plans to offer a box that plugs into your TV and allows you to receive music, video, or photos from a PC over an Ethernet or wireless connection. Other companies will offer variations on this device in 2003.

The Future Is Still Ahead

Even in a technology year generally considered to be lackluster, I saw a number of exciting products come to market and yet more emerge. The next year already offers plenty more to look forward to. Stay tuned.

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