Europe is seeing the emergence of a new type of...

Europe is seeing the emergence of a new type of mobile phones that can maintain continuous links with the Web. This is raising hopes that the wireless Internet will finally take off in Europe as it has in Japan. Motorola Inc., a U.S. phone maker, is producing thousands of handsets equipped with general packet radio services (GPRS) transmitters. These transmitters can reduce the time it takes to access the Internet to less than five seconds from over 20 seconds. In Japan, handsets with similar "always on" connections have proven popular, with over 18 million people estimated to use the wireless Internet. However, there are only about 13 million wireless Internet users in Europe. Analysts believe that GPRS will significantly boost this number, and see it as a significant revolution in the European mobile phone industry.

Tuesday, 26 December, 2000