Dylan Armbrust

I recently took an interesting call from a PR representative, doing what they call a 'media survey' on PDAs versus mobile phones.

The survey I participated in asked if I felt that PDAs would overtake mobile phones in the future as an all-purpose device. In other words, did I think that mobile phones and PDAs could become one device that would appeal to the mass market?

It didn't take me long to ponder this question and reply. My instant response was an unequivocal yes. It's been a little dream of mine to have a nifty all-in-one mobile device that can really do what I want it to.

I think it's only a matter of time before we see a merging of the two technologies, but will it be in a truly workable and useful fashion?

Naturally, we have already seen some hybrid forms of this occurring in the shape of Handspring's Treo 270 and Palm's Tungsten W, which include a mobile phone, email, web surfing and so on.

But while these are useful, they haven't hit the mainstream, mainly due to price and service costs, as well as a lack of a killer application.

However, it's possible that this may change sooner than we think. We already know from the overwhelming level of advertising that mobile phones can, aside from facilitating a two-way vocal conversation, also send text messages, photos and even play the odd game or two.

But the truth is, aside from two-way conversations, the rest currently only holds a novelty value for early adopters.

How many of us (and be honest now) really have a hankering to view low quality pics of our mates having a pint in the pub while we're at home nursing a cold or working late?

And when it comes to PDAs, they are great organisers that can synchronise data with your PC beautifully, but are a bit bulky for most people to use as a phone. This is why the vast majority of us who make use of these technologies have both.

Now, however, a not-so-new technology has emerged that has the potential to change the way we interact with information on the move. This technology is Digital Audio Broadcasting (Dab).

While the spectrum is limited in bandwidth, it still has a lot of space to manoeuvre, with room for more than just sending audio signals. You can send data and video too.

Of course, this is an obvious point when it comes to digital transmission, but it's not the interesting part. What's interesting is the receiver.

Could our PDAs become the receivers of video, data and audio streams that are continually refreshed, without the high usage costs of today's services? Absolutely. Could these devices also act as two-way communication devices? Without doubt.

The potential is large and, instead of 3G technology and services, or Wi-Fi hotspots winning the mobile computing game, it may be the unheralded Dab technology that delivers the killer applications of video, newspapers or music on demand to the masses.

It would literally be like having the ultimate TV in your hand: just select your channel and view the video, web page, newspaper, data and so on that is being broadcast. Roll into the very same device a phone and video conferencing service and, hey presto, you have the perfect mobile device.

In fact, the possibilities go beyond that, but it would be a good start. Naturally, when it comes to integrating Dab into a futuristic all-in-one mobile device, I'm taking an optimistic view of it's potential.

And like many ideas it may prove to be a dud, but it may be the best technology I can see to bring these two devices together.

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