June 19, 2003

Cebit Coverage: Inc Magazine Mobility Panel Discussion

This morning I went to the 10:30am Inc Magazine Mobility Panel Discussion. It was lightly attended (50 people or so - counting conference staff). The panel was sponsored by Microsoft, INTEL and Toshiba who represented three of the six panelists. Ed Sussman, Executive Editor of Inc moderated the discussions.

There wasn't much that was new - mainly industry geek speak. But the comments and experiences from the three small business owners also on the panel were mildly interesting.

The tech vendor's started the discussions.

Intel's representative talked about their new Centrino chip and how wireless applications were ideal for vertical industries such as manufacturing, retail, healthcare, and financial services. Intel, it is a very large company so maybe not the best example for SMBs, saved $6,000 per year, per employee by implementing wireless solutions throughout their enterprise. The bottom line was that mobile technology frees up employees to work more productively.

Greg Sullivan, of Microsoft explained how Windows XP makes it much easier for companies to do what they need to do - like wireless Internet access.

Previous versions of Windows required an end user to have to wait years, until the next release, to get updates. Windows XP with its automatic update feature can push latest updates to users as soon as they are available.

Toshiba's executive vice president of computer systems group said that work should be something you do not a place to go. In that respect - wireless connectivity is a must.

Toshiba is working on future innovations. For example, this has been used in Japan, longer battery life using methanol fuel cells, instead of lithium ion. Instead of a cell phone or notebook computer lasting hours it can possibly last days. The Toshiba exec also showed us an Organic LCD screen. Imagine a Tablet PC on paper! You unroll the "screen" - use a stylus to write on it and when you're done you roll it back up.

The three "small businesses" Peppercorn (pr firm) and architecture company and one other company talked about their use of technology.

The panelists

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