A popular buzzword these days is the 'wired executive', which is used to describe a high-powered, corporate individual who manages life the digital way, works much of the time away from the office, and would not be caught dead with a filofax and Post-It notes. Wired executives are easy to identify. Their pockets sag from the weight of mobile devices, they are never without cell phones and they never leave home without headsets.
Lawrence McDuff, an e-commerce manager with a bank in Hong Kong, is a prime example of this new generation of gadget-laden road warrior. On any given day, Mr McDuff carries a Palm Vx in one of his pockets, a Nokia Communicator 9210 strapped to his hip and a laptop in his briefcase.
The Palm Vx is two-year-old technology and so heavy, it always ruins the line of his suits. But love is blind. Mr McDuff is one of the reasons why Palm Computing dominates more than 80 per cent of the global handheld computer market. Mr McDuff has been through two Palms already, and more than a dozen styluses. He often says, 'My whole life is in here,' while lovingly tapping on his Palm Vx.
Mobile technology has changed the workplace. With the right tools, wired executives like Mr McDuff may not even need to get out of bed in order to work. Today's handheld devices will enable executives to do all their work in their pyjamas. Working on-the-road has also become much easier. Before mobile phones, handheld computers and laptops became affordable, executives were completely dependent on fax machines and fixed-line telephones - things now considered arcane.
With the right personal digital assistants (PDAs), access to the Internet is as easy as speaking. From just one pocket-sized device, users can e-mail, fax, browse the Net and organise themselves. And that's just the beginning. With General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) here today and the promise of 3G only a couple of years away, more and more executives are becoming thirsty for true, high-speed wireless Internet. Here are some devices every wired executive should own:
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