No matter how divine the technology of an all-in-one phone, two vulnerabilities forever hover: human error and mechanical failure. And when so much information is held on one device, the stakes become very high.
Security questions at least are generating entertaining solutions.
Roger Entner at Ovum Research in Boston said carriers will be able to “remotely wipe” any lost phones. In essence, a “Mission: Impossible”-style self-destruct feature.
But what happens when a phone, say, tumbles into a sink? Falls off the roof of a car?
Years of info can just evaporate.
All of Glenda Whitworth’s vital information, addresses, doctor’s appointments, notes and birthdays, were entered into her precious Palm hand-held. One small problem: She forgot to buy a memory card. And when it malfunctioned, every bit of info went bye-bye.
Atlanta real estate agent Stacy Reno has embraced her Treo, using it to electronically unlock the doors of various homes on the market, research properties, and even, during a recent trip to the emergency room, pull up sports scores.
But after dealing with a slew of kinks, she’s on her third model.
“I love this phone,” she said, “when it works.”
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Edited by Curt Wagner ([email protected]) and Kris Karnopp ([email protected])