Using data on digital cellular and PCS voice networks

Many new digital cellular and personal communications services (PCS) networks that provide both voice and data communication capabilities are being installed in the United States and around the world. Current cellular and PCS handsets primarily target voice telephony, but the next generation will also support data services. In this paper we review the current offerings in wireless handsets that support both voice and data services and also present our design for a next-generation wireless handset. We discuss the tradeoffs in selecting an operating system and input device, and in designing a user interface. The physical design of our user interface and the wired network infrastructure support applications such as telephone directory, electronic mail, and Web browsing. The result is a small, user-friendly handset featuring handwriting recognition, foldable video graphics adapter (VGA)-sized liquid crystal display (LCD) screens, and the Inferno™ operating system.