Wireless Technology and Devices

Cellular Phones
Cellular phones or mobile phones are more convenient than the telephone because with a cellular phone you can talk to anyone on the planet from just about anywhere. These days, cell phones provide an incredible array of functions, and new ones are being added at a breakneck pace. Depending on the cell phone model you can: * Store contact information * Make task or to-do lists * Keep track of appointments and set reminders * Use the built-in calculator for simple math * Send or receive e-mail * Get information (news, entertainment, stock quotes) from the Internet * Play games * Watch TV * Send text messages * Integrate other devices such as PDAs, MP3 players and GPS receivers
ADVANTAGES:
* Makes communication much easier * It is much more portable than the telephone
DISADVANTAGES:
* Students nowadays, spend much more time in communicating with their friends rather than doing their obligations like chores and school works. * Reliance on technology * Vocabulary. Due to the newly formed language “Jejemon”, many students forget the correct spelling of both the simple and complex words.
GPS (Global Positioning System)
The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based navigation system made up of a network of 24 satellites placed into orbit by the U.S. Department of Defense. GPS was originally intended for military applications, but in the 1980s, the government made the system available for civilian use. GPS works in any weather conditions, anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day. There are no subscription fees or setup charges to use GPS.
ADVANTAGES:
* You will know the right path to take, especially when you get lost at a certain place wherein you’re not familiar with, to get out of there and return to the place where you started or you’re familiar with. * Helps you to find your location easily.
DISADVANTAGES:
* Loss of sense of direction * Too much reliance on technology * Not always reliable because the GPS cannot detect traffic and other road problems.
USB
A USB flash drive is a data storage device that consists of flash memory with an integrated Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface. USB flash drives are typically removable and rewritable, and physically much smaller than a floppy disk. Most weigh less than 30 g (1 oz). Storage capacities in 2010 can be as large as 256 GB with steady improvements in size and price per capacity expected. Some allow 1 million write or erase cycles and offer a 10-year shelf storage time. USB flash drives are often used for the same purposes for which floppy disks or CD-ROMs were used. They are smaller, faster, have thousands of times more capacity, and are more durable and reliable because of their lack of moving parts.
ADVANTAGES:
* It’s much more portable than the former CD or diskette. * It’s much more easier to use
DISADVANTAGES:
* When your USB receives a virus, all your files will be corrupted.
Wi-Fi Technology
A way to get Internet access, the term Wi Fi is a play upon the decades-old term HiFi that describes the type of output generated by quality musical hardware, Wi Fi stands for Wireless Fidelity and is used to define any of the wireless technology in the IEEE 802.11 specification - including (but not necessarily limited to) the wireless protocols 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g. The Wi-Fi Alliance is the body responsible for promoting the term and its association with various wireless technology standards.
ADVANTAGES:
* It makes connecting to the internet much easier.
DISADVANTAGES:
* Open or prone to viruses because anyone has an access to it.
Laptop
A laptop, also called a notebook, is a personal computer for mobile use. A laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device (a touchpad, also known as a track pad, and/or a pointing stick) and speakers into a single unit. A laptop is powered by mains electricity via an AC adapter, and can be used away from an outlet using a rechargeable battery.
ADVANTAGES:
* You can bring it anywhere. Unlike the personal computer which you can’t carry around. * The laptops are compact. The single laptop contains, your monitor, CPU, speakers, keyboard, mouse and everything else a normal computer contains. * It doesn’t use too much space.
DISADVANTAGES:
* We should not use laptop in our lap for a long time. Since the heat produced by laptop will flow into our body and affect our health. * Upgrading a laptop is not possible.
IPad
The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc. primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. Its size and weight falls between those of contemporary smartphones and laptop computers. The iPad runs the same operating system as the iPod Touch and iPhone—and can run its own applications as well as iPhone applications. Without modification, the iPad will only run programs approved by Apple and distributed via the Apple App Store (with the exception of programs that run inside the iPad's web browser). Like iPhone and iPod Touch, the iPad is controlled by a multitouch display—a departure from most previous tablet computers, which used a pressure-triggered stylus—as well as a virtual onscreen keyboard in lieu of a physical keyboard. The iPad uses a wireless local area network ("Wi-Fi") connection to access local area networks and the Internet. Some models also have a 3G wireless network interface which can connect to HSPA or EV-DO data networks and on to the Internet. The device is managed and synced by iTunes running on a personal computer via USB cable.
ADVANTAGES:
* It is convenient because you can bring it anywhere and it doesn’t take up too much space when you put ii in your bag.
DISADVANTAGES:
* An IPad is a touch screen type of computer. So when you don’t take good care of its screen, you will have a hard time using it afterwards.
Mac Book
The Apple MacBook is a brand of Macintosh notebook computers built by Apple Inc. and designed by Apple SVP Jonathan Ive. First introduced in May 2006, it replaced the iBook and 12-inch PowerBook series of notebooks as a part of the Apple–Intel transition. Positioned as the low end of the MacBook family, the Apple MacBook was aimed at the consumer and education markets. It is the best-selling Macintosh in history, and according to the sales-research organization NPD Group in October 2008, the mid-range model of the MacBook was the single best-selling laptop of any brand in U.S. retail stores for the preceding five months.
ADVANTAGES:
* Like the laptop, it is also easy to carry around, anywhere and anytime.
DISADVANTAGES:
* High cost. Compared to a Windows machine with similar features it is very overpriced. * Cannot remotely play CD, DVD, and also cannot use the iTunes Remote Compact Disc Media.
IPod
IPod is a line of portable media players created and marketed by Apple and designed by Jonathan Ive announced on October 23, 2001, and released on November 10, 2001. As with many other digital music players, iPods can also serve as external data storage devices. Storage capacity varies by model, ranging from 2 GB for the iPod Shuffle to 160 GB for the iPod Classic.
ADVANTAGES:
* It is a small gadget so you can bring it anywhere you like. * Depending on its features but other IPods can download not only songs but also movies, photos, videos, etc.
DISADVANTAGES:
* In order to charge it, when its battery is already drained, you will be needing to open your personal computer.

MP3 Players
The MP3 player is the most recent in an evolution of music formats that have helped consumers enjoy their tunes. Records, 8-track tapes, cassette tapes and CDs -- none of these earlier music formats provide the convenience and control that MP3 players deliver. With an MP3 player in hand or pocket, a consumer can create personalized music lists and carry thousands of songs wherever they go. All of that stored music and the MP3 player itself fit into a device that, in some cases, weighs less than one ounce. Portability is a large factor in the popularity of the MP3, considering the ease of transportation in comparison to a CD player and CD storage case. In addition, some devices provide additional technology, like video and photo viewing, alarm and calendar functions, and even cell phone and Internet service.
ADVANTAGES:
* You can listen to music anywhere and anytime you like.
DISADVANTAGES:
* Most of the MP3s I know, it only downloads songs or music. It doesn’t have the capacity to download movies unlike the IPod.
Tablet
A tablet personal computer or tablet PC is a tablet-sized computer that also has the key features of a full-size personal computer. A tablet PC is essentially a small laptop computer, equipped with a rotatable touch screen as an additional input device, and running a standard (or lightly adapted) PC operating system like Windows or Linux. The term was made popular with the Microsoft Tablet PC concept presented by Microsoft in 2001. Today, the term tablet is also used to refer to computer-like devices operated primarily by a touch screen but not intended to run general PC operating systems or applications.
ADVANTAGES:
* It is small, so it can easily fit in your bag without taking too much space. * It is portable so you can bring or carry it anywhere.
DISADVANTAGES:
* Just like the IPad, it has a touch screen feature to be able to use it. So if you don’t take good care of it, it will easily be destroyed.
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple and designed by Jonathan Ive. An iPhone can function as a video camera (video recording was not a standard feature until the iPhone 3GS was released), a camera phone, a portable media player, and an Internet client with email and web browsing capabilities, can send texts and receive visual voicemail, and has both Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity. The user interface is built around the device's multi-touch screen, including a virtual keyboard rather than a physical one. Third-party as well as Apple application software is available from the App Store, which launched in mid-2008 and now has over 425,000[2] "apps" approved by Apple. These apps have diverse functions, including games, reference, GPS navigation, social networking, security and advertising for television shows, films, and celebrities.
ADVANTAGES:
* An IPhone is like other cellphones only it has a touch screen feature. * It has more applications than a regular cellphone because of its great capacity. * It is like a mini tablet or mini IPad so it’s more convenient and portable to carry anywhere
DISADVANTAGES:
* You can’t upgrade the phone’s memory. * Don’t allow users to transfer data and information from the PC to the device through a USB cable without using applications like iPhoto and iTunes.
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a proprietary open wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances (using short wavelength radio transmissions in the ISM band from 2400-2480 MHz) from fixed and mobile devices, creating personal area networks (PANs) with high levels of security. Created by telecoms vendor Ericsson in 1994,[1] it was originally conceived as a wireless alternative to RS-232 data cables. It can connect several devices, overcoming problems of synchronization.
ADVANTAGES:
* It can be seen in cellphones so you can share photos, videos, music through the Bluetooth application. * It is sort of like a Wi-Fi technology because you just have to activate it and you can use it anywhere.
DISADVANTAGES:
* A Bluetooth application can also detect viruses that can corrupt your gadget or your device.
SOURCES:

http://www.howstuffworks.com http://www8.garmin.com http://en.wikipedia.org http://www.wi-fihotspotlist.com http://www.pubarticles.com http://www.mylot.com http://www.xomba.com
http://bindapple.com