The Personal Mobile Gateway

By Peter Rojas

Rather than offering a combination cellphone/PDA/camera that does tries to do everything in one device, a company called IXI is pushing their idea that people should instead carry a whole bunch of gadgets that use Bluetooth or WiFi to connect together in a little network via a Personal Mobile Gateway, or PMG.

They're hoping that the technology starts to show up in a sorts of mobile gadgets, but right now IXI's line-up includes the neoFone, a cellphone with a built-in mini-router that also serves as the network's connection to the Internet, and the first two PMG Companion gadgets: the neoChat NC-10 (pictured), which does email and instant messaging, and the neoSnap NS-10, a wireless digital camera which can automatically beam photos to a moblog. All three are set to come out in Italy later this month and should hit the US sometime later this year. Assuming that this whole PMG idea catches on (and IXI doesn't go bankrupt), we could also see PMG-compatible wristwatches, pens, and game consoles soon after. Why do we have the weird feeling that the Personal Mobile Gateway is all set to be this year's CueCat?

Recommended