Better access to wireless, digital lifestyle tech essential

This is one of the challenges associated with the current slump in worldwide economies.

At the same time the advent and growth in mobile technologies represents a real avenue of opportunity.

Independent research house Gartner hosted a symposium during the first quarter of this year under the theme 'emerging trends'.

Among the outcomes discussed was the assertion that 68% of the world's population is women and children - this market is identified as a key priority in terms of the transfer of benefit associated with mobile & wireless infrastructure.

Education is key

Emerging generations of users of technology must have access to infrastructure now if they are to seriously engage and interface with global markets of the future.

As such one of our main objectives, from an ICT sector perspective, is to ensure the roll-out of as much technology as possible in order to skill up a wider base of end users.

The principle is straightforward: the more product/ basic infrastructure available, the more opportunity there is for direct tuition and practical education.

It is encouraging to see that whilst many technology vendors across the world are intensifying their emphasis on 'green consciousness' in research and development, there is also a strong focus on skills development and transfer.

Evidence of this can be seen in the higher levels of functionality in newly introduced product, improved levels of connectivity and more practical ergonomic structures. It all points to ease-of-use, a concerted effort to ensure that users experience as little difficulty in managing their devices as possible.

All-in-one versatility

This trend has helped to boost the proliferation of netbooks, for example, a growing segment of the market that shows immense promise as a channel for the distribution and supply of cost effective, feature-rich mobile solutions.

Added to this is the benefit of the increase in adoption of robust wireless technologies such as 3G, 4G, HSDPA and much more.

Manufacturers are paying closer attention to the user requirements for versatility in devices.

This means that users do not have to invest more capital into increasing memory or capacity and being able to take advantage of the versatility of the device. The concept of 'all-in-one' is being taken to the market very aggressively.

The idea is that by presenting the user with more wireless ports, with aesthetic, ergonomic and higher capacity solutions, there is the opportunity to really use technology on a far broader scale than ever before.

Remote connectivity, access to resources like the Internet and e-mail is changing the way we interact and respond privately, as well as in the formal business sense.

Now people from all walks of life, from various backgrounds can tap into the benefits that stem from the ability to retrieve, store, manipulate and manage large volumes of multimedia.

The application of technology within the education environment is the cornerstone of international approaches to skills development.

Anytime, anywhere

The fact is that the latest mobile infrastructure, from notebooks to PDAs, is geared towards independent, anytime, anywhere personal computing. Teachers, lecturers, students and learners are being supplied with digital equipment to fulfill their responsibilities.

Infrastructure from desktop PCs to notebooks to video conferencing has underlined the importance of interaction and multilevel, multimedia instruction. There is so much that can be achieved if we network and link those who need skills with that which can provide it.

However, we still need to walk before we can run, and the immediate need is to provide basic infrastructure (hardware and software, digital equipment) and then progress to more intricate, technology based hubs and centres.

It is clear that technology, specifically mobile and wireless, will continue to shape the quality of education for the future.