Despite the bad news, even the most bearish industry-watchers are optimistic that when the economic outlook brightens, corporate and consumer demand will rebound. New wireless data services, for one. Although the current raft of data services have been a bust, tech analysts say the next generation will be better tailored to consumer devices. Instead of being able to read a Web page on your phone, you'll instantly access road conditions, directions, and local services on a handheld. Digital photography could be another huge growth area, since it eliminates the need to buy film or pay for development.
Digital photography offers the prospect of high quality for less money.
Finally, there's improved connectivity for the gadgets we already have. Rather than keeping phone numbers in your cell phone, your PDA, and your PC address book, new wireless technologies, such as BlueTooth, will allow gadget owners to sync all their information and access it from wherever they are. What we need is more and better connectivity. Lisette Fernandez is all ears. I'm looking forward to a time when everything works together better.