It wasn't even supermodel Naomi Campbell, who turned dozens of heads as she listened to sessions on the digital divide and how to close it. No, the hands-down winner of the popularity contest this year is Compaq's iPAQ pocket computer. Presidents, CEOs, finance ministers, and central bank governors seem to be spending almost as much time playing with their iPAQs as they are trying to figure out how to solve the world's problems. Now, a couple of trillion dollars in market value to the poorer, things are much more subdued. And it's sustained even in North America.
Companies are extremely conscious that systems can take advantage of e-commerce.
True, notes Blackmore, corporate offices are also tightening budgets more as the economy slows. Over the next three years, the number of wireless transactions will grow three times, and the infrastructure growth is not slowing. Consider the securities industry, for example. Ameritrade is now expanding in Europe and Asia. Those are numbers that should make even the industry's most dire Cassandras think twice.