Meanwhile, Digital Ink Inc. of Wellesley, Massachusetts, has developed a pen and base unit with technology to track a users' movements when they write on paper. An image of the handwriting is stored in the pen itself, and can be connected to an advanced cell phone or PC to be transmitted to Digital Ink's Web site. There it can be stored, translated into computer characters, e-mailed or faxed elsewhere, said Ilya Schiller, president of the company. Hence, many DEMO exhibitors are focusing on telephones. For example, an airline might use the software to call travelers to tell them a flight had been canceled, and let them rebook seats on the flight by following instructions from an automated attendant.
Location is important in other ways.
Many product makers are betting on new improvements in wireless networks and other key pieces of infrastructure. And some start-ups hope to change the infrastructure on their own. Some of the innovations require complex partnerships. And that's a far cry from the early days of the Internet, when isolated Web sites were the rage. But it's a little harder, because the value is created more in integrating multiple things than creating one thing.