Remember when having 32MB of RAM was something to brag about? Ten years ago, tech-savvy types crow-ed about their computers. The fastest, most robust computers cost a pretty penny, and the best monitors were as big as televisions—and as heavy, too.
These days, desktops and notebooks with computing power that puts those old workhorses to shame are ridiculously cheap, and showing off your latest PC is embarrassingly passé. So, in keeping with the American tradition of boasting about our stuff, we've got a fashionable new class of products to vaunt to our friends, neighbors, clients, and business associates: handheld computing and communications devices.
Handheld gadgets are commonplace these days. Most people own cell phones, and many have PDAs. To make a real statement with the digital devices you carry, you have to know which ones offer the most prestige. Devices with wireless capabilities can plug into mobile phone and Wi-Fi networks, as well as connect directly to other devices. If a device is equipped with infrared beaming, for instance, it could be a programmable remote control, a PDA with peer-to-peer data beaming, or a game console that can interact with other consoles nearby. Wireless can also mean that one part of the gadget can connect to another sans cable: Music connoisseurs can listen to their MP3 players via Bluetooth-enabled ear buds, and telephone users don't have to fuss with headset cables.
Handheld Advantages
Using handheld devices to trade in the currency of status offers several advantages. First, even two and a half years after the official end of a recession, the economy is still fostering the "Lipstick Sales Factor." That is, small business owners and consumers tend to buy a variety of little things, spread out over time, instead of concentrating on big-ticket purchases. This means that if a new car—or even a new suit—isn't in your bud-get, you can still make a strong statement using a cool new device during meetings and lunches.
This leads to the second advantage, which is the casual presence of these devices. Relying on a larger item such as a car or an entertainment system to convey a sense of personal power means that you have to engineer situations in which clients or associates actually see and experience your possessions. You can use small digital devices, however, during casual conversation.
Another advantage is the visual appeal of these small gadgets. Manufacturers take care to design these products to be not just small and lightweight, but also sleek and eye-catching, often more unique than the ubiquitous silver-and-black box the size of a cigarette case.
If you prefer a distinctly American take on wearable computers, Richard-son, Tex.,-based watchmaker Fossil has two new watches to keep an eye on, so to speak. The Fossil Palm Wrist PDA is a Palm Computing device in the form of a watch: It has everything found in a handheld Palm device (contacts, date book, memo pad, drop-down menus, alarm reminder window for recurring appointments, and a stylus integrated with the wrist strap), plus a selection of time and date displays to create personalized watch faces. The Fossil Microsoft Wrist Net (the higher-end model is aptly named the Dick Tracy) connects to Microsoft's MSN Direct service, which delivers weather information, appointments, and other data based on your interests and current location
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