Now, however, it looks like one wireless mainstay may eventually be adopted on planes: text messaging.
FORBES: Text Messaging Could Come To Planes And Other In-Flight Wi-Fi News
By 2010, 99.8 percent of the U.S. population was covered by at least one wireless voice network.
But that growth is unlikely now that the U.S. market has become saturated, with more than one wireless device for every person.
Rather than create one flagship Android phone and giving it only to one wireless carrier, Google will reportedly attempt to sell devices directly to consumers and provide them for all networks.
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According to one noted wireless analyst, the demand for mobile broadband will surpass the spectrum available to meet it in mid-2013.
FORBES: Sending the Wrong Signals to the Wireless Marketplace: The Return of the Spectrum Cap
Add one more wireless variety to the list, as FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has confirmed his agency will vote on a proposal for incentive-based auctions of UHF spectrum.
One is a wireless dock: You just set your laptop near the dock within a five-foot range, and it syncs the laptop to a printer, speakers, a monitor or a router.
Just hook up a pair of speakers and an optional subwoofer, and you'll get both the expansive sound of a true stereo system and the instant gratification of a wireless one.
That was the scene at one of Intel's Computex press events today, where the company demoed an interesting use of inductive resonant charging using a concept all-in-one PC and wireless keyboard.
ENGADGET: Intel shows off wireless keyboard that re-juices via resonant charging (video)
During the last two decades, Nokia has invested approximately EUR 43 billion in research and development and built one of the wireless industry's strongest and broadest IPR portfolios, with over 10, 000 patent families.
ENGADGET: Apple and Nokia patent dispute ends with license agreement, Apple payments
Moving right along, Canada's own Telus will be offering yet another new one from Sierra Wireless this March: the AirCard 319U USB modem, a device we recently spotted in the FCC's database.
Although RIM and AOL want to make their deal privately, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates will openly discuss one of the wireless industry's worst-kept secret projects, a Tablet PC that will also feature a persistent wireless connection to home and office networks.
Through these agreements, the cable companies, on the one hand, and Verizon Wireless, on the other, will become agents to sell one another's products and, over time, the cable companies will have the option of selling Verizon Wireless' service on a wholesale basis.
The IOGEAR Wireless Mobile and WiDi to HDTV is one of the first devices to enable wireless streaming from either the smartphone or laptop to the TV.
ENGADGET: IOGEAR wireless access point and computer-to-TV streamer refresh
Rather than make one piece of a wireless system, Pera decided to make the whole thing.
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No one predicted that a wireless application industry serving iPhones, iPads and Androids would blossom in a few years.
It looks like Corsair may have a great solution forthcoming with its all-in-one media server, wireless hub and portable drive.
FORBES: CES: Corsair's Voyager Air Is A Home Networking Multitasker
The device is four products in one: A mobile wireless drive, home network attached storage (NAS), USB drive, and wireless hub.
FORBES: CES: Corsair's Voyager Air Is A Home Networking Multitasker
Even mighty Intel is muscling in, pushing a new standard, dubbed WiMax, that could curb Qualcomm's grip on high-speed wireless, one day.
The San Diego-based tech company has one main driver: wireless technology patents.
FORBES: Is Qualcomm's FLO TV Sale A Sign It Can't Develop Its Own Businesses?
Bharat Biotech sells a single dose of its hepatitis B vaccine for 20 cents and Bharti Airtel provides one of the cheapest wireless telephone services in the world.
It's a great idea, but one reason why this wireless tech has been restricted to nothing but a glorified conceptualization (until recently, anyways) is because no standard had been set.
Even mighty Intel (nasdaq: INTC - news - people ) is muscling in, pushing a new standard, dubbed WiMax, that could curb Qualcomm's grip on high-speed wireless, one day.
In 2000 only a single-digit percentage of kids had a wireless phone, but that changed by 2003, when some estimate one-third of U.S. kids aged 11 to 17 had one (see: " Wee Wireless Warriors").
"Because mobility is a top priority of the consumer, we co-developed an offering that provides a terrific wireless, entertainment and communications experience in one spot, " said Jonathan LeCompte, president, Verizon Wireless Georgia-Alabama Region.
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One of those is 4G wireless infrastructure, in particular chips used in LTE base stations.
FORBES: Integrated Device Tech FY Q4 Tops Street Estimates; Shares Rally
It runs two wireless networks, one for public use and another for airport operations.
On top of that, they're looking at selling a minority position in SFR, which is one of the leading French wireless companies.
The U.S. wireless industry is one of the most fiercely competitive markets in the world and will remain so after this deal.
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