Smart Wireless Headset pro is part of Sony Mobile Communications' strategy to create Smart Extras that make Android smartphones smarter.

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But cybersecurity experts said some types of meters can be hacked, as can other points in the Smart Grid's communications systems.

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Along with Microsoft's new generation of Internet-oriented software, users will need other non-software technologies tailored for the Web, such as broadband access, wireless communications, smart cards, phones with large screens, handheld computers and PCs with integrated microphones and cameras, Gates said.

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But just as Intel made a fortune out of that law through innovation and economies of scale, so can communications companies if they get smart.

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One scheme called Londonet, devised by Alistair Jeffs and his team, suggests using smart cards, global positioning satellites, wireless communications and real-time personal information devices to revolutionise how Londoners go about their lives.

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The Smart Grid will use automated meters, two-way communications and advanced sensors to improve electricity efficiency and reliability.

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Unlike do-everything smart phones, the Aura is designed for voice and text communications only.

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As valuable as is the tinkering with thermodynamics and mechanics, the revolution that the hardware suppliers are complicit in enabling comes from the addition and full integration of microprocessors--making dumb hardware smart, and most importantly, adding the native ability to connect to communications networks via BlueTooth and Zigbee, LONworks, Ethernet and the Internet.

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The boom in data-intensive devices like smart phones and netbooks is straining wireless networks across the U.S. The Federal Communications Commission has pledged to make 500 megahertz of spectrum available for mobile broadband over the next decade.

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