Wherever, whenever digital German version Cool, cooler, iPod: mobile devices like Apple's cult player are the sought-after carriers of digital lifestyle. During the session "Wherever, whenever digital" we learned how the future of wireless devices is going to look like. We also discussed the way how manufacturers can successfully place their products on the market: people must be able to control technology - not vice versa. "View what you want, when you want it - and share it with your friends" John Marcom, Senior Vice President International, Yahoo! With 270 million users worldwide, Yahoo! is one of the biggest web portals. Their secret of success? "We regard ourselves as a partner who helps users to find what they are looking for", says John Marcom. "Multimedia, blogging and other community activities more and more become part of our everyday life. We react upon this." With a video search, for example, which Yahoo! will offer in the near future. Also, Yahoo! wants to distinguish itself as a content provider. Talking to moderator Marcel Reichart, Marcom had an optimistic outlook for the future: "Broadband Internet will speed up our business all over the world." Moreover, the Internet advertising market in the USA has already been blown up and Marcom expects "that this is going to happen soon in Germany as well". According to Marcom, this development is inevitable: "When a manufacturer sees that users don't watch TV anymore but use the Internet instead, then he will move to the communities on the Web." "It's co-operation that makes us successful" Maximilian Schröder, Research In Motion "Crackberry", "Gameboy for managers" - you can already see it with its nicknames: the Blackberry is cult. Why it is so, Maximilian Schröder explained using himself as an example: "I am writing 150 emails a day on the Blackberry and receive up to 300." Retrieving and answering emails everywhere - in Germany alone, 400,000 customers of Research In Motion want to do this. The Blackberry-manufacturer does not only produce the hardware, they also provide software-platforms for other mobile devices like Nokia, Siemens or Motorola. In the future, says Schröder, radio standards as wireless LAN or UMTS will make email exchange even faster and more comfortable. Schröder is not afraid of competitors: "We have the experience others are lacking. And we concentrate on developing standards which can be used by other providers for their own applications. That is: we focus on co-operation, not on competition." "We are the interface between the human being and the PC" Gregor Bieler, Regional Director GSA, Logitech Keyboards, soundsystems, steering wheels for PCs and consoles: Logitech produces far more than just computer mouses. For the future, the company focuses totally on wireless connections, says Gregor Bieler talking to Axel Burkert, Editor-in-Chief at CHIP Online - at the PC as well as in the digital living room. "The world will become wireless", according to Bieler who also wants to provide fans of computer games with totally new experiences. For example, not only movements shall be felt on the steering wheel controller via vibration feedback. In the future, PC pilots shall also be able to smell the games. At present, Logitech is developing an appropriate system together with a partner company. "You will be able to smell the burned rubber of the tires", announced Bieler. A comfort to traditionalists: despite all new features the good old mouse will not die. On the one hand nothing better is in sight, says Bieler. On the other hand, to date only 13 per cent of all Germans own a wireless mouse: "Therefore, we also still have a big future in this sector as well." "Digital will take hold - just because it is fun" Wolfram Fischer, Managing Director, Hewlett-Packard GmbH Sound, photos, videos, everywhere and accessible for everyone: how digital life can already look like today was shown by Wolfram Fischer using a short movie. He is convinced that "work and pastime will more and more grow together. We are just standing at the beginning of digital lifestyle." Fischer spread optimism and an atmosphere of departure. "Internet, mobile networks and digitization open up a whole bunch of new business segments. People love digital products, the more so as they are affordable now." But computer manufacturers have to react upon the new trends. For Wolfram Fischer it is not important anymore to make PCs even faster and increasingly powerful. The reason: "The computer industry changes into the consumer electronics industry." Not the devices but the content will, according to Fischer, be responsible for success or failure in the future. The devices will have to make sure that "the user will not be drowned in the daily increasing flood of information." Love via photo-cellphone The "Young" movie: Digital Lifestyle can be that attractive A nice present for the guests at the Digital Lifestyle Day 05: the producers of "Young" presented a short movie which is starring - besides Supermodel Eva Padberg - a photo-cellphone. Director Jan Reiff shot the funny love story within one week and therewith surprised also the actors. "Amazing how the finished movie looks like", said Eva Padberg who was celebrated like her film partners Daniel Fünffrock and Silvana Bayer. Such a success has to be continued: "Young" Editor-in-Chief Jürgen Stollberg already plans a "Young Video Festival". "Multimedia in the car is no utopia - but safety is first" Herbert Kohler, Head of Research, DaimlerChrysler The iPod in the car will be available in June. And it will cost less than 200 Euros to integrate it. This was announced by Herbert Kohler talking to "FOCUS" Editor-in-Chief Uli Bauer. Fact is: the access to digital lifestyle in the car has already begun. Herbert Kohler showed the guests at the Digital Lifestyle Day how it will go on: with GPS-controlled services where car drivers inform each other about traffic jams. With Internet in the car (when the speed of transmission is acceptable). With malfunction diagnosis via Internet which will cut down the time one has to spend at the garage. Pretty cool, isn't it? But that's not all. "The reader in the car who tells the driver selected information is about to come", announced Herbert Kohler. "Also, the car which smells and feels is already tested." Radar-functions for a better view at night and sensors in the car which react upon tiredness of the driver are also no dreams of the future anymore. "The functions will come step by step", said Herbert Kohler. "Our strength is innovation, but not at the cost of safety. "With all developments the highest priority is: the driver must not be annoyed. And like the previous speakers Herbert Kohler added a point which is crucial for the customer: "The technology has to be usable." In the best case just as easy as the iPod. Uwe Baltner, Xonio.com Last Updated 04. March 2005