Unless you have a background in juggling or were once in a circus high-wire act, it's likely that you've dropped your wireless phone, pocket PC, or notebook. And we know you've let your morning coffee or midafternoon soda get dangerously close to your portable devices. But when momentary lapses of good sense—or physical coordination—happen, the biggest cost is not that of replacing the devices themselves, but your lost sales and missed meetings, and your company's wasted time and profits.
Business-dollar losses from defunct notebooks, handhelds, and phones are largely anecdotal. But no one doubts that the costs are mounting. Why? The mobile workforce is expected to grow from 35 million people this year to 47 million by 2003, according to IDC. The number of wireless phones people carry will swell from 99.6 million now to 1.4 billion in 2003, says Dataquest. And IDC says the herd of businesspeople toting handheld PCs will surge to 19 million in three years—up from 5.5 million today.
Never before have U.S. workers been so dependent on portable electronics. Design wizards continue to toughen up their digital devices, but hard knocks, spills, and slippery-fingered mishaps continue to disable weaker gadgets.
