The wireless industry is notorious for advancing and evolving at a modest pace; a process that doesn't satisfy eager manufacturers when they wish to develop and launch the latest “all-singing-all-dancing” new wireless gadget. Moreover, consumers inevitably find themselves somewhat ambivalent to the next-generation thing. It must both appease and frustrate them, since they've presumably had ample opportunity to become familiar with one particular set of technology traits and idiosyncrasies only to be duly informed that they will soon have to embrace and understand the next generation. This process is unavoidable, and yet it can be incredibly exciting for some.

In this final chapter, we review and summarize The Handbook of Personal Area Networking Technologies and Protocols. We'll paraphrase our journey so far, and use an anecdotal narrative to reinforce what we have learned and perhaps discover what may happen next.

Making Sense of Wireless Technology

We started our journey with Part I, “What’s in Your Area Network?,” where we offered a broad perspective of what constitutes a personal area network and what external factors influence its dynamics. We explored how wireless technology existed for over 100 years whilst avoiding a lengthy history lesson. We further learned more about the nineteenth-century wireless secret and discovered that a simple development model, Interoperability, Coexistence, and Experience (ICE) may be used to aid innovators of future wireless products. The wireless communication industry is still mastering how to inject ease of use and transparency into their products. A seamless experience still escapes most wireless-enabled products today and, alas, we will continue to embrace and witness only modest advances in the overall usability factor. The wireless personal area network domain is arguably crowded with multiple technologies, and there seems to be a duplication of technologies and applications, all eager to grab our attention and convince us to buy-in to their particular choice; their way of working, if you like. You may also recall we played devil’s advocate when we contentiously entertained the possibility of a “one-size-fits-all” technology with wireless convergence; something we have already started to witness with several semiconductor manufacturers converging multiple technologies into a single chip. Is this merely speculation; will we start to witness a shift to a single technology, or does our assorted mix have a unique function to perform?