ions of dollars of infrastructure investment, it is ultimately the appeal of a coolconsumer gadget phone that motivates consumers to fuel the market by replacing old phones and by replacing old service plans with more suitable (and more expensive) ones. Learning from the example of cellular networks, other technologies with obvious business applications are finding their warmest reception in the hands of gadget- savvy consumers. For example, Bluetooth is a Personal Area Network (PAN) technology with numerous business applications for data transfer and device synchronization, but the engine driving Bluetooth's development is the wireless earpiece one can purchase from any local electronics store. In another example, the various developments on the 802.x wireless Ethernet (what we will generically refer to as WiFi) realized its greatest success when Starbucks adopted it in 2001 to provide Video Communications: The Whole Picture patrons with another reason to pay top dollar for coffee. In doing so, Starbucks became one of the largest national wireless broadband providers (might that make Starbucks an MVNO?). Similarly, other technologies are poised to take a significant role in the future of multimedia communications and, not surprisingly, most of these target the consumer space. Wearable Networks It has begun. Motorola announced, early in 2005, that it was designing embedded communications solutions into high-end sports gear-specifically snowboarder gear. Moreover, the whole solution is networked using Bluetooth radio technology. The idea of wearable computers is not new; it is just timely given the state of technology development. Although wearable computers were conceptualized years ago, the idea of networked components is an intelligent and workable solution that will yield benefits to countless consumers and businesses through the introduction of wearable communications products in 2005 and beyond. Handheld Communications Devices Get "Pumped Up" While the mobile telephone replaces wired telephones for many, sma