For one part there is full agreement: The higher than predicted growth in the number of mobile terminals creates great opportunities for the manufacturers of those terminals. For an ever increasing part of the world population it will be essential to communicate (not only by voice, but also with video and data) from different locations with different parties including multimedia databases.

However, as the equipment manufacturer can not address two markets at the same time, the board has to chose between the plan of Mr. Levevre (for the GSM phones + Laptop computers) and the plan of Ms. Jones (for wearable computing/ communication devices).

Defending his strategy for the GSM phones + Laptop computers, Mr. Levevre argues that developments are always evolutionary. Audio will remain the main method of interaction and can be dealt with using a GSM phone. As far as other modalities are required, laptop computers with an PCMCIA card for GPRS will enable web browsing and a some form of video communication. A connection between the phone and the computer will enhance the user friendliness.

Advocating a switch to new wearable computing/ communication devices, Ms. Jones argues that consumers are increasingly objecting to carrying devices in a briefcase; instead they want to wear them like clothes or ornaments. The microphone will be part of the collar or necklace. Small earphones let one hear the music from a Sony Memory Stick and the other party in a (tele)conversation. Special eye glasses let one view any visual information including video. New wireless solutions like Bluetooth will connect the wearable computing/ communication devices.

What is your advice? Choose for what kind of devices (you believe) the revenues will greatly surpass the costs, either in the near or far future. Try to be as specific as possible. Predict in your report what will be the gadget of the future. Your report should also include a requirements specification of the capabilities and performance (i.e. numbers on delay, reliability, quality) of the device to be marketed.

Your quality as Mobile Multimedia Consultant (i.e. your grade) will be judged from:

• Presence during introductions and participation in discussions.

And, if you have chosen for this assignment, from the effort + quality by which the points below are executed by your engineering firm (i.e. by you and your group):

• Two sheets with bullet points, supporting the relative advantages of the Levevre or Jones strategy, respectively. These sheets will form the starting point of the discussion. It will help you in working out your report.
• The report (already mentioned above) detailing the advice of your engineering firm.
• A 20 minute presentation of your report.
• A management summary of, say, two or three screens, written in HTML, that convinces the board that your choice is the best way to proceed.