News flash — courtesy of your local Wi-Fi hot spot at the Starbucks near Orchard Road and Interstate 25, Greenwood Village, Colorado — “we are about to witness the emergence of revolutionary new services offered through wireless handsets.”

Here we go again. Another self-proclaimed Web-based expert thinking he has discovered the magic bullet to revolutionize the wireless industry. This was sent to me by Modezilla (www.modezilla.com). Now, I haven't a clue who this is, so I did a bit of research. After all, how can one not believe such a self-confident statement?

It seems Modezilla is “an online newsletter and strategic communications firm serving mobile, wireless, and personal technology companies.” According to the company's spiel: “Our products are an excellent source of information covering the developers, markets, companies, and trends in these industries.” It further go on to state that: “Modezilla is a partnership made up of seasoned technology executives who are dedicated to serving our clients by publishing quality industry-specific material on mobile, wireless, and personal technology matters.”

Well, OK … according to them, they know the answer. So does: In-stat MDR's (www.instat.com) report — Multi-Modality Key to Unlocking the Wireless Internet's Future; Frost and Sullivan (www.frost.com) — “It seems 2003 will be the year when the mobile instant messaging (MIM) market will start to emerge,” Mobile & Wireless Solutions, (www.mobileandwireless.com) — “Mobile and wireless management software will explode,” The Computer Wire (www.computerwire.info/market.watch) report — “Sales Force Automation: The First Killer Wireless Application,” and so on, and so on, and so on. Heck, even I know the answer — 42 —, according to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy!

The problem, however, is that such crystal-balling is becoming pleonastic now-a-days. Almost every day I get something similar. Some from sources I'm familiar with, others from flashes-in-the-pan, here today, gone tomorrow, former dot-commies. Frankly, I hardly respond with more than a yawn anymore.

And, therein lies the danger. I have to think I'm not the only one who responds that way.

When I got this e-mail, I went out on the Net and did a search for “killer wireless applications.” Google gave me over 78,000 results, AltaVista just over 29,000, and LookSmart about 10,000. Of course, some (likely most) of these links are outdated. But the Modezilla stuff is current, meaning that the “killer app” mentality still exists.

Now, I understand that the going is tough, given the present state of our wireless doldrums. I also understand that during such times, tough creative minds get going. But I'm concerned that the killer app mentality isn't in the industry's (or consumers') best interests, at present.

I was becoming convinced that our industry had gotten beyond the “killer app” mentality. That we had found solid ground and visions of grandeur had finally evaporated. That we realized the issues of coverage, interoperability, protocols, transmission technologies, bandwidth and a myriad of other stumbling blocks still impede ubiquitous, reliable wireless communications.

The above sentence is a fact. And given that, a logical assumption would be to work on the issues, rather than present pie-in-the-sky services and functions that may be technologically plausible and consumer-centric somewhere down the road.

If the principals of Modezilla are indeed visionaries who are “seasoned technology executives dedicated to serving our clients by publishing quality industry-specific material on mobile, wireless, and personal technology matters” (their words, not mine) then I'm disappointed. Because “seasoned technology executives” in this industry should know better.

In recent columns I have talked about creative solutions to jump-starting the industry — 2Scoot Networks (www.2scoot.com), Wi-Fi hotspots, and 802.11 WLANs. These solutions offer far more opportunities, because they already exist — they are tangible, proven and they work (although some are still in trial states).

Undoubtedly, many of these future “killer apps” — such as wireless video gaming, intelligent transportation services, unique “content”-based services, even wireless interoperability among Bluetooth and Wi-Fi and whatever survives the wireless apocalypse — will become reality. But shouldn't we first build a solid base, make what we have (voice, and the Internet) work and give consumers some confidence that what exists will work, reliably?

It's easy to be a visionary when there's plenty of money to go around. But during the down-times, the road to up-times has to first be built, then paved with solid, workable technologies and services — then you have the luxury of having visions.