In the 19th century, the invention of the telegraph and the telephone forever changed how messages moved around the world. In the 20th century, radio, television, computers and the Internet further revolutionized the near-instantaneous processing and transmission of data.

【B1】 ___________.

Linking it all together? An absence of wires, a wireless age.

Every month, it seems, a new cell phone comes out that’s “smarter” than the last in its ability to gather and transmit a growing amount of data: voice, images, news and more.

Cell phones, or at least the technology behind them, have been around since the 1960s. By the 1980s, mobile phones had evolved but were still “giant, brick-shaped luxury items for geeks or the rich,” said Norm Rose, head of Travel Technology Consulting.

【B2】 ____________.

The Internet also played a large role in shaping the wireless world, changing not only how businesses worked but also how information was shared. Laptop computer and PDA users can now sit down and instantly sync （同步） up on the internet at tens of thousands of “hotpots” in homes, cafes and other high traffic areas nationwide.

【B3】 ____________.

“Everyone is going to be able to tap into this pervasive wireless world,” said Wade Roush, senior editor of Technology Review, pointing to rapidly improving technology and falling prices. “Wireless technologies are going to change the way we communicate with each other.”

Those connected with the wireless world say wireless technologies are in their infancy and may just be beginning a significant growth spurt. Telecommunications companies, meanwhile, are hyping （大肆宣传） a significant mobile network upgrade-dubbed 3G or “Third Generation”—that will let cell phones and other such devices transmit more data, and do it faster than ever before.

【B4】 ____________.

“Smartphones”—cell phones that gather and display information beyond simply sound—have garnered much of the buzz domestically. A new wave of better, faster phones will hit the United States only after 3G or other such networks become a reality, Rose said.

【B5】 ____________.

You will be able to go down to the store and buy almost any piece of consumer electronics, plug it into your wall, it’ll sense your Wi-Fi network and automatically configure itself. It’s going to be one of those technologies that weaves into all facets of our lives.

“We’ll start to think of computing as a natural part of our environment in the same way we might think about heating and air conditioning now,” Roush said, “It’s just always there.”

A. Wi-Fi （wireless-fidelity, 无线保真） is also developing, strong pace, at a steady in ways that its inventors never intended. Engineers are working to incorporate Wi-Fi into cell phones, PDAs and other such devices.

B. Soon, pundits predict, many more consumer electronics - from computers stereos to coffee makers-could electronically connect with one another, as well as with thermostats, watches and other digital devices.

C. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and other wireless technologies work under the same general concept, the differentiating factors typically being the speed and distance a user can move from the base station and still maintain the connection.

D. Even with the tremendous technological improvements in cell phones—sending images, text messages and, of course, sound -such upgrades become moot （无实际意义的） if mobile users cannot always get a clear connection because of an imperfect network.

E. Experts say the 21st century will usher in a second Information Age in which these technologies, and their benefits, will be accessible anytime, anywhere.

F. “Think of the Internet, back in 1995-1996,” said Norm Rose. “Wireless and mobile technology is the next boom. When it takes off, it will be even more disruptive than the Internet.”

G. In the 1990s, cell phones and laptops became less bulky and expensive, new gadgets like personal digital assistants （PDAs） help people better manage their lives electronically, and a growing number of other devices—from kitchen appliances to televisions—began incorporating digital technology.