OK, now that I’ve retired, I admit to being left behind by advances in mobile technology but it seems clear from searching the internet in regard to “mobile devices” that Australia is also behind the 8-ball. While talk of a “mobile” in Australia invariably relates to a mobile phone, there is another device that is taking off overseas. In researching the availability of an economical hand-held digital device to replace numerous unwieldy paper maps to take on an upcoming trip to New Zealand, I came across something called a MID (Mobile Internet Device). One particular MID that grabbed my attention is available in the US for about $US220 and is capable of running WinCE 6.0 and Android 2.2 OS, and has onboard GPS and WiFi (amongst a myriad of other geeky things). This seemed perfect for my needs and at least a quarter of the cost of a mobile phone with equivalent technology. However, (and please note the following is what my limited knowledge would leave me to believe) while all the video clips heaped praises on the device, it was apparent that its capabilities are totally dependent on the availability of what I call “public internet services”, (e.g. such as being able to access Google Maps to navigate completely without a GPS system) something I believe is probably still a long way off here in Oz? Perhaps I’m just an old skeptic but what sway commercial interests over those of the general public?