Ski Jackets with GPS Tracking? 2-way voice bracelets?

Ski jackets with GPS tracking? How about bracelets that have 2-way voice capabilities linking patients to medical facilities. These are just a few examples of how wireless technology is dramatically changing our lives.

More than fifteen thousand attendees are expected at this year's fall CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment 2006 in Los Angeles September 12 - 14.

The conference has a jam-packed schedule of seminars and keynotes and an exhibition hall showcasing the latest in wireless technology and product offerings.

With the explosion of wireless technology, the conference will have seminars of interest to the entertainment industry, as well as medical, healthcare, government, automotive, and retail. Additionally, the CTIA show reflects the growth in wireless entertainment - encompassing everything from music downloads to digital cameras to interactive games.

The technology behind many applications that James Bond would love is being developed by some of the companies exhibiting at CTIA this year. Telit Wireless Solutions is one group that has GPS embedded products. Telit is projecting to sell more than ten million GPS units in 2007 a 32% jump in annual growth rate in sales.

Irvine, California based Networks In Motion offers a location-based application called FamilyFinder, that enables parents to locate their children using a secure Web site or cell phone and PhotoFinder(TM), which adds location-based geocoding and advanced photo management features to GPS-enabled mobile camera phones.

Major U.S. telecommunications companies are using the Networks In Motion platform to launch location-based, real-time navigation services on GPS-enabled mobile phones. The platform delivers voice-prompted turn-by-turn directions with auto-rerouting if a turn is missed, as well as local search of points of interest and detailed color maps that can be quickly panned and zoomed.

Watching live TV on your cell phone? It's already possible, but new advances in technology are increasing the video reception quality and making it even easier to increase viewing time so you can watch your favorite programming wherever you are.

Companies such as Lake Forest, California's Newport Media are making advances in mobile broadcast media targeting the rapidly growing mobile digital TV market. It is projected that more than 500 million broadcast mobile TV-enabled handsets will ship by the end of 2011.

And what's all the fuss about Voice-Over-IP when there are advances being made in Video-Over-IP. San Jose, California's
Cypress Semiconductor Corporation (NYSE:CY) has announced that version 2.0 of Altera Corporation's award-winning Video Over IP reference design employs its Cypress SD/DVB-ASI Video Equalizers, providing a complete interface solution to distribute video over Internet protocol (IP).

Stay tuned for more tech news from CTIA.