A device that provides over-the-air data transmission. The term typically refers to a 3G or 4G modem (see
cellular modem). It may also refer to Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Some of the first wireless data services were CDPD, DataTAC, Mobitex and Ricochet. Also in the past, with the right cables, certain cellphones could become wireless modems for computers, but not often. See
wireless glossary,
CDPD,
DataTAC,
Mobitex and
Ricochet.
Early Wireless on a Palm PDA
In 1999, the New York-based YadaYada service enabled the Palm user to retrieve websites via wireless.