EVEN as the Philippines owns the distinction of being the world's text messaging or Short Message Service (SMS) capital, so too are more sophisticated mobile applications such as mobile banking and Wireless Application Protocol-based services already emerging in the country. This level of technology adoption supposedly makes the Philippines ripe for pervasive computing, according to an IBM Software executive.

"I'm amazed by the level of penetration of pervasive computing devices here," said Erik Elzerman, IBM Singapore Pte Ltd general manager for Software for Asean/South Asia. "Of course, it's an economic issue, as well, because the PC is still relatively expensive here."

IBM has been pushing the concept of pervasive computing as the new wave of information technology and the next evolutionary step for e-businesses. In the pervasive computing vision, non-PC mobile devices would predominantly be used to connect to the web and to each other. These devices would include personal digital assistants, smart cards, single-chip systems, and, of course, a natural candidate in the cellular phone.

The Philippines has been dubbed the world's text messaging capital with reportedly 40 million text messages exchanged daily, according to the two major operators Globe Telecom and Smart. This never fails to amaze foreigners, particularly those from Western countries where SMS is a largely unused digital phone feature. Now, operators are hoping to leverage on the Filipino passion for mobile phone services with WAP, even though WAP phones are still expensive and local WAP content is still not widely available.

As the new person overseeing IBM's software business in the region, Elzerman is keen on the mobile explosion in Asia. Though IBM of course also manufactures the hardware for pervasive computing, such as the IBM Workpad which licenses 3Com's Palm OS, wearable PCs and next-generation silicon-germanium chips, it is IBM's software solutions that would help these pervasive devices communicate with one another.

"We will concentrate on providing the infrastructure. There are people who were in the gold rush, and there are people who built the shovels to help them strike gold," he said. "My thrust here in the region is basically to take advantage of the opportunities presented by pervasive computing here and leverage on the existing infrastructure. We are very keen on pervasive computing and we will be working even more closely with business partners in the region, particularly for co-marketing."

According to research firm International Data Corp., by 2001 there will be 48 million non-PC Internet devices. By 2002, 50 percent of the sales of web-enabled devices would supposedly be non-PC.

As Elzerman and analysts have pointed out, Asia and North Western Europe are likely to be the leaders in pervasive computing and mobile e-services, as the use of wireless network services is more pervasive and sophisticated in these areas.

"It's really the level of penetration of pervasive computing devices-just the sheer volume. If you compare Asia with the United States, the US is still trying to deal with the fixed line infrastructure, not mobile networks," he pointed out.