DALLAS, Jul 19, 2003/ FW/ --- Has this ever happened to you at the shows: you're already seated, with your notepad and pen in hand, and then the show is delayed for one reason or another.

A good time to check email or the news, even your company website if they have printed the reviews you have written. But going back to the press room is not feasible. The show might start while you are gone! And worst, you have to go through security once again.

You have your laptop with you, but you are not in a Wi-Fi "hot spot" are to connect wirelessly to the Internet. What do you do? ....

You take out your PDA and cell phone equipped with Bluetooth; and that's it (no cables required). Guess what --- with Bluetooth, you are your own hotspot.

Bluetooth is a wireless radio technology embedded in products you use every day -- cell phones, headsets, PDAs, laptops, digital cameras, printers, and even your car. The technology allows all of those products to "talk" to each other without wires, eliminating the need to "cradle" or connect wires between your devices to sync information.

In this scenario, Bluetooth technology allows the cell phone to serve as a wireless modem for your PDA. You can connect your PDA to your cell phone wirelessly with Bluetooth, then use the phone to dial into the Internet.

"This way, anywhere you have cell phone service, you can then have Internet service, which means you can check your email and surf the web from just about anywhere," said Mike McCamon, executive director of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, the trade association responsible for promoting and regulating the wireless technology.

It's much more convenient than the alternative -- looking for that elusive hot spot when you're out on the road. And of course, this same phone can be used as a modem for your laptop too, should it be equipped with Bluetooth wireless technology. Essentially, you've just become your own hot spot.

To pull this off, of course, you must have Bluetooth-enabled devices. Right now, AT&T, Cingular and T-Mobile have phones with Bluetooth available for customers, and by the end of the summer, the rest of the major carriers in the US -- Nextel, Sprint and Verizon -- are expected to follow suit.

Manufacturers of personal digital assistants have also been releasing some exciting new Bluetooth products, including Palm's Tungsten T(TM) handheld and Hewlett-Packard's new iPAQ series.