Jan 13, 2007 | blog
Michael Arrington of TechCrunch fame asks: Will the iPhone be a Serious Business Device. In this question, I have to answer simply: No.
It sure will be a convenience to those Apple Mac users that have been longing for a mobile communications device that will seamlessly sync with all the Apple Mac resources for information management, and entertainment. However, the idea that the iPhone will have better penetration to the enterprise market than the Mac did is a pipe dream, if only because of Apple’s inability to understand what the business user needs. Of course, part of this is because of the limitations imposed by the enterprise IT departments – since the Mac is not accommodated like Windows, Unix and Linux are.
Sure, the iPhone is a spectacular demonstration of where our communications devices should be heading – I would expect nothing less from Apple than a stunning device. But suggesting that a non-shipping phone that can’t have it’s memory expanded, has no input method other than your finger, without 3G data services, and does not support any of the popular push-mail services will be taken seriously by businesses is delusional.
Thanks for the chuckle Michael, I needed one this weekend.
Via: TechCrunch – Will the iPhone be a Serious Business Device?
Jan 8, 2007 | blog
The more I’ve been thinking about which new laptop to get, the more I’ve been drawn to the UMPC concept. The lightweight mobility provided by the devices has been very appealing.
Samsung, for example, has a great device called the Q1 that really helped to defined this new genre of devices. Incidentally, Samsung has just announced the upgraded version, the Q1P SSD at CES (more info here at eWeek), that includes a 32MB Solid State Drive (Flash Drive).
The really neat thing about a UMPC like the Q1 is the PDA-like touch sensitive screen that you can use your finger or stylus on. This makes the device much easier to use and more accessible on the fly. It’s easy to pull out, turn on, and use quickly when needed, especially when standing up or on the move. But with a full WinXP install, the systems can run off the shelf software that allows you to do almost everything that you do on your main PC. This is the flexibility that I’m after in my next computer.
My current interest in this category of mobile devices is the Fujitsu LifeBook P1610 Notebook. This device is technically labeled as a notebook, and includes a touch-sensitive 8.9″ screen rather than a standard electromagnetic digitizer found on most Tablet PCs. The differences allow you to use your finger or other stylus rather than the custom pens delivered with Tablet PCs. Also, you miss out on the “hover” mode that the digitizer offers, though I’ve heard that is not a totally bad thing.
The system is kind of a hybrid device, that is technically a notebook, but because of the touch-sensitive screen mounted on a swivel it and the Tablet PC OS option, it can be called a Tablet PC. In addition, the size and weight of the device, along with the functionality lend itself towards a UMPC.
There have been several previews and reviews of the device of the last few weeks, with a nice video review over at jkOnTheRun. The only thing I wish for would be a dual core processor, but that would just consume battery at a ridiculous rate.
So, why am I considering a ultra portable computer as my main PC? Simply because I have no huge computing requirements. I have a decent home system that can accommodate my DVD burning and other processor-intensive requirements. My daily computing needs revolve around mainly web based services like GMail, meme-trackers, browsing, online office tasks, etc… The other things I use are a few local tools for blogging and editing photos and such. So I can get by with much less computing power than most people. The only thing I need is RAM, and the P1610 can top out at 1GB so it should work out quite well.
Hopefully, I’ll be able to pick one of these up in the next month or two and be able to give some real world feedback. There are so many options, a person could also go for a regular “convertible” Tablet PC with a 12″ screen for the same price point but get more processing power and DVD burning options. Tough choices for sure!
What’s your opinion on UMPCs and Tablet PCs?
Jan 2, 2007 | blog
Ok, there are several great new phones slated for 2007 from Samsung, HTC and others. But here are some of the features that I’ll be looking for in my next handset.
- Windows Mobile 6 (Crossbow) – Pocket PC
- VGA Screen
- Multi-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE/UMTS/HSDPA on T-Mobile
- 400MHz processor (or faster)
- Bluetooth 2.0
- 802.11b/g
- Slid-out QWERTY Keyboard
- Scroll wheel
- D-Pad
- 256MB ROM
- 96MB RAM
- 3MP Rear-facing Camera
- VGA Front-facing camera
- MicroSD or MiniSD Slot
- GPS
- Tethering ability as GPRS/EDGE/UMTS/HSDPA modem
- 2-Day battery life to fit my usage (to beat my existing T-Mobile MDA’s 24 hour limit)
I reserve the right to revise this list as I change my mind of course!
There are always great new things coming down the pipe that we don’t know about.
What about you, what features will you be looking for as you replace your phone in 2007 (if you are planning it)? Will it be a Palm, Windows Mobile, Symbian, or Blackberry device? Will you go back to a dumb phone and carry a UMPC? Or will you be moving from a dumb phone to a smart phone this year?
Let me know in the comments!
Dec 17, 2006 | blog
Interesting information that Om Malik has dug up. If this is true, it may turn out to be a very interesting device for the mass market. Google has a history of focusing on simplifying the user interface and making it easier for the average consumer.
I’ll sign up to try a device from Google.
Via: GigaOM – Forget iPhone, Think Google Phone
Dec 11, 2006 | blog
The Read/Write Web has a fantastic article covering what is increasingly called Mobile 2.0. In this article by Rudy De Waele, they cover the essence of what Mobile 2.0 is.
With the proliferation of smart mobile devices and high-speed mobile data services, applications and services need to become simpler and more intuitive. They also need to become standardized as Rudy talks about.
A real need to bring those sharp minds developing advanced feature sets on desktop software, should instead start looking at how to bring simplicity and elegance to web applications to solve the simple problems of of the moment.
Via: Read/Write Web – Understanding Mobile 2.0
