Quote:
Originally Posted by bill_mchale
As for larger devices being used for PDA's? I really don't think it is going to happen. People have gotten pretty wedded to their phones having PDA functionality (Even my feature phone can be used for scheduling, email, web browsing etc.). Much about say about a 4" screen size and the device not is no longer (in my opinion) terribly easy to use as a phone .
|
I'm not so sure on this. Obviously, people can make calls, send texts/e-mails and keep their contact list on a phone. But how many actually make/edit calendar/appt functions on their phone? Or use the calculator? Or make/edit notes? Or carry/edit documents accessed from platform to platform? Or track their expenses in realtime?
Sure, many phone users don't do any of this regularly. But plenty of people do, and for them, non-phone devices can be more convenient to use (I do all of those things on my PDA, and I am aware that
none of them would be easier to do on my full-featured phone).
That's why I think a larger device can easily serve as a PDA... just as people have carried pad- to notebook-sized organizers for decades. It could especially happen if the larger form-factor made it easier for people to use the functions, something that older or less dexterous people might appreciate (we don't all have small fingers or fine motor control). Just because phones can do most of these things, doesn't mean it's the best device for doing these things for all people.
Bottom line, there's lots of room for different form factors for different people. A larger PDA would probably sell, especially as the population gets older... I wouldn't count such a device out. (And it can always have a built-in phone accessed by a headset...)