Killer PDAs #1 - Some Thoughts On Gadgets

Bob Russell · 04-02-2005, 11:59 AM

Consumers are generally frustrated, for good reason, with some really basic problems with the current state of mobile computing. Miniaturized computing produces way too much complexity, whether it takes the form of Tablet PCs or top-end PDAs. Electronic Day-Timers (entry level PDAs) are popular because they're simple, but they still have data entry problems and take some effort to set up. They also take up precious "carry-around" space that most people would prefer to use for a phone.

But there are a lot of things that people want to do as soon as the technology makes it simple and effective. To name just a few, we see demand forming for light, small, portable and connected devices that are one or more of the following:

Phone
Music Player
Video Player
Camera
Photo Album
Day Planner
Note Taker
Ebook Reader
Document editor (e.g. MS Office documents)
Presentation Device
Email and Messaging Tool
Gaming Device

But let's face it, while the tech geek may be able to do all of the above fairly effectively with some investment of time and money in a top-notch PDA and accessories, there is no device that's ready at the hardware or software level to even accomplish a portion of these things well for the average new user out of the box. Consumers are generally a lot more interested at what they can do well with reasonable effort, not what functions could theoretically be accomplished by a device, so they don't find PDAs as wonderful as the rest of us geeks.

So what could I possibly suggest that will help the situation? And why is it taking so long for products to improve?

Stay tuned to MobileRead for...
Killer PDAs #2 - It's A Crazy Market!, and
Killer PDAs #3 - The PDA You Always Wanted, But Didn't Know It!

doctorow · 04-02-2005, 12:41 PM

I think we have a typical Catch-22 situation here. On the one hand, we all want the best and latest features all combine in one device. A big display would be nice. And of course it should be capable of playing videos compressed with modern codecs. So a fast video chip would be nice too. And of course, to enjoy full-length movies, we want stereo audio (perhaps in 5.1 surround?) as well. Then let's not forget that we don't want to swap batteries in the middle of the movie, so nothing goes below a battery with at least 2'200 mAh. Since we have a big display already, it would be nice if we could also use it for something else, like typing in full-lenght documents. But typing with a touchscreen can be a pain in the butt, so integrating a qwerty-keyboard should not be a luxury.

But most importantly: we want this allround-device to be mobile, preferably not bigger than the size of the pocket in my shirt.

You see the problem?

sblac123 · 04-02-2005, 01:24 PM

You forgot to mentioned that not only do we want all the above, but for $199.99 (before the $100 instore rebate). And a 48 hour turn around time on a 36 month warrantee.

TadW · 04-02-2005, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sblac123

You forgot to mentioned that not only do we want all the above, but for $199.99 (before the $100 instore rebate). And a 48 hour turn around time on a 36 month warrantee.

... and a 1Gb SD-Card included.

hacker · 04-02-2005, 07:33 PM

Convergence bad.

High-quality components with multiple personalities, that can be EASILY integrated with all of the other components in the PAN (Personal Area Network), is where we should be heading, and despite everyone wanting convergence, its heading that direction.. but not fast enough.

I don't want a device with everything built into it, and I really don't think anyone else does either.. You severely restrict what can be done with it when you combine everything into one unit, no matter how small the device is.

How do you separate the devices?
How do you manage battery life?
How do you use several of the device "personalities" at the same time?

Convergence bad.

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04-02-2005, 11:59 AM	#1
Bob Russell Recovering Gadget Addict Posts: 5,381 Karma: 676161 Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Device: iPad	Killer PDAs #1 - Some Thoughts On Gadgets Consumers are generally frustrated, for good reason, with some really basic problems with the current state of mobile computing. Miniaturized computing produces way too much complexity, whether it takes the form of Tablet PCs or top-end PDAs. Electronic Day-Timers (entry level PDAs) are popular because they're simple, but they still have data entry problems and take some effort to set up. They also take up precious "carry-around" space that most people would prefer to use for a phone. But there are a lot of things that people want to do as soon as the technology makes it simple and effective. To name just a few, we see demand forming for light, small, portable and connected devices that are one or more of the following: Phone Music Player Video Player Camera Photo Album Day Planner Note Taker Ebook Reader Document editor (e.g. MS Office documents) Presentation Device Email and Messaging Tool Gaming Device But let's face it, while the tech geek may be able to do all of the above fairly effectively with some investment of time and money in a top-notch PDA and accessories, there is no device that's ready at the hardware or software level to even accomplish a portion of these things well for the average new user out of the box. Consumers are generally a lot more interested at what they can do well with reasonable effort, not what functions could theoretically be accomplished by a device, so they don't find PDAs as wonderful as the rest of us geeks. So what could I possibly suggest that will help the situation? And why is it taking so long for products to improve? Stay tuned to MobileRead for... Killer PDAs #2 - It's A Crazy Market!, and Killer PDAs #3 - The PDA You Always Wanted, But Didn't Know It!

04-02-2005, 12:41 PM	#2
doctorow Guru Posts: 914 Karma: 3410461 Join Date: May 2004 Device: Kindle Touch	I think we have a typical Catch-22 situation here. On the one hand, we all want the best and latest features all combine in one device. A big display would be nice. And of course it should be capable of playing videos compressed with modern codecs. So a fast video chip would be nice too. And of course, to enjoy full-length movies, we want stereo audio (perhaps in 5.1 surround?) as well. Then let's not forget that we don't want to swap batteries in the middle of the movie, so nothing goes below a battery with at least 2'200 mAh. Since we have a big display already, it would be nice if we could also use it for something else, like typing in full-lenght documents. But typing with a touchscreen can be a pain in the butt, so integrating a qwerty-keyboard should not be a luxury. But most importantly: we want this allround-device to be mobile, preferably not bigger than the size of the pocket in my shirt. You see the problem?

04-02-2005, 01:24 PM	#3
sblac123 Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2005	You forgot to mentioned that not only do we want all the above, but for $199.99 (before the $100 instore rebate). And a 48 hour turn around time on a 36 month warrantee.

04-02-2005, 07:33 PM	#5
hacker Technology Mercenary Posts: 617 Karma: 2561 Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: East Lyme, CT Device: Direct Neural Implant	Convergence bad. High-quality components with multiple personalities, that can be *EASILY* integrated with all of the other components in the PAN (Personal Area Network), is where we should be heading, and despite everyone wanting convergence, its heading that direction.. but not fast enough. I don't want a device with everything built into it, and I really don't think anyone else does either.. You severely restrict what can be done with it when you combine everything into one unit, no matter how small the device is. How do you separate the devices? How do you manage battery life? How do you use several of the device "personalities" at the same time? Convergence bad.

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