Future of Pocket PCs

[Andy Sjostrom]

No, this is not about the upcoming and rumoured Pocket PC 2003. It is about what I believe lie ahead, generally, in the future of Pocket PCs. I believe we will see three fundamental trends:<br /><br />1. Wireless integration. We have seen more and more Pocket PCs come out with various wireless technologies built-in. This will continue and in the future most Pocket PCs will have integrated Bluetooth, WiFi and/or GPRS/CDMA.<br />2. Price. More low cost Pocket PCs. Many more. Dell's success proved a point: It's about price more than anything else.<br />3. Built-in keyboards. I have lived without pen and paper the last couple of years. I know how to take notes with my Pocket PC without a keyboard. But the fact is that most people type faster using a keyboard than using a stylus. A Pocket PC with a keyboard built-in in a clever way is bound to be successful.<br /><br />Three not-very-exciting trends. "Duh"-warning, I know. If you'd guess three other and more obvious you are welcome to post away!

[bdegroodt]

The million dollar question as we wait anxiously for the new software/hardware is will these features be available in under 12 months (My extended life span for anything digital in my life.). If not, I'm ready to trade in my 3975 for the 54xx series as soon as I see PPC 2003 hit the streets.

[ExtremeSIMS]

1. Wireless integration. We have seen more and more Pocket PCs come out with various wireless technologies built-in. This will continue and in the future most Pocket PCs will have integrated Bluetooth, WiFi and/or GPRS/CDMA.
2. Price. More low cost Pocket PCs. Many more. Dell's success proved a point: It's about price more than anything else.
3. Built-in keyboards. I have lived without pen and paper the last couple of years. I know how to take notes with my Pocket PC without a keyboard. But the fact is that most people type faster using a keyboard than using a stylus. A Pocket PC with a keyboard built-in in a clever way is bound to be successful.


I agree on wireless. As a note, we (AOL) released IM2CELL and IM Forwarding on AT&T today. As you get more and more people with smart phones, this will become an even niftier feature.

Keyboards - not so sure. People seem pretty passionate about thumb keyboards. I dug out my Zaurus with the cracked LCD last night (too many cups of espresso too late so when I got through the work I took home, I was still wired), and that sliding keyboard is just too slick. OTOH, I know people that HATE keyboards.

I would also like to see a character recognizer a la Jot. Transcriber/Calligrapher is not quite there for everyone, and a character by character recgonizer that utilizes the full screen would be great.

Oh, and SyncML for ActiveSync replacement.... (That whole Mac thing I gotta bring up every chance I get :lol: )

[bdegroodt]

Keyboards - not so sure. People seem pretty passionate about thumb keyboards. I dug out my Zaurus with the cracked LCD last night (too many cups of espresso too late so when I got through the work I took home, I was still wired), and that sliding keyboard is just too slick. OTOH, I know people that HATE keyboards.


Isn't that the truth. I'm curious about the Zaurus. Does the slide make typing at all uncomfortable (Assuming thumbboards can be comfortable at all)? It looks like the way the keyboard is recessed it might cause a user to type at an odd angle. I still love the idea though. I think Palm nailed the keyboard idea with the Dpad and keyboard intergration. The only thing that is slicker so far that I know if is the hidden Zaurus board. Plus it's a Linux machine (Even if it doesn't play well with a Linux host out of the box.:cry:)


Oh, and SyncML for ActiveSync replacement.... (That whole Mac thing I gotta bring up every chance I get :lol: )

Yes please!

[snowlion]

by "pocketpc" - assume you mean the device + os - the experience if you will. this of course will invite quite a bit of IMHO...but here goes mine.

the think the ideal device should be no bigger than the HP 1910 - it really should be pocketable - and i don't mean cargo jean pockets.

i think connectivity is important. most probably bluetooth for people who might want to connect to the internet via appropriate cell phone.

expansion also...SDIO port.

i don't think built-in keyboard is a good idea - get's away from the pocktable criterion. but i see flexible keyboards that could be used as add-ons.

so my ideal pocketpc.

1910 size + SDIO port + 64 meg ram + 12 hrs battery + ideally built-in bluetooth + price sub $400....that should really do it for me..

[Arne Hess]

1. Wireless integration.
Finlay!!! :lol: Something I'm praying for for years now! ;-)
2. Price. More low cost Pocket PCs.
A great trend, even if I think we will see two classes in future, low cost Pocket PC powered PDAs with basic PIM functions and MP3 and mid/high cost Pocket PCs with wireless support.
3. Built-in keyboards.
I would like to have a keyboard back. Even T9 would be enough but okay, I'm an SMS junkie anyway... :wink:
Three not-very-exciting trends. "Duh"-warning, I know. If you'd guess three other and more obvious you are welcome to post away!
Cameras :idea: :!: And I'm not talking about "dumb" 640 x 480 pixel but "Megapixels" like we already have on i-Mode/Foma cell phones and - this is more a hope - increased screen resolutions (640 x 480 or something)... :oops:

[delfuhd]

The Sharp Zaurus' keyboard is pretty nice. It's kind of confusing at first, but of course with practice you can do anything quickly, ya know? It's worth it, I guess, It has dual expansion slots, a nice screen, and a nice size.. So yeah, kudos on the Zaurus

[Nellwaskilled]

Keyboard:

How come nobody makes a keyboard that double as hardcover yet? It should be detachable and connect to the PDA only when needed. (IR, BT, or even ultra thin USB cable)


It could be folding keyboard or mini keyboard (something like Nexio 160's), but it should not be integrated to the PDA itself.

[boldbidder]

The ideal pocket pc for me:

128 MB RAM
Dual SD slots both IO, one for storage and one for periphals at all times
Blutetooth (I'll get my wifi with SDIO)
GPRS/WCDMA/1X take your pick
Thumboard
Form factor of the 1910

I know it's asking alot, but that would be the perfect device. The could charge whatever they wanted for it and I'd take one with the latest Vaja case........ :D

[jpaq]

I'm going to refer back to an artcle on this site from yesterday (Casio, Where fore art thow?"

These features are great, and I think they are logical predictions on the natural progression for PDA's as well as most other personal electronics.

Where I think something must happen is in the hardware department. OEM's need to be more creative, and (back to the Casio article) they need to make their products more durable. These things are imperative.

There has been mention that the secret Ipaq with the fold out keyboard is "innovative". I'll give it innovative, but the dsign creativity is sorely lacking. It's a grey rectangle, and the case size surrounding the screen is horrible. Why not enlarge the screen if you have that much space?What we seem to get are a bunch of similar looking rectangles with no forward thinking.

When Sony decided to back Palm, that was a total failure on Microsoft's part. Landing that deal (selling and encouraging Sony to develop PPC based devices) should have been job one at Microsoft. We see that Sony has kept Palm alive (on life support) for the past few years. Imagine that creativity and innovation on a competent platform?

What's worse, is that no one has even attempted to offer similar innovation on the PPC side. If anyone would produce creative products, I would have thought it would have been Compaq, both pre and post HP. It seems that one of the problems that they have run into is the ongoing screaming from the market to continue support of the sleeve system. So, to do this, HP has to continue building PDA's that are the same basic heighth and thickness with the same shaped sides. We want continues support of a design factor, and we want new desins at the same time? Can I have that cake and eat it too?

The PPC market has to get creative. Microsoft may be partially to blame here as well. It has been said that the PPC licensing fee is outrageous, keeping smaller OEM's out of the running, and forcing existing OEM's to cut cost of hardware inorder to remain competitive on the price to the consumer. It has also been mentioned that Microsoft has implemented certain design requirements (Jason was last seen confirming this). If this is indeed the case, Microsoft is shooting itself in the foot on both pricing and design.

So, moving forward, wireless, cost, and keyboards are safe bets.
Design, innovation are imperative.

[JonathanWardRogers]

USB host. I think this, more than anything else, will be the next big trend.

Ok, I hope it will be. There is absolutely no reason not to be able to plug in any webcam, external cd drive, printer, etc. to your Pocket PC and use it. Except that there aren't drivers available. If all Pocket PCs had USB host, not only would you be able to connect any keyboard and mouse, but there would probably be drivers available for most USB devices, opening up a whole world of low cost interchangable peripherals.

Jon

[bdegroodt]

Keyboard:

How come nobody makes a keyboard that double as hardcover yet? It should be detachable and connect to the PDA only when needed. (IR, BT, or even ultra thin USB cable)


It could be folding keyboard or mini keyboard (something like Nexio 160's), but it should not be integrated to the PDA itself.

It's coming from HP someday (Looks like 6/13/03).

[onepieceman]

Something I'd like to see would be a PocketPC with a hard disk. I know Media2Go is coming, but why? As far as I can tell, I can do everything that does (pictures, movies, sounds, documents etc) on the PocketPC, but what I can't do is carry around my entire music collection the way I would be able to with a hard disk based player.
Put another way, Media2Go needs a screen, some way to control it, software for playing media etc. In other words it needs a general purpose computer, and as it is it will be CE based, but as I understand it it won't be PocketPC, and therefore presumably it may or may not run PocketPC apps (probably not). But why have a separate OS to do the same things?
.

[prismejon]

I think the projected keyboards (http://www.alpern.org/weblog/stories/2003/01/09/projectionKeyboards.html) look like a great idea! They don't take up any space in your pocket and won't add much weight to the device. The only problem is that you probably need a flat surface to use the keyboard on - and of course they won't be available for some time...

[Jason Dunn]

The PPC market has to get creative. Microsoft may be partially to blame here as well. It has been said that the PPC licensing fee is outrageous, keeping smaller OEM's out of the running, and forcing existing OEM's to cut cost of hardware inorder to remain competitive on the price to the consumer. It has also been mentioned that Microsoft has implemented certain design requirements (Jason was last seen confirming this). If this is indeed the case, Microsoft is shooting itself in the foot on both pricing and design.

No offense, but this is really, really wrong. :mrgreen:

The licensing fee for most OEMs is about $8 to $10. A very small fraction of the total cost, and not "outrageous". Perhaps the only thing that keeps very small vendors from getting into the game is that Microsoft requires relatively high-powered hardware (although it's not so high-powered any more).

Microsoft is quite lax on the hardware requirements too - I asked specifically if an OEM could make a swivel keyboard design like Sony has, and they said "Yes". The REAL problem here is the limited imaginations of the OEMs to date...

Microsoft also didn't mandate the "iPAQ button style" either - an OEM could do the Casio button style if they wanted to. The problem is that all the Taiwaneese ODMs are all copying each other... :|

[disconnected]

Someone in another thread (sorry, can't remember who) had an idea that I really liked. It would be good if no such thing as PPC Phone Edition existed, but instead all the features would be part of the regular PPC OS. OEMs could choose to build in antennas and slots which could be filled with a small module from a phone company (GPRS or CDMA) as needed; this would integrate totally with the PPC to make it function like PPC Phone Edition.

Benefits of this could be --
You wouldn't have to sacrifice other PPC features to get the phone part.
You could upgrade your PPC and still use an existing phone module.
You could change phone companies, or even switch from GPRS to CDMA. (You might need both if you travel a lot).
The antenna could possibly also be used so that future WiFi cards wouldn't need to have antennas.

I have no idea if any of this is technically possible, but it sounds very convenient.

[Jason Dunn]

Something I'd like to see would be a PocketPC with a hard disk. I know Media2Go is coming, but why? As far as I can tell, I can do everything that does (pictures, movies, sounds, documents etc) on the PocketPC, but what I can't do is carry around my entire music collection the way I would be able to with a hard disk based player.
Put another way, Media2Go needs a screen, some way to control it, software for playing media etc. In other words it needs a general purpose computer, and as it is it will be CE based, but as I understand it it won't be PocketPC, and therefore presumably it may or may not run PocketPC apps (probably not). But why have a separate OS to do the same things?
.

Media2Go is about one thing: a consumer-friendly user-interface and a very focused purpose. Yes, you COULD use a Pocket PC with the appropriate hardware and software accessories, but it would be such a hodge-podge solution that most consumers wouldn't want to use it. Media2Go will be a highly focused platform that does a few things really well.

[mikieMSU]

I have to agree with JWR on the USB host. If you could hook an actual camera (one that will take megapixel resolution photos) to store the pictures on the PPC then connect to an external USB burner or color printer I would be estatic. Transferring CF or SD cards back and forth is getting tiring and I have broken off some of the connecting pins on my PPC.

[PJE]

This is a little out of left field, and takes something of a Palm approach!

Replace the buttons at the bottom of the display with a Palm style non-display touch region with slip in keyboard decals - Qwerty, Fitaly, etc..

Then have a Ericsson P800 style flap that has the keys that press onto various regions of this area (obviously only single press compatible... which is a restriction) which could be interchanged between app/cursor and full (but small) thumb board.

Using this scheme the full screen could be used at all times without the annoying SIP panel.

My 2c

PJE

[Crystal Eitle]

I think the projected keyboards (http://www.alpern.org/weblog/stories/2003/01/09/projectionKeyboards.html) look like a great idea! They don't take up any space in your pocket and won't add much weight to the device. The only problem is that you probably need a flat surface to use the keyboard on - and of course they won't be available for some time...

I was pretty excited about them, too, but I wonder how it would work in real life. One problem with these keyboards is that there is no tactile feedback. There's a reason it's called "touch typing."

[saljamex]

I have an iPAQ5450 (which I love), I bought last week a SonyEricsson T800 smartphone (My wife lost my T68i at the airport last week, so I love technology and bought the new one!) :lol: . I am really impressed with the symbyan OS 7.0, at first time when I arrived to my office I felt bad on spending that much money on a device wich I was not going to use at 100%(considering I have my iPAQ5450 and a Palm TungstenT). So I began the conection with my computer (Compaq T1000 TabletPC), and it started the syn process (No need of a sysc button like palmOS devices), it was a full Outlook Sync!!, Inbox, Contacts, Calendar, Notes, so I decided to use it. I installed the aplications that came with the CD, very nice 3D graphic games (MIBII), GPRS, what I liked the most is the Symbyan applications, you can purchase the software from the PDA and install it directly from the Internet (No PC required), also I bought some of the applications I use in my pocketPC, it works very fine, having in one gadget everything is nice, also the size is not bad, Microsoft should take a look at this for further improvements!!. It has IR, Bluethooth, GPRS, nice sound!!, video and MP3, Memory stickDUO (a smaller size of memory stick which I don´t like that much), and a full wireless PDA!!. :mrgreen: :mrgreen: .

[Ramin]

3. Built-in keyboards. I have lived without pen and paper the last couple of years. I know how to take notes with my Pocket PC without a keyboard. But the fact is that most people type faster using a keyboard than using a stylus. A Pocket PC with a keyboard built-in in a clever way is bound to be successful.

I'm not too fond of the idea of having a built-in keyboard/keypad - I've always preferred a simple PDA design & Transcriber/Block Recognizer works well for me.

Anyway, could this be the answer perhaps? I've always felt that it was a very clever design. If they could just throw in a CF slot in there as well... :)
http://h20022.www2.hp.com/product_graphics/L312391_001.jpg

[bdegroodt]

^Oh man! Now if I could just get me hands on that^ keyboard!!!

[andrewjhscott]

It's called a HandheldPC....and they're still great!

My MobilePro 790 was the best buy I ever made.....been using a PocketLoox lately but have now bought an Intermec 6651. You just can't beat the convenience of the keyboard and wide screen.

Of course it does look rather large in your pocket....

:oops:

[garrans]

I think in the next 2-3 years we'll see Voice Recognition in most PocketPC's. There have been some great efforts to date and I'm sure more to come.

Steve.

[Tom C]

Hello all, I’m new here and enjoy it very much so I thought I would jump in.

I agree with most of you that keyboards, wireless access (of some sort), etc would all be very nice to have, but I don’t recall seeing anyone mention what I believe to be the most important enhancement of all…BATTERY LIFE. This is essential, especially when you start to talk about wireless. I know that there are units with hot swappable batteries, but it would still be nice to get through a day without having to plug-in, swap out, etc.

[jpaq]

The PPC market has to get creative. Microsoft may be partially to blame here as well. It has been said that the PPC licensing fee is outrageous, keeping smaller OEM's out of the running, and forcing existing OEM's to cut cost of hardware inorder to remain competitive on the price to the consumer. It has also been mentioned that Microsoft has implemented certain design requirements (Jason was last seen confirming this). If this is indeed the case, Microsoft is shooting itself in the foot on both pricing and design.

No offense, but this is really, really wrong. :mrgreen:

The licensing fee for most OEMs is about $8 to $10. A very small fraction of the total cost, and not "outrageous". Perhaps the only thing that keeps very small vendors from getting into the game is that Microsoft requires relatively high-powered hardware (although it's not so high-powered any more).

Microsoft is quite lax on the hardware requirements too - I asked specifically if an OEM could make a swivel keyboard design like Sony has, and they said "Yes". The REAL problem here is the limited imaginations of the OEMs to date...

Microsoft also didn't mandate the "iPAQ button style" either - an OEM could do the Casio button style if they wanted to. The problem is that all the Taiwaneese ODMs are all copying each other... :|

Jason.
Those were the only two things in that post that were in need of clarification. I feel that the rest of my post (creativity and durability) are dead on. But they are dead on my opinion. Others may disagree.

[danmanmayer]

wireless will be in most devices sadly only very local wireless. (Wifi) Devices need and ability to connect anywhere anytime.

[arcothunder]

The company that comes out with a color device like the TMobile/Danger Sidekick, and add PocketPC or Palm as the OS so users would have a huge library of existing software, a little more memory and a SD/CF slot, so folks will have always on internet access (with surfing, chat, IM), a phone, an MP3 player, all for $39-59 a month?

That company will put the other handheld manufacturers out of business.

You'd be able to make calls wherever you are. Throw away your existing cell.

Surf, chat and email wherever you are. No wi-fi required.

Listen to music wherever you are.

With SD and CF slots, you could add memory and expansion capabilities (should you need to connect to a network for example).

It's a no brainer. Where is this device? As soon as one is available, I'm buying one. You?

[ExtremeSIMS]

Keyboards - not so sure. People seem pretty passionate about thumb keyboards. I dug out my Zaurus with the cracked LCD last night (too many cups of espresso too late so when I got through the work I took home, I was still wired), and that sliding keyboard is just too slick. OTOH, I know people that HATE keyboards.


Isn't that the truth. I'm curious about the Zaurus. Does the slide make typing at all uncomfortable (Assuming thumbboards can be comfortable at all)? It looks like the way the keyboard is recessed it might cause a user to type at an odd angle. I still love the idea though. I think Palm nailed the keyboard idea with the Dpad and keyboard intergration. The only thing that is slicker so far that I know if is the hidden Zaurus board. Plus it's a Linux machine (Even if it doesn't play well with a Linux host out of the box.:cry:)


Oh, and SyncML for ActiveSync replacement.... (That whole Mac thing I gotta bring up every chance I get :lol: )

Yes please!

I find it easy to type. Despite the cracked screen, I have mine in a lower init mode, and I can work at console. :) Try the latest Mandrake (Bamboo 9.1) - I hear it has great integration (which I will test once I get this repaired).

[cdcooker]

1. Built-in WiFi, BT
2. 320x480 Transflective TFT
3. Ipaq H1910 form factor
4. Real earphone jack, not the mini jack like H1910
5. USB host
6. SDIO slots
7. More features in Pocket Office and Pocket IE. Definitely want language selection capability in Pocket IE. Right now, no way to view other language other than English.
8. Landscape mode for all application.
9. Sony Clie NZ style hard cover with built-in keyboard.
10. Cassiopeaia's style D-pad and button layout.

[RickP in AZ]

1. Built-in WiFi, BT
2. 320x480 Transflective TFT
3. Ipaq H1910 form factor
4. Real earphone jack, not the mini jack like H1910
5. USB host
6. SDIO slots
7. More features in Pocket Office and Pocket IE. Definitely want language selection capability in Pocket IE. Right now, no way to view other language other than English.
8. Landscape mode for all application.
9. Sony Clie NZ style hard cover with built-in keyboard.
10. Cassiopeaia's style D-pad and button layout.

Now why would you get me all excited like that? :devilboy: I guess a boy can dream can't he?