Handset or Handheld?

[Andy Sjostrom]

<a href="http://wirelessnewsfactor.com/perl/story/21765.html">http://wirelessnewsfactor.com/perl/story/21765.html</a><br /><br />The article <a href="http://wirelessnewsfactor.com/perl/story/21765.html">"Farewell to Handhelds"</a> presents some interesting food for thought. The theme of the article origins from the fact that General Motors (GM) chooses handsets (cell phones) over handhelds (PDAs) for deployment of a field force application. According to the article, this announcement is bad news for handheld devices in the business marketplace. The main reasons, as argued through the article, include:<br /><br />1. Ease of use - a cell phone is said to be easier to use<br />2. Handheld like - new cell phones look more and more like PDAs<br />3. Handhelds miss the mark on familiarity, features, cost and support<br /><br />I think the article is the result of poor analysis. Here's why:<br /><br />First, it is a common mistake to believe that it is an either / or issue. Some business scenarios are best supported by advanced cell phones while other scenarios are best supported by PDAs.<br /><br />Second, a platform decision made on a corporate level that concludes that a cell phone is generally better than a PDA for mobile solutions needs to be seriously questioned. Offline support, input methods, extensibility, familiarity (!) and features (!) speak for the PDA and against the cell phone.<br /><br />Third, the key issue to consider is development platform rather form factor given the ongoing convergence between cell phones and PDAs. The question is Java vs .NET rather than cell phone vs PDA. If the decision is made on a platform level, then it is easier to meet the needs of more than one business scenario and still reap the benefits of a common infrastructure.<br /><br />There are surely more convincing reasons to why GM should have looked at things differently and to why the article should have included a more analytical perspective. Do you agree?

[dochall]

Having worked on enterprise mobile solutions. It really depends what they want to do.

Using a smartphone for anything sophisticated is going to run into problems very quickly. Field force management is not a one size fits all marketplace. I can only imagine that they are doing something very simple (looking at the website demo it is very simple)

I agree with most of your points Andy apart from familiarity. If the decision makers were working at the it's a phone, they already have phones level (suprisingly that type of shallow thinking is not uncommon in the emterprise market).

However the real muddle headed thinking here is the analysis that thinks one application in one company is particualrly significant. A trend of 1 is not a trend.

If you worked for a smartphone supplying network you could crow about it but it not the be all and end all but it siginifies nothing.

[wastl]

I am seriously thinking changing to a Motorola A920 with 512Mbte SD and Bluetooth Stereo Headphones.

Links are below

Motorola A920

Videotalk
Digital picture & video camera
Video downloads
Touch screen for easy email
MP3 player
AGPS
USB connectivity
Modem to access the Internet via a laptop
8MB internal memory with memory card expansion
Open operating system


http://www.three.com.au/index.cfm?section=Explore&pid=450&pageid=481&sid=854

Bluetooth Stereo Headphones

http://www.openbrain.co.kr/e_site/e_products/e_products03.htm

Hey what else do we need..it can nearly do everthing what a PocketPC can do!!

[iPaqDude]

I agree - it is not an either/or decision. Whereas I would like to have a single device to carry around, I am not sure that is the right solution. It goes back to base requirements of the enterprise, and just because this solution worked for a particular instance, don't for a minute think that it will work for the next one - or the one after that.

I also work for a large Fortune 100 company and am involved in the selection of handheld devices for our mobile technicians. The apps that we are looking at running on the handhelds, the communciaion requirments (cellular, 802.11 & ethernet), etc. can't be touched by the Smartphones of today.

We have had several discussion about the usage of protocols like Bluetooth to bridge the gap between the handheld and the cellular devices - I firmly believe with the size of the devices dropping that this will be a strong direction the industry will go in.

Maybe a direction we need to look at is a combination PDA/phone device where the cell phone is a detachable part of the PDA/Phone package - like maybe the flip part - and have it where it can be detached when it is to be used solely as a phone? When done using it as a phone, clip it back onto the PDA unit for usage with the GPRS/modem stuff. This would give us the best of both worlds and still only have a single device to carry - and it doesn't need to be very large or heavy.Hey - if anyone builds one of these, I thought of it first.... :i got it:

[Will T Smith]

I think their selection is good considering their dealing with some serious blue collar guys that are out on the road and many have never even TOUCHED a computer. Most probably don't want anything to do with one. Ultimately, these will probably serve as the end-point of a workflow application meant to track. Basically, it's just a souped up electronic checklist.

The idea of handing someone an "appliance" instead of a computer should have pretty strong appeal to companies. The management costs are WAY lower. I don't think they want these guys using their devices for solataire or anything like that.

I don't think this has any implications to broader market acceptance. In a white collar world where forms and more sophisticated data capabilities are necessary, a hanheld or slate may make more sense. Espcecially if your replacing a laptop computer.

Microsoft DOES offer SmartPhone but I don't believe they have any "INDUSTRIAL" implementers just yet. That NextTel stuff is pretty damn solid. It's made specifically for enterprise fleets and hard-hats. Maybe Symbol can work up an "industrial" Smartphone using CE.net for Microsoft.

[clusey]

Andy,

I would disagree with most of your analysis. Almost all the users on this website are what I would catagorize as high-tech users. Most employees in large organizations do not fall into that catagory. Let me list the reasons that a mobile handset (like the Nextel i58sr with Gearworks Software chosen by GM) is a better tool to integrate into a large organization:

1. SIMPLE is good for large scale implementations
2. Handset cost is a huge obstacle (rugged handset vs. rugged PDA) a HP1910 would not work....it would have to be an Intermec. $100 vs. $2500
3. Simple MIDP J2ME applications can be easily customized for each organization.
4. User only needs to push a few buttons to do their job (No soft resets, screen lock ups, etc.)
5. Wireless connections from PDA's still require some technical expertise from the user and can be easily misconfigured by each end user.

Let me say that I am a huge fan of PDA's personally, but as a wireless data sales rep for one of the BIG carriers, MHO is that simplistic mobile handsets that are low cost and can survive any work environment will be the future of most organizations mobile deployments.

-WDD[/list]

[HR]

Well, good luck trying to input text into the cell phone. And good luck viewing text on the cell phone.

[Thinkingmandavid]

I think this guy writing the article is obviously prejudiced in his writings. He is purposely wanting the audience to say, "hey, lets get phones and not pdas!"
I think a better article would have been to tell what GM had decided to do and then to have the article in two parts giving both sides, pda and phone, their advantages and disadvantages of both.
GM doing this is not casting a shadow on anything! This isn't about, "oh GM did it, so let;s do it to!" Bunch of crap is what. I can easily think of reasons why a pda has advantages over a cell phone. Maybe the smart phone would be a good alternative, then that would have given the article a third perspective.
Maybe the GM drivers would like it and it will fit those needs, but it is depending on the application of what it will be used for.
MMMMMMMMM..... AS I think about it now, a pda would be good for keeping track of deliveries, schedules, road expenses, miles, etc.
I am sure we aren't going to see UPS and FEDEX run and follow what GM did. That guy needs to wake up! :evil:

[Thinkingman]

Right on dude. I read the article and thought this guy is trying to push the cell phones. He sounds like he has it in for da pdas.
I think I may email this guy give him a different point of view, :twisted:

[Thinkingmandavid]

Techno lust is an interesting term and the addiction part I would think so. I remember reading on one of the boards about this. I just don't remember if it was here or pdabuzz...MMMMMMMMMMM.
Anyway, someone on the boards was a therapist and was discussing that on a side topic.
I got so busy with my tangent that I completely forgot to comment on it.

Cost is a big issue, I do agree with that. What I don't agree with is how is so pro cell phone and dam the pda's. At least in my opinion that is how he sounded to me. :!: :?:

[Andy Sjostrom]

Your reply makes sense when reading the phrase:

"Let me say that I am a huge fan of PDA's personally, but as a wireless data sales rep for one of the BIG carriers ...

The reason why carriers prefer cell phones before PDAs is because a cell phone is more network dependent and typically drive more traffic. The stronger CPU power, application platform features and storage capabilities of the PDA enable a good mix of online and offline support. The cell phone is mostly (I am saying mostly and not only!) dependent on an online connection and is mostly the target of thin client solutions. Thin client solutions is not recommended to users that travel in remote places where network coverage is poor. I could go on and on about this...

Andy, I would disagree with most of your analysis.

...

1. SIMPLE is good for large scale implementations
2. Handset cost is a huge obstacle (rugged handset vs. rugged PDA) a HP1910 would not work....it would have to be an Intermec. $100 vs. $2500
3. Simple MIDP J2ME applications can be easily customized for each organization.
4. User only needs to push a few buttons to do their job (No soft resets, screen lock ups, etc.)
5. Wireless connections from PDA's still require some technical expertise from the user and can be easily misconfigured by each end user.


1. PDAs are simple and if they are not simple enough for the target user group, it is common to utilize kiosk mode applications where the PDA comes pre-configured and impossible to re-configure by the user.
2. The handheld is a bit more expensive than the handset, but your comparison is strange. The typical cell phone is as rugged as the typical PDA.
3. Simple Java or .NET applications for PDAs can also be easily customized for each organization.
4. User only CAN push a few buttons to do their job on a handset. A PDA solution can also be made to limit the input mechanism to a few buttons, but that is typically to make the application handicapped.
5. Wireless connection management in large scale business solutions is not user configured but centrally configures.

[Paragon]

I think marketing, and general availability of knowledge plays a big part in issues like this. Many people, even people with sound knowledge in the field have a much better understanding, and are much more familiar, and at ease with a cellphone then they are with a PDA. When it comes to decision time I think most people lean towards what they are most familiar and comfortable with, especially when they are making that decision for others.


Dave

[Newsboy]

2. Handset cost is a huge obstacle (rugged handset vs. rugged PDA) a HP1910 would not work....it would have to be an Intermec. $100 vs. $2500

I can vouch for Intermec's reliability. I've dropped my Intermec 6651 HPC (not a rugged device per-se) several times from 1 meter (3.3 feet) or more, and it's always rebooted instantly, with no hardware damage.

On a related note, the reason many corporations choose Motorola and NexTel equipment is ruggedness and reliability. Motorola's former CEO used to take his pager off his belt, drop it six feet, and pick it to show the crowd that it still worked to demonstrate their six sigma quality control program. Only 3 failures (including drop tests!) per 1,000,000 units produced. I've dropped my Motorola TimePort cell phone more times than I can count, and it still works perfectly, two years later.

Consumer and corporate customer bases have different needs and technology considerations. A comparison between the two market segments can't be drawn directly.