Pocket PC Futures: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.bostonpocketpc.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1894&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0' target='_blank'>http://www.bostonpocketpc.com/modul...order=0&thold=0</a><br /><br /></div>Here's another point of view on the future of the Pocket PC, this time from DonS over at bostonpocketpc:<br /><br />"It always seems that life is a sort of balancing act, with good often countered by bad. The future of the Pocket PC platform is no exception, with some indicators from the last couple of weeks providing a hint. CTIA Wireless IT and Entertainment provided o*ne such insight. While it is a "wireless world" out there, the new frontier in wireless is the cellular industry. As carriers are encouraged to make data affordable and derive profits from "additional services" (like premium content and exclusive access sites), cellular wireless is quickly becoming the "gold rush" for developers of content and applications. For this industry, the phone is the method of communication in terms of form factor. While the Pocket PC (and Pocket PC - Phone Edition) can serve the needs of some, the majority of users prefer their content displayed in a form factor they are accustomed to when working with a handset. As a result, many developers (myself included) are having to look at the entire mobile industry for economic survival. As a result, the concentrated efforts by many to develop strictly for the Pocket PC platform may change, and the development of new applications may suffer. There is some solice in tools like AppForge MobileVB in the fact that they develop in o*ne language and allow the deployment to a number of mobile platforms."

[Foo Fighter]

The ugly truth here is that this is likely not if, but when, this happens, if for no other reason then the Smartphone evolving into an enterprise and consumer "device of choice" as cellular data access become increasingly affordable.

Yes sir! I've been preaching about this for a long time now. And the reality is that Smartphones will become (or have already become) the dominant platform. The traditional PDA has been marginalized. Even in my own personal life, I'm finding it harder and harder to rationalize carrying a PDA when a combination PDA/Phone or Smartphone is probably the next evolutionary step in my mobile lifestyle. What do I really need a PDA for? I jot down notes, enter appointments occasionally, look up an email address, view my inbox (offline), and mainly do lots of reading web content (offline). So why not just use a device which combines those features with a phone?

In this regard, the title is misleading. We are really talking about the future of PDAs here, not just Pocket PC.

[fcalcada]

My fellow PocketAddicts :lol:
Being a newb :wink: in this whole PPC thing, I hesitated a lot before making my first "opinion post" here in pocketpcThoughs.....

But, also because I'm a software developer/IT consultant (a Junior consultant anyway....) it sparked my interest to hear so many conflicting opinions about the future and prospects of the PPC market...and also about the "life expectancy" of the PPC device itself....so much has been said in these last months, that I felt it is time for me to send out a few ideas...better yet, a few questions that have been bouncing around my head......

Maybe my judgement is a little off, because I'm still amazed with the enourmous capabilities of my iPAQ 2215 (when compared with my previous handheld a Palm m125), but these new handhelds with wireless technology are true "road warriors", enabling you to stay connected on the move and perform work/personal tasks (albeit these tasks being simple ones, when compared to the ones you can make on a laptop) with ease and finesse :wink: ....

The thing is, and I hope that I get this out right....
Aren't we being led astray from the "true path of mobility" 8O by some kind of marketing war and Constructors feud???
I hope I didn't sound too philosophical with all this "path to true :wink: mobility"thing .... all I really want to say is, do not be haste in sendig de PPC to its grave....why?...Toshiba anounced a couple of months ago "The PPC Market is Dead!!!". Ok, if it's dead, why launch two new PPC devices with so many technological innovations a few weeks later?
HP just lauched two new devices within months of the release of the 22xx and 19xx lines...why?
Why do Smartphone manufaturers keep increasing the capabilities and resources of cellular terminals... to make them more like PPC's ?
Sure, but I allready have a cellphone. A good one too...so i'm not thingking of trading my PDA/phone combo for the all-in-one wonder...

That's why I feel like we're all in the middle of some shadowy and covert marketing war.....

Solutions??? Ways to save our "precious" little PDA's??
It's a fact that (at least I agree with it) cross-platform development is one way of revitalizing the PPC market, by allowing developers to deliver the same solutions to all mobile platforms, cellular or other....but's that might not be enough...
Nowadays, the most dificult aspect the PPC has to deal with, and it's true enemy are increasingly powerfull cell phones and cheaper laptops.....so lowering the prices of the PPC's would be a good ideia, right?....but is that smart?? how do the manufacturers feel about that?
What do you prefer? A bulky, heavy laptop that does everthing short of rubbing your back...or a slick, shinny PDA, wi-fi enabled to impress the guys at the office or the galls on the beach 8) 8) ???

Truth be said, it's a consumers market.... and the average consumer is easely misled and confused by all that is layed before him... so isn't it up to us consumers to drive the market and demand from the manufacturers better and better products, push them into making devices with diferent specs, hence for diferent users??

That, I think is the way...the future of mobility technology is a device or group of devices that fit a diferent set of needs in each case.....diferent users use their devices in diferent ways... why not build on that??

I hope this came out right :? ... it's a big a$$ post and the first one I've done here at PPCThoughs (oh! the pressure!!! ;) )...but I just had to say something about all this..

For all the "newbs" out there....
Don't throw your PPC's out the window yet...I know, I won't through mine!!

Grettings from Lisbon, Portugal to all PDA users out there.
Fernando Jorge Calçada

[dartman]

Wireless communications is gleefullly viewed as the means for the carriers to break away from the paradigm of flat fee service plans. They have always resented not being able to charge for metered phone service due to popular demand and regulatory restrictions.

The ungrateful public has had the gall to go far beyond simple voice transmission to sending large amounts of data over their beloved wires and not pay more.

Redemption now comes in the form of wireless where they can charge for everything.

Now, if they could only get rid of all those pesky installed wired phones and convert everyone to wireless!

dart

[Don Sorcinelli]

Wireless communications is gleefullly viewed as the means for the carriers to break away from the paradigm of flat fee service plans. They have always resented not being able to charge for metered phone service due to popular demand and regulatory restrictions.

The ungrateful public has had the gall to go far beyond simple voice transmission to sending large amounts of data over their beloved wires and not pay more.

Redemption now comes in the form of wireless where they can charge for everything.

Now, if they could only get rid of all those pesky installed wired phones and convert everyone to wireless!

dart

Actually, it is looking for and more like the cellular industry is going to repeat history (this time, in a good way).

The push is on (and not just from the consumer side) for the wireless carriers to view themselves as wireless ISPs in the same mold as the traditional ISPs. Much like the wired ISPs in the mid-'90s, the pressures from all around are forcing the move from metered access to flat-rate access. The message being sent to the wireless carriers is that the real money is in the "value-add" services that sit on top of the data access - exclusive content, MMS functionality, etc. If there was one repeated message I got out of CTIA (sometimes subliminal and sometimes overt), it was that the current business model for most carriers should and must change.

BTW - Jason: It was great to finally get to meet and chat out in Las Vegas. This whole geography thing can be such a nuisance :wink:

DonS

[DanielTS]

Battery life :
. PDA : - - -
. Cellular phone : + + + +
. Smartphone : - -

Screen size :
. PDA : + + + +
. Cellular phone : - - - -
. Smartphone : - -

The best combination 8) : Bluetooth enabled PDA + Bluetooth enabled Cellular phone

[Jonathon Watkins]

Welcome to the party fcalcada. :way to go: Interesting post.

As for me - I want a device to look at stored web pages, do all the usual PIM things, view photos taken on a digital camera, listen to music & do this on a fairly large screen, but still be able to carry it round in a holster on my hip. I want a separate communications device – perhaps with Bluetooth but otherwise pretty dumb. I agree with DanielTS there.

I believe that as you said - there will be many niches for OEMs to exploit - so something like a PPC should always be available - even if it isn't called a PPC in the future.

[Kati Compton]

I could go for a SmartPhone + PPC-sized tablet... :razzing:

It's only a few functions that I need to be "instant-on", but I'd still want that tablet to be pretty fast to boot for it to be worth carrying around all the time, and to be worth replacing a PPC.

[davea]

DonS at bostonpocketpc quote:

"..For this industry, the phone is the method of communication in terms of form factor. While the Pocket PC (and Pocket PC - Phone Edition) can serve the needs of some, the majority of users prefer their content displayed in a form factor they are accustomed to when working with a handset."

DonS article hit the nail on the head. (I loved that article!!!) I've been using a Nokia 3650 "Smart Phone" for several weeks. Although not MS based, it sure does most of what I need in a PDA. I suppose my next "hand held device" will be a MS based Smart Phone!!

[crass]

I have never been a fan of a combo device. The combination of a BT PDA with a BT cell phone worked better for me (ipaq 3870+Ericsson T39).

I get way better battery life from my T39 and I can carry this little inexpensive and sturdy device anywhere. Additionaly, I cannot settle anymore for a PDA with lower than 320x240 resolution. Anything lower is simply non-functional (for me).

That said, I have come to see things a little differently the last 10 days that my boss bought a Treo 600. This device is marvelous. I find it an excellent compromise of size and functionality. We go to meetings and I carry two devices, he carrys just one. He never misses an alarm (ok its Palm based). I miss almost all. Battery life as he claims is excllent but he barely uses anything else than the PIM apps so its not my usage type.
I struggle to enter text with the virtual keyboard while he beats me with the (surprisingly) good keyboard. A combo device is much more than the convenience of not carrying two devices. He can have a detailed call list from day one. That's a neat feature to remember at any given time with whom you have spoken in the past.
Bottom line, if in theory, a Treo 600 with WM2003 was out there, I would be sold. Given the battery technology makes a long leap and can match my T39 battery life. Until then, I just buy pure PDAs