How crappy are phones?

[Trimac20]

I must admit that I do not particularly like the majority of mobile phones on the market today, particularly they cases of plastic filled with cheap electronics made by a certain Finnish communications giant...(well, there are a few exceptions, the excellent and very affordable Nokia 3650/6600 for one). After using a Pocket PC it is laughable how small the screens are on some of those phones, the Nokia 7250 for example, has a screen barely larger than a postage stamp!! But then again, these are phones...but smartphones should also function as PIMs,etc. In comparison, my Nokia 3650 now seems clumsy, the OS very slow and the overall functionality lower.

But, anyway, the purpose of this post is about Smartphones and Pocket PCs/Palm (handhelds in general). Although we have seen ever-'revolutionary' new smartphones on the market, such as the Nokia 7600, Sony Ericsson t630, Motorola MPx and of course the Sony Ericsson P900, they just don't offer the same functionality as a Pocket PC. Many, as you would know, vehemently believe the Pocket PC will decline as the phone gains in popularity, but I am pretty sure there will also be a market for them. This topic has probably been discussed many times before, but I will put it forth again for discussions sake.

[prismejon]

Although we have seen ever-'revolutionary' new smartphones on the market, such as the Nokia 7600, Sony Ericsson t630, Motorola MPx and of course the Sony Ericsson P900, they just don't offer the same functionality as a Pocket PC.

Ehmm.. The Motorola MPx IS a PocketPC (Windows Mobile Phone Edition 2003).. Or at least it will be when it is released.

[Kowalski]

i dont think that all-in-one products are usefull.
yes p900 could be a good device but i think a BT phone+PDA will produce much better results

[Janak Parekh]

Although we have seen ever-'revolutionary' new smartphones on the market, such as the Nokia 7600, Sony Ericsson t630, Motorola MPx and of course the Sony Ericsson P900, they just don't offer the same functionality as a Pocket PC.
You're making the fundamental assumption that everyone needs the functionality of a Pocket PC. Many people genuinely have no interest in that level of functionality, and for them non-touchscreen phones are adequate. They're also more durable.

As for the P900, it's a lot more competitive with the Pocket PC than you might first initially think. ;) I won't get one (lack of WiFi, Memory Stick Duo, etc.), but it has its proponents -- and Symbian is an active dev platform.

--janak