It's a PDA Jim, But Not As We Know It

[Jonathon Watkins]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.popsci.com/popsci/computers/article/0,12543,613615-2,00.html' target='_blank'>http://www.popsci.com/popsci/comput...13615-2,00.html</a><br /><br /></div>Popular Science has a fascinating series of articles about 'The Best of What's Next', i.e. looking at what five technologies will really shine in the next few years Top of their list was the PDA. But this is like no PDA you've ever seen yet:<br /><br />"The handheld "smart communicator" will have the memory and processing power of today's best desktop computers, and it'll display on any nearby screen. The virtual laptop is pocket-size. Call it the smart communicator. In a few years, the functions in today's personal digital assistant (PDA)--notebook, to-do list, calendar, contacts--will be the least of it. Thanks to a variant of Moore's Law that says data-storage density doubles every 18 months, tomorrow's smart communicator will hold 250GB--enough to store 55 movies. Indeed, video--both viewing and recording--will be a killer app. One reason: "There will be phenomenal leaps forward in display technology," says Hank Nothhaft, chairman and CEO of Danger Labs, maker of the SideKick PDA. Say good-bye to your PDA's power-greedy liquid crystal display (LCD). Say hello to the smart communicator's energy-efficient, organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display. OLEDs use organic materials that emit light when electrically charged, so there's no need for a backlight." <br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/modern pda.gif" /><br /><br />OLEDs are already found in some mobile phones, but 250Gb of storage in a communicator? If you generously start with a 1Gb CF card today, that would still take just under 14 years to get there. Still, it's sooner than you think, but by then, high definition video etc. will probably have gobbled up all that storage! :wink: Still, there's other things to look forward to.<br /><br />"The smart communicator will have its own nervous system: sensors that assess the outside world and adjust the device's behavior accordingly. A built-in RFID (radio-frequency identification) reader will pick up data stored on RFID tags in nearby objects, so the PDA will automatically embed identification labels in the photos it takes. The onboard eye scanner will let you navigate pages with a mere glance at the menu bar. Light, heat and motion sensors will enable the device to know whether it's in your pocket or your hand, and pump up its cellphone's ring tone if needed. A tilt sensor will trigger the display to shift between portrait and landscape mode, and it'll offer finger-free scrolling. The microphone will measure ambient noise and adjust the volume to compensate in a loud restaurant. The GPS will detect when you're nearing home, and the communicator will signal ahead to turn on the heat or AC. Once you arrive, the Bluetooth network will automatically synchronize data between your communicator and your PC." <br /><br />They will still use Bluetooth in the future? How quaint. :wink: I wonder if MS will still be using a variant of Activesync? :lol: The article goes on to talk about high-speed wireless connectivity, advanced biometric security, membrane batteries, projected keyboards, the works! The graphic of the handheld device unfolding into a large screen is well worth a peek as well. So, does it ring true for you? How do you see the future of the PDA developing?

[wbcliton]

I believe this thing will be a revolution in the history of PDA. It combines the excellent performance of PC with the mini-size of PDA.

Maybe some wonderful IT technology can be inserted into this small thing,
such as the HAMR(Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording) of Seagate, which may suffice the need for big storage as big as 250GB
or some new bus or wireless connection standard which transmits data faster and more stable than that of today,
and maybe an all-new CPU making it a real Powerful Computer.

http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/logsdon_20040510_popscipda.gifIllustrations by Kenn Brown and Chris Wren

http://i.timeinc.net/popsci/images/computer/comp0504nextpda_B_488.gifOpen up the handheld-mode display panel (top left) to turn the PDA into a videophone (top right). Unfurl the desktop-mode display: Polymers along the flexible OLED edges stiffen when an electric charge is applied, keeping it open and flat.

Illustrations by Kenn Brown and Chris Wren

[Kacey Green]

I was wondering when I would see this article here :D

[Gerard]

I rather suspect that one of the more practical implementations of wireless for mobile users will be in getting images into pairs of glasses. Direct retinal or passive displays presented in front of one or both eyes (a simple toggle for this), combined with a variable-opacity LCD lens laminate would offer see-through or opaque images, as needed. Input via a thin slab of flexible, pocketable material around 3" x 4", with fingers or a stylus, would provide radio-linked input for navigation, graphics work, writing, whatever, with the results displayed instantly in the glasses. Similarly, such an input panel could output to any nearby display as desired, making it essentially a universal mouse.

Just a thought. I'd personally rather see thinner and wider/taller screens on an all-in-one device something like a Pocket PC, albeit with improved screen quality and battery life, and more slots for cards. I like the Swiss Army Knife approach to computing, with a pocket full of gadget add-ons and one central device. So yes, this folding device does appeal to me... perhaps coupled to such an input device as I suggest above.

[OSUKid7]

That thing rocks. 8)

[Kacey Green]

This thread need some trekie refrences.

Live long and prosper.

[Gerard]

This thread need some trekie refrences.

Live long and prosper.

Yah, okay, it rocks:

http://www.luthier.ca/other/forum/post_long_and_prosper.gif

[jake080]

looks amazing, though expensive and a few years off i guess :-\
definately exciting though.
~Jake

[jimski]

But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, how about; push email, an always availabe 112K (minimum) wireless Internet connection and no more than two taps to check, weather, traffic, news, etc.

As long as I can pick up a phone (any phone) and make a call to; check for messages or check the weather or traffic faster than I can with a PDA, then the device is an ineffective communicator.

W?BIC is nice, but it is wearing thin in these areas. This should be the norm. I don't need anything new today. I just need what's available today in a single trouble free device.

[wxrman]

It's the kiss of death!

If they say it's the future... it NEVER happens.

I've been reading it since the 70's and it never fails...

8O

[Kacey Green]

It's the kiss of death!

If they say it's the future... it NEVER happens.

I've been reading it since the 70's and it never fails...

8O
like the OQO, or even worse "When it's done"

[ctmagnus]

waaaaaay ot, but does anyone else notice that page one of this thread tends to crash Pocket IE when using MultiIE?

[Pat Logsdon]

waaaaaay ot, but does anyone else notice that page one of this thread tends to crash Pocket IE when using MultiIE?
Good call! I'm pretty sure that was because the original linked GIF image was being redirected on the popsci servers to a 155k bmp image. :mrgreen: I've replaced it with a much smaller GIF file.

[Gerard]

Nope, sorry, running PPC2002 on a Dell X5 400MHz model and with the most recent (as in, not very) MultiIE, I have no trouble opening the first page of this thread, over dialup or Wi-Fi. I did, on the other hand, find that the article linked to from the thread-starter post would not open properly. After about 3 minutes watching a white screen I gave up and closed the page. NetFront had no such problem, so I was able to look at the original article.

MultiIE is still buggy as heck, but it got a whole lot less so with the last release. The most aggravating bugs are found when trying to save PHP pages (display later as a small batch of weird code instead of a web page), and a tendency to lock up the device when I switch pages and then too-soon tap anything in the top page. Seems if I wait about 2 seconds or a little more there is no issue, but I'm impatient, and after about 2 years of this problem with MultiIE and many complaints to Peter about it I still make the same silly mistake. Doesn't matter if I tap the scrollbars, the View or Tools buttons, whatever, it just freezes if I don't give it a couple of heartbeats to catch up to me when page-jumping.

[joelevi]

Why does everything "futuristic" have to have sharp looking angles and edges that will no doubt break off frequently?

Think organic, ergnomic, smooth, integrated, seemless... those are the qualities of the future...

[Jonathon Watkins]

waaaaaay ot, but does anyone else notice that page one of this thread tends to crash Pocket IE when using MultiIE?
Good call! I'm pretty sure that was because the original linked GIF image was being redirected on the popsci servers to a 155k bmp image. :mrgreen: I've replaced it with a much smaller GIF file.

:confused totally: I cropped the original picture and turned it into a 25k GIF. Are you referring to the additional pictures that Wbcliton helpfully added to the thread?

[Jonathon Watkins]

I was wondering when I would see this article here :D

Umm, yes, it was in my in-tray for a bit - while I concentrated on more immediate news. :oops: Still, better late than never. :wink:

Quite agree with you JoeLevi - too many angles. :? The future will be smooth. :wink:

[ctmagnus]

Are you referring to the additional pictures that Wbcliton helpfully added to the thread?

Possibly. I notice the first page of the thread still crashes on PIE, just not so quickly now.

[wbcliton]

It's the kiss of death!

If they say it's the future... it NEVER happens.

I've been reading it since the 70's and it never fails...

8O
like the OQO, or even worse "When it's done"

The main weak point of OQO is its screen size, but this futuristic PDA adopts a convertible display which is about the size of 12" OLED screen.
I believe this will overcomes the main weak point of OQO.

Maybe in future, we will not need material thing for computing, something spiritual or like that will run at speed million times faster than today's fastest supercomputer.