05-08-2004, 08:00 AM
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Swami
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 4,303
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It's a PDA Jim, But Not As We Know It
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:
"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."
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.
"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."
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?
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05-08-2004, 09:53 AM
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Neophyte
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 3
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I believe this thing will be a revolution in the history of PDA.
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.
 Illustrations by Kenn Brown and Chris Wren
 Open 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
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05-08-2004, 04:53 PM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,097
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I was wondering when I would see this article here 
__________________
Please see www.grlt.com "Tech with a twist of lime!"
The Midlands Hybrid Club MidlandsHybrid.com
Current: Kacey's Wing, T-mo Wing Past: GCM_T, T-Mobile MDA |
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05-08-2004, 06:29 PM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 1,043
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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.
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Gerard Ivan Samija
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05-08-2004, 09:33 PM
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Mystic
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,725
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That thing rocks. 8)
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05-08-2004, 09:34 PM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,097
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This thread need some trekie refrences.
Live long and prosper.
__________________
Please see www.grlt.com "Tech with a twist of lime!"
The Midlands Hybrid Club MidlandsHybrid.com
Current: Kacey's Wing, T-mo Wing Past: GCM_T, T-Mobile MDA |
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05-08-2004, 10:55 PM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 1,043
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Kacey Green
This thread need some trekie refrences.
Live long and prosper.
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Yah, okay, it rocks:
__________________
Gerard Ivan Samija
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05-08-2004, 11:58 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 241
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looks amazing, though expensive and a few years off i guess :-\
definately exciting though.
~Jake
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05-09-2004, 05:03 AM
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Philosopher
Join Date: Nov 2002
Posts: 544
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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.
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05-10-2004, 08:52 AM
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Pupil
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 33
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Popular Science?
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
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Linear Mode
