possmann
04-03-2003, 05:56 PM
I am sure that I am going to step on some PDA brand loyalists with my observation but I am willing to accept the backlash ;) For this post I am talking primarily about the hardware devices themselves.
Have you noticed that we have reached a plateau with the PocketPC? I mean, what really has changed over the past two years and is there anything revolutionary coming out in 2003?
There is nothing really new with the display – no break from the traditional LCD that is becoming increasing limiting to overall size and form factor of our beloved deceives. What about all this talk about OLED devices? Are we “stuck” with what we have for another two, three, four or more years? I was reading about iridigm (http://iridigm.com/index.html) again and found that nothing has changed since the last time I read about it eight months ago. How disappointing! With technology this promising you’d think device makers would love to jump on it to finally differentiate themselves from every other PocketPC device out there.
Have you noticed that basically every PDA is “about” the same? Sure, the iPaq has a biometric fingerprint security feature on it – but outside of that – what else? Improved battery life? Lighter and thinner device?
How about a PDA that you can really put in your back pocket? Something really thin with an integrated metal cover on it that is made out of a strong and elegant looking metal – now that would be something worth the price of what iPaq charges for their new PDA devices!
And then there is battery life – what has really changed? Have we started to see tons of new power saving products or batteries with increased power capacity in devices we can buy? Think about that one ;) Who, with their PDA, can hop on a plane, watch a full movie – without jeopardizing viewing quality by squinting at a dimly lit display to save on battery – and then be fully productive with their PDA after they land without first looking for a way to charge the darn thing up?
I hope I am way off base here and hopefully some of you will be able to point out that late in 2003 we will see new OLED PDA devices and higher capacity battery devices, but with the production year in swing, I just don’t see anything “new” coming out this year – sigh :roll: .
Software is probably the easiest thing to change and I am always seeing improvements in our fine community. OS-wise I’d like to think that we’ll start to see some significant changes in resolution, color etc… Perhaps an ability to adjust resolution and color display much like we have the capability to do with our desktop displays now. That would be cool!
My greatest fear is that we of the PocketPC world follow in the path and history of the Palm device world – no new technology updates in hardware (or OS) for years! It took Sony to shake that world up and frankly, the PocketPC device makers need to push the bleeding edge in design and hardware capabilities soon less they repeat Palm’s history.
Have you noticed that we have reached a plateau with the PocketPC? I mean, what really has changed over the past two years and is there anything revolutionary coming out in 2003?
There is nothing really new with the display – no break from the traditional LCD that is becoming increasing limiting to overall size and form factor of our beloved deceives. What about all this talk about OLED devices? Are we “stuck” with what we have for another two, three, four or more years? I was reading about iridigm (http://iridigm.com/index.html) again and found that nothing has changed since the last time I read about it eight months ago. How disappointing! With technology this promising you’d think device makers would love to jump on it to finally differentiate themselves from every other PocketPC device out there.
Have you noticed that basically every PDA is “about” the same? Sure, the iPaq has a biometric fingerprint security feature on it – but outside of that – what else? Improved battery life? Lighter and thinner device?
How about a PDA that you can really put in your back pocket? Something really thin with an integrated metal cover on it that is made out of a strong and elegant looking metal – now that would be something worth the price of what iPaq charges for their new PDA devices!
And then there is battery life – what has really changed? Have we started to see tons of new power saving products or batteries with increased power capacity in devices we can buy? Think about that one ;) Who, with their PDA, can hop on a plane, watch a full movie – without jeopardizing viewing quality by squinting at a dimly lit display to save on battery – and then be fully productive with their PDA after they land without first looking for a way to charge the darn thing up?
I hope I am way off base here and hopefully some of you will be able to point out that late in 2003 we will see new OLED PDA devices and higher capacity battery devices, but with the production year in swing, I just don’t see anything “new” coming out this year – sigh :roll: .
Software is probably the easiest thing to change and I am always seeing improvements in our fine community. OS-wise I’d like to think that we’ll start to see some significant changes in resolution, color etc… Perhaps an ability to adjust resolution and color display much like we have the capability to do with our desktop displays now. That would be cool!
My greatest fear is that we of the PocketPC world follow in the path and history of the Palm device world – no new technology updates in hardware (or OS) for years! It took Sony to shake that world up and frankly, the PocketPC device makers need to push the bleeding edge in design and hardware capabilities soon less they repeat Palm’s history.