Where's the Innovations?

[SteveHoward999]

I think this was asked 6 months or so ago, but I see little changem so I'm asking again....

What happened to real innovation in PocketPCs? I'm using a 2-year-old Toshiba E830 - it has a 524 MHz processor, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, CF and SD slots, VGA screen and plenty of RAM.

The only thing on the market today that beats it significantly on specs is the HTC Universal, now over a year old, and all it really has as an advantage is phone and a keyboard. Frankly I have a better, smaller phone that I can pair with my PDA via Bluetooth for internet/email, so all I'm really missing is the keyboard.

What gives? We've seen a slew of PDA/phone devices with 64/126 memory, 400MHz processors, QVGA screens this year. One or two have included GPS, but I have had that for 3 years with a little CF card ...

Is there a queue of great innovations waiting to burst onto the stage around Christmas? I hear of various screen, battery and other new things but where are they? I need something to spend my technology budget on, and right now nothing is exciting me at all!

[Brad Adrian]

I think the "slowdown" you're seeing is something a lot of us have been aware of. In thinking about this, though, I always have to ask myself:

1. Is it possible that innovations simply came quickly in the past because the technologies and market were so new?

2. What additional features do I really think I want or need? And, how much am I willing to pay for them?

[SteveHoward999]

I always have to ask myself:
1. Is it possible that innovations simply came quickly in the past because the technologies and market were so new?



To which I have to reply - nope. Innovations generally are coming along faster than ever. I think part of the issue is that the merketing people have decided that we all want converged devices that are phones too, so all the great PDA innovations have been stalled while the manufacturers rethink their devices to include phones.


2. What additional features do I really think I want or need? And, how much am I willing to pay for them?



I have several answers to this - first. $600 is probably my absolute max budget ... I'd love to have a Universal, but at $750++ it's still too expensive, and it's not 'better enough' compared to my E830 to make the investment worthwhile.

As for what I want to see, here's just some -

VGA or better screen.
Easy access to monitor-out, wireless VGA/SVGA/XSVGA out would be fantastic
Simpler access to my PC remotely.
More powerful OS and processor so I can run at least some Windows software, even if it's only Windows 3.1 stuff.
Bigger RAM - a 10Gb or larger CF 'hard drive' would be great.
Built-in projection so I don't even need an external monitor!
Internal GPS (easy)
Enough radio options that I can get fast internet anywhere.

[tabenate]

I think the main limiting factor is the fact that advances in battery / power technology have been rather slow.

The one significant recent 'innovation', namely the addition of phone functionality, requires a battery that can last
at least a full day. To achieve this in the absence of significant progress on power technology necessitates cutting down on areas that are heaviest on battery depletion: VGA, 'extra' RAM, fast processors. And being a phone, it must also be small (which accounts for the lack of CF slots).

An attempt at a top range PDA + phone combined is The Universal. But it's a 'brick' as a phone and OEMs rightly don't see a huge market for such large phones.

The top end PDA's future is the UMPC. The mid-range PDA's future is a converged device.

[SteveHoward999]

The top end PDA's future is the UMPC. The mid-range PDA's future is a converged device.




Yeah that's what the marketeers want us to believe. How many here post regularly that they want VGA devices and WILL make compromises in size etc to get it? The marketeers are not users!

[tufif]

I think the problem is that the things just aren't selling all that well as pocket computers. I've wanted a windows mobile device since the first windows ce systems started shipping in the 90's, but I never could justify the cost since I don't really need a pda. I've been using a sidekick for years because having internet on my cell phone is something that I find very useful. I was looking at portable media players and decided on the t-mobile mda because it combined what the sidekick did with a portable music and video player, and as an added bonus I also finally got my pocket computer :)

[Janak Parekh]

Yeah that's what the marketeers want us to believe. How many here post regularly that they want VGA devices and WILL make compromises in size etc to get it? The marketeers are not users!
We, even on a "big" site like Pocket PC Thoughts, are a small slice of the overall user market. If you take a look at the market numbers, power PDAs are far outsold by regular PDAs, and they are far outsold by phones.

As someone who's gone down from VGA to QVGA to 240x240, I'm not sure I really want all that power with the corresponding size. I then gave the Universal to a family member, who in turn gave it up because it was too big/uncomfortably heavy. Now, if even the power users are split on this, what does that tell you about market demand?

Let me also add that innovation doesn't necessarily mean hardware advances. I think the usability innovations in more recent Pocket PC Phones (like my 700w) are also significant.

--janak

[Janak Parekh]

As for what I want to see, here's just some -
And what weight and size would you tolerate? For instance, the Universal is roughly 10oz/285g. As soon as you throw "more powerful processor" in there, you'll need to significantly increase the size from that point... and, honestly, what you describe does seem to be closer to a UMPC than a PDA.

If the DualCor had radios and was cheaper, that sounds like it'd solve the problem for you, having both WM5 and XP with a 800x480 screen. Unfortunately, that technology is currently in the $1250-$2000 price range.

--janak

[SteveHoward999]

The E830 I have is tolerable in size and weight - smaller would be nicer, but for me the size is no problem - it fits in my pocket just fine. I **think** the Universal is a little bigger. So it's massive as a phone - that's what Bluetooth is for ;-)

I wanted the DualCor until they took all the good bits out ...

I have little doubt that a machine with the sort of power I described will be possible in the near future. I have little doubt that continued minaturisation of components etc will make the device a tolerable size. Battery performance has been mostly stagnant for some time. I think we will be in for some renewed progress there in the next 12 months. Batteries are currently the biggest bottleneck to performance enhancements.