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I was intrigued by
comments
yesterday over in the Palm world, with Jeff Hawkins (come on, keep up at the
back, if you don't know who Jeff is then your knowledge of mobile computing is
sadly lacking...) hinting at a 'secret' program of Palm's, producing something
for the next generation, when high-speed always-on Internet is a given. The
idea presumably is that the Internet (and your own chosen servers/RSS
feeds/portals/whatever) becomes the centre of your mobile computing experience.
For example, why carry around static reference databases when you can look
things up on the master system online? Why struggle to type/scribble a long
email when you can make a call or leave a voice mail in a fraction of the time?
Why copy over documents and then convert/work on them and then send them back
(risking damage) when you can edit the originals directly? Why mess around with
map databases on expansion card when you can access bang-up-to-date maps, route
planning and traffic information online? Why keep your PIM information totally
to yourself when you could be working with PIM data online, with selected
colleagues and family given access to the bits they need?
And so on. Of
course, the economics of today's GPRS and EDGE connectivity (and even 3G) don't
quite match up to this mobile nirvana, and quite appropriately. Coverage across
the whole of the UK isn't perfect (let alone the rest of the world), and it's a
huge letdown when you find yourself needing to send an email, make a call or
get navigation information, only to see no signal bars on your network
display.
As a result,
today's cutting edge mobile devices represent something of a 50:50 compromise,
mixing local applications and Internet-reliant functionality. There's still
some way to go.
This trend towards
working online shouldn't really have caught anyone by surprise. It's certainly
what Symbian had in mind at its creation. Look back 10 years to the era of the
all conquering Psions and fledgling Palms. There was no concept of
connectivity, the information on your palmtop was all there was until you next
got back to your PC and managed to copy things over, and local text entry was
crucial.
 Fast forward to the current day and the role of a
modern device has changed out of all recognition, adding email, instant
messaging, web, music playback and photography. Not to mention gaming,
telephony and video playback. Absolute text entry represents a much
smaller fraction of the workload than it used to. As an experiment, I've been
using a Nokia 6630 instead of my trademark 9500. And, apart from writing this
piece (for which I cheated slightly by using a Bluetooth keyboard), I've found
that I've actually been able to do more with the smaller device. My photos have
been miles clearer, the sync with Outlook on the PC has been better (support
for Notes, yay!), email checks have been quicker and I've had an awful lot of
fun playing some seriously addictive Series 60 games (shhhh.....)
As the mobile
world shifts away from solitary uber-geeks (like me, I admit it) tapping away
on palmtop keyboards, to averagely technical professionals using their
smartphone to interface with their networks, their friends and the world in
general, I think Jeff Hawkins is on the right track. Not that Palm are the only
ones thinking along these lines – Nokia and Microsoft (to name but two)
will be right along for the ride too.
When 3G data
services are more or less universal and costs are down to a sensible level (say
£15 a month in the UK), the prospect of keeping your data, your sources
and your life online will start to make sense. Not that you'll do all this
through whatever web browser is installed on your device. A true smartphone of
the future will feature intelligent applications, integrating the Internet with
local data seamlessly and efficiently. Others will be able to see what you're
up to (with your permission, of course), access your images and video, share
common data, compete with you in cutting edge games, wherever you are in the
world.
There will have to
be some technological improvements to match the new telephony, of course.
Longer battery life (or, better, recharging by magnetic induction, solar power
or simple movement) and faster processors spring to mind. But, as I've noticed
with the way the Series 60 world has come together in the last 12 months,
technology often comes good at the right time.
Those familiar
with the Symbian OS world will recognise a lot of the concepts I've just
mentioned. The activities currently enjoyed by leading edge adopters, fairly
expensively and with a not inconsiderable amount of fiddling around, will in a
year or two be mainstream, inexpensive and an awful lot easier. And that's good
news for all of us who plan to be around to enjoy this next generation of
mobile computing.
Steve Litchfield,
Summer 2005
(originally published over on
AllAboutSymbian) |
