Thursday, February 28, 2002
Fishing For The Perfect Pocket PC
Posted by Jason Dunn in "ARTICLE" @ 01:17 PM
http://www.wirelessweek.com/index.asp?layout=story&doc_id=71446&verticalID=34&vertical=Business+and+Finance
This column by Brad Smith (source: Christopher Coluter) talks about how Compaq designed the iPAQ Pocket PC - it's a great read and proves that creative thinking is a powerful tool when paired with great engineering.
"Could a fish be responsible for the design of the most popular Pocket PC device available today? That's probably a stretch, but the lure of trout definitely played a part in the conception of Compaq Computer Corp.'s iPAQ personal digital assistant. An idea born in the Colorado Rockies, the PDA was an instant success, so much so that the company couldn't keep up with demand. Initial orders were 10 times what the company forecast. Now in its second generation, the iPAQ remains the leading Pocket PC platform.
Credit for the iPAQ goes to a group of industrial designers led by Randall Martin, Compaq's director of design. Martin had been told by then-CEO Ben Rosen to break out of the mold and take some chances. 'We had been doing what everyone else was doing,' he says. 'We were basing our designs off existing platforms. We needed to go outside the normal.' "
The article goes on to say that they came up with fictional characters, analyzed their needs, and created a device to meet those needs.
"Contractor Bob was a construction foreman who was on the move most of the day, overseeing the work site. He needed a device that could store a lot of information, had a battery that lasted all day, was readable in bright sunlight and had some voice dictation capabilities. Among the features that June the Soccer Mom needed were multiple calendars to keep track of her children's different activities and schedules."
What I find a little ironic is they failed on a few counts: the original iPAQs battery couldn't last a full day under heavy use with side lighting active, and we still don't have multiple calendars or the ability to work with or sync against anything but default calendar entries.
What are your "Contractor Bob" or "June the Soccer Mom" features that are still missing from the current generation of Pocket PCs, either in software or hardware?
For me, I'd like to be able to have a copy of my wife's calendar on my Pocket PC, and vice versa. But since Microsoft killed Outlook Net Folders, I can't even get a copy into my version of Outlook any longer, and even if I could, I couldn't get that data onto my Pocket PC. It's not like I'm going to install an Exchange server at home to get this done - Microsoft is completely missing the boat when it comes to SOHO users and their needs...
This column by Brad Smith (source: Christopher Coluter) talks about how Compaq designed the iPAQ Pocket PC - it's a great read and proves that creative thinking is a powerful tool when paired with great engineering.
"Could a fish be responsible for the design of the most popular Pocket PC device available today? That's probably a stretch, but the lure of trout definitely played a part in the conception of Compaq Computer Corp.'s iPAQ personal digital assistant. An idea born in the Colorado Rockies, the PDA was an instant success, so much so that the company couldn't keep up with demand. Initial orders were 10 times what the company forecast. Now in its second generation, the iPAQ remains the leading Pocket PC platform.
Credit for the iPAQ goes to a group of industrial designers led by Randall Martin, Compaq's director of design. Martin had been told by then-CEO Ben Rosen to break out of the mold and take some chances. 'We had been doing what everyone else was doing,' he says. 'We were basing our designs off existing platforms. We needed to go outside the normal.' "
The article goes on to say that they came up with fictional characters, analyzed their needs, and created a device to meet those needs.
"Contractor Bob was a construction foreman who was on the move most of the day, overseeing the work site. He needed a device that could store a lot of information, had a battery that lasted all day, was readable in bright sunlight and had some voice dictation capabilities. Among the features that June the Soccer Mom needed were multiple calendars to keep track of her children's different activities and schedules."
What I find a little ironic is they failed on a few counts: the original iPAQs battery couldn't last a full day under heavy use with side lighting active, and we still don't have multiple calendars or the ability to work with or sync against anything but default calendar entries.
What are your "Contractor Bob" or "June the Soccer Mom" features that are still missing from the current generation of Pocket PCs, either in software or hardware?
For me, I'd like to be able to have a copy of my wife's calendar on my Pocket PC, and vice versa. But since Microsoft killed Outlook Net Folders, I can't even get a copy into my version of Outlook any longer, and even if I could, I couldn't get that data onto my Pocket PC. It's not like I'm going to install an Exchange server at home to get this done - Microsoft is completely missing the boat when it comes to SOHO users and their needs...
