Monday, August 2, 2004
InfoWorld: "I know laptops, and you, PDA, are no laptop"
Posted by Janak Parekh in "ARTICLE" @ 08:15 PM
Oliver Rist goes on a big-time whine about PDAs in his latest InfoWorld column:
"Hewlett-Packard just released pre-production versions of its newest line of iPaq's to the usual magazine review outlets, some happy executive noodlehead read them and started drooling, and now this company has decided to move all-in. They call it 'enabling' anyone who does or might travel with the convenience of PDA technology. Well let's take a look at that, shall we? Oh yeah, it's rant time. What's so convenient about PDAs, even the newest ones? I still don't get this. It's another annoying box you have to carry around and make sure not to lose...And 'convenient' simply refers to the fact that you don't have to sit through a laptop's boot time. I know of no executive with any real use for PCs who can go on a trip carrying only a PDA."
I guess Mr. Rist hasn't really gotten any good use of his PDA. Not only do I carry a laptop everywhere, but I carry two Pocket PCs, and I use them every single day. Try using your laptop while walking down the street, or while looking up a phone number when talking to someone, or wanting to jot something quick down. Laptops just don't cut it there, and boot-up time is only one variable. That said, I have seen the executive type who just wants a PDA because they think they're supposed to carry one, only to stick it in a drawer and let it gather dust. For those, a smartphone might be enough. But summarily dismissing PDAs as a tool doesn't quite do the handheld justice -- they don't have to replace the laptop to be useful.
"Hewlett-Packard just released pre-production versions of its newest line of iPaq's to the usual magazine review outlets, some happy executive noodlehead read them and started drooling, and now this company has decided to move all-in. They call it 'enabling' anyone who does or might travel with the convenience of PDA technology. Well let's take a look at that, shall we? Oh yeah, it's rant time. What's so convenient about PDAs, even the newest ones? I still don't get this. It's another annoying box you have to carry around and make sure not to lose...And 'convenient' simply refers to the fact that you don't have to sit through a laptop's boot time. I know of no executive with any real use for PCs who can go on a trip carrying only a PDA."
I guess Mr. Rist hasn't really gotten any good use of his PDA. Not only do I carry a laptop everywhere, but I carry two Pocket PCs, and I use them every single day. Try using your laptop while walking down the street, or while looking up a phone number when talking to someone, or wanting to jot something quick down. Laptops just don't cut it there, and boot-up time is only one variable. That said, I have seen the executive type who just wants a PDA because they think they're supposed to carry one, only to stick it in a drawer and let it gather dust. For those, a smartphone might be enough. But summarily dismissing PDAs as a tool doesn't quite do the handheld justice -- they don't have to replace the laptop to be useful.
