Windows Phone Thoughts: Turning Over A New "Leaf"?

"Jeremy Wagstaff has written a thought provoking article in the Wall Street Journal. [Paid subscription required] I completely agree with the author; modern PDA technology has seen a lot of innovations but it still lacks a certain something when it comes to seamless usability in our day-to-day lives. I have tried my level best to use the mobile technology to jot down the quick reminders and small to-do lists. But none of the gadgets, neither the thumbpad based BlackBerry, nor the touch screen based Pocket PC or more recently voice notes on my Smartphone, have compelled and convinced me that it is the alternative to paper and pen. And it is not the fault of these mobile gadgets and solutions, they are all functional and powerful, it is just that they lack a certain something. This statement made by Jeremy sums it up - "They're great for storing information, such as events, addresses and the like. But for capturing my thoughts -- from shopping lists to philosophies? Never." What are your thoughts? Will you be picking up the good old pen this weekend to jot down your thoughts?"

Kris Kumar has started a fascinating discussion over at Smartphone Thoughts about using PDAs or Smartphones to go paperless. I disagree with his (and the original author's) assertion -- in my opinion, habits are the primary difference-maker, and since we've all grown up with paper we're used to it, but I've found that with sufficient self-training I use my Pocket PC as the primary note-taker. In fact, I've found I don't even carry a pen in my bag anymore. 8O I'm much happier this way, as I haven't lost that piece of paper in a while. What about you? Take a look at the linked discussion and feel free to post there... or, if you like, feel free to post your thoughts here. (Somehow, we need to be able to have joint conversations on the Thoughts Media sites. ;))