Saturday, October 21, 2006
Mobile Opportunity: Will the Smartphone Kill the PC?
Posted by Janak Parekh in "ARTICLE" @ 11:00 AM
"The quotes coming out of London this week had me wondering: Is Symbian's management insane? Or are they just posturing? Here's what they said: 'The personal computer as we know it will soon be dead, replaced by rapidly growing demand for smart mobile devices, according to the head of Symbian.' --IT Pro. They sound disturbingly like some of the most enthusiastic PDA enthusiasts did in 2000. I cringed then, and I cringe now. Here's why..."
And, with that, Mike Mace pens a succinct, but very interesting post about the difference of Smartphones and desktop computers, and where the future lies for both. I think most Windows Mobile devices, including Pocket PCs and Pocket PC Phones, fall largely in the Smartphone category as well. I know we have a few hardcore users that use the Pocket PCs more than desktops for "creation", but I agree with Mike: their value is in information access. Now, what Microsoft really needs to do is to make that access more seamless -- I still have to work too hard to sync information and tools onto my Treo. Just because "Smartphones" don't replace computers doesn't mean that I should have to tether the two to get information transferred.
And, with that, Mike Mace pens a succinct, but very interesting post about the difference of Smartphones and desktop computers, and where the future lies for both. I think most Windows Mobile devices, including Pocket PCs and Pocket PC Phones, fall largely in the Smartphone category as well. I know we have a few hardcore users that use the Pocket PCs more than desktops for "creation", but I agree with Mike: their value is in information access. Now, what Microsoft really needs to do is to make that access more seamless -- I still have to work too hard to sync information and tools onto my Treo. Just because "Smartphones" don't replace computers doesn't mean that I should have to tether the two to get information transferred.
