Little Springs Design. 2001 – 2010.

You won't find me advocating separate PDA and phone devices for everyone, but for some it's the way to go. I'm finding it very useful to have a "large" device for normal everyday use, and a smaller device when I just want to travel light. It's also really nice to be able to talk on the phone and look at my PDA at the same time.

But I really need the devices to work together. The PDA (a Palm LifeDrive) has a Bluetooth connection and the ability to tell the phone to make a call, or to browse the web using the phone's network connection. This is a good first step (and it would be better if I actually had a phone that could support it), but other steps are necessary.

What would the ideal PDA-companion phone look like?

• Small. It should have maybe a 2-line display and a comfortable keypad. I'd be happiest with a clamshell form factor.
• Bluetooth connectivity. I want to be able to use my PDA to tell the phone to dial a number, use my PDA to browse the internet or use any applications, and use a headset.
• Pushed contacts. I definitely want my most-frequently called contacts in my phone, but not all the contacts. I also want my phone to be updated automatically when a contact number changes. I'll leave thus intelligence to my PDA, which has to be able to push contact data onto the phone.
• Limited function. Don't give me a browser, a KVM (J2ME environment), a scheduler, a tip calculator, wallpaper, or anything else. The phone should be very simple to use.

Carriers can still offer me add-on services - on my PDA. They can also offer me voice-driven services. But give me a small, simple phone to support my PDA (or other device).

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 3rd, 2005 at 3:03 pm and is filed under Design, Devices. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.