Anders Borg over at Abiro posted a nice diagram outlining one of my key points about the nature of mobile devices, in the from of a Venn diagram showing capabilities of mobile phones and computers/laptops. It's a great diagram, worth a look.
So again, folks: the mobile phone is not handicapped. It's differently abled. It has capabilities the computer does not.
This also feeds back to my central premise on mobile application design: Mobilize, don't miniaturize. If you try to simply shrink your desktop application onto the mobile phone, it will be limited to the overlap between phone and device capabilities. If you instead mobilize, taking advantage of technical and social features of the mobile phone, you are far more likely to have a fantastic application.
I think you are accurate in your predictions of the future. I read somewhere recently that more people in Asia are accessing the internet through their mobile devices than do so through a traditional pc. I??m interested, though, in another aspect of your central premise. Specifically, you claim the mobile phone as ???differently??? capable, which, at present, I think is a pretty accurate way of phrasing it. However, this seems to imply that you don??t see projects to make the mobile more like a PC as productive. In other words, you aren??t interested in devices such as flexible, roll-able keyboards or sites like Phonifier which filter normal webpages down to mobile-size pages. I??m not sure whether I agree or not. Certainly there seem to be a lot of people and companies out there who ARE trying to make the mobile device into a portable PC.
What do you suppose the effect of the new ???Surface??? from Microsoft will be in terms of the growth and development of cell phone usage? There has seemed to be a trend over the last several years towards cells as a replacement for PCs, though, as you argue quite effectively, it may be that they shouldn??t be viewed as a PC replacement so much as a different (and in some ways more useful) device altogether. Yet if Microsoft??s vision does win out, it would seem to suggest that computer access of all types, including but not limited to the internet, could potentially be available everywhere, on every ???surface??? we encounter. In such a world, one wonders if phones would be needed at all; simply touch any surface and connect to anyone immediately. Or, as you suggest, does this mean that cells will increasingly take on very different functions from PCs?
Microsoft Surface is an example of ubiquitous (or perhaps environmental) computing.
My fast answer is: this won’t eliminate mobile phones any more than Star Trek ubiquitous computing got rid of communicators or tablets. The functions are different and complementary, though sometimes overlapping.
To put it another way: mobile phones are killing pay phones in many places.
Will there come a time that mobile phones will overthrow laptops or PCs? I noticed a tough competition between music-enabled mobile phones and iPod nowadays in favor of the former. Will this same case happen between PC and mobile phones?
What can you say about the case of iPhone? It seems that they have attempted to roll mobile phone, PC, internet, and everything into one device ??? the iPhone. But what??s going on?
I think is a pretty accurate way of phrasing it. However, this seems to imply that you don??t see projects to make the mobile more like a PC as productive. In other words, you aren??t interested in devices such as flexible, roll-able keyboards or sites like Phonifier which filter normal webpages down to mobile-size pages. I??m not sure whether I agree or not.
Thank You for another very interesting article. It??s really good written and I fully agree with You on main issue, btw. I must say that I really enjoyed reading all of Your posts. It??s interesting to read ideas, and observations from someone else??s point of view??? it makes you think more. So please try to keep up the great work all the time. Greetings
Thanks for very interesting article. btw. I really enjoyed reading all of your posts. It??s interesting to read ideas, and observations from someone else??s point of view??? makes you think more. So please keep up the great work. Greetings
I??m interested, though, in another aspect of your central premise. Specifically, you claim the mobile phone as ???differently??? capable, which, at present, I think is a pretty accurate way of phrasing it. However, this seems to imply that you don??t see projects to make the mobile more like a PC as productive. In other words, you aren??t interested in devices such as flexible, roll-able keyboards or sites like Phonifier which filter normal webpages down to mobile-size pages.
@H?rmann: You are right, I do not think that the Personal Communications Device will be our do-everything device. Instead, the PCD will be focused on communications with enough entertainment and work functions to support you while mobile. A separate device will be used for work, and that device will vary based on work needs. It will NOT be the always-with-you device.
A bit of evidence in this direction is the fact that people use an iPhone and an iPod (as well as a full computer). They serve different needs. One oft-reported reason is that the phone really needs to have battery power; it’s a safety and social connection.
I agree with you. Miniaturizing is like downgrading an electronic device.
I can still remember how my friends used to think that the more hi-tech a phone is the more that it is capable of supporting one??s computer- or Internet-based needs. I, however personally, think that regardless of the unit of the phone you have it??s up to the user to make the most of the applications available. One may have an iPhone but still he can??t make use of the applications in there compared to someone who has something simpler but is capable of using all of the applications available to his advantage.
However, this seems to imply that you don??t see projects to make the mobile more like a PC as productive. In other words, you aren??t interested in devices such as flexible, roll-able keyboards or sites …
Thanks, i was desperately looking for that info!, great article covering some points I really needed, some good usability info for.
Thank u i´m searching for it