Farewell to PDAs, Hello to Smart Phones

Roland Piquepaille writes "Is it time to get rid of your PDA? Apparently yes, according to General Motors, writes Ephraim Schwartz in InfoWorld.The subtitle of this story is pretty clear: "GPS, Java, and push-to-talk give smart phones a clear edge over PDAs." "General Motors announced last week that it will partner with wireless carrier Nextel to use Nextel?s Motorola cell phones with data capabilities to market a field-force management application to its commercial truck fleet customers." GM chose these cell phones because people feel more comfortable with, but also because they can run sophisticated applications. And of course, because they are cheaper than handhelds, both to purchase and to maintain. Check this column for a summary and references."

Comments

Re:Not quite right...

[the uNF cola]

Disappearing? I disagree. Yes, a lot of phones have PDA options, and there are PDA's that work as phones, but until the right interface comes out that pleases everyone comes out and it becomes pseudo-standard, I think we'll see a lot of people using two devices.

Why two devices? Phones and PDA's have different technical requirements taht don't easily combine. A cell phone uses a minimal screen, needs about 12 buttons, uses audio and has a short battery ilfe. 2-5 hours talk time.

PDA's need large screens, and doesn't usually do well on typewritter input. Now-a-days, they need a better processor and all-in-all, needs to act more like a computer.

Right now, there are two devices that seem to do it near right, and those are the treo and the nokia phone that's an oblong clamshell. But even then, using it with a headphone isn't great.

But hey, it's my opinion. Quite a few people like the treo and it's dual use capabilities, but the earphone thing is what kills me.

I ditched my Palm two years ago.

[acarr0]

That was when I got myself a Nokia 7160. It doesn't have all the features of the Palm but it's a heck of a lot more convenient. I also like the small form factor. I've been holding out on ugrading it because I don't really care for the wide "PDA with built in cell phone" format. I much prefer the phone with built in PIM functgions. Today most of these are lagging in performance.

Form Factors

[Zarquil]

I used to think I wanted a cell phone and PDA all-in-one device. I've waffled again and flipped back.

I genuinely like my m125. But hold it up to my ear and talk? Nope, it's not a comfortable size and shape. My phone has a scheduler and various unused contact management features, mostly because it's a pain to input.

I drool at the gadget stores each time I see a new version, but so far I've been disappointed in what I've gotten my hands on.

My current thought: Bluetooth running from a PDA to a bug in my ear would be really cool. But cool does not make practical, and I expect to be disappointed with that, as well.

I think I'll stick with single-purpose tools that do their one job well, and hope that everyone gets their poop in a pile and offers good interoperability. It's a time honored tradition!

Re:May not always want a phone

[Anonymous Coward]

Most of the smartphones have the ability to turn the radio functions off. However, you still have to convince both the passengers and airline staff of this. A printed statement from the airline is about the only realistic way to go, but far from certain. Another is to let them play some of the games...if there is a hint of a geek in them you might have some chance.

Even if you did manage to persuade the stewards, every passenger would say something when passing you on the way to the bathroom.

I dissagree

[angel'o'sphere]

I like seperated devices which act as one together.

Just like a PC + mouse + display are 3 devices but get really usefull as combined: computer.

I expect my phone to be very smal, enough power to phone for 4 to 6 hours and standby time for 3 days or more. It should be easy wearable at my belt or in my trousers pocket. Just liek the Motorola Star TAC or ist similar looking successors.

My PDA should be bigger, I dont want such a smal display like UTMS phones have on my PDA, neither I want a bigger phone to have a bigger display.

My PDA shold be a extension to my personal computer, having snapshots of my important data on it.

I expect PDA and Phone to interact seemlessly via bluethoos, where the phone recognices the adressbook on the PDA as extension ... and the java programs on the PDA as external stored programs, accessible on the phone if fitting, ignored otherwise.

My PDA however should not need to get configured to be internet or local network aware. It should just recognize my phone as network adapter. Also via Bluetooth.

I like to work with that part of the combo I find more appropriated at the certain moment in time.

I dont want a mixed beast where several teams of hardware and software developers work hard to put the combined dissadvantages of both kinds of devices into one device.

Regards,
angel'o'sphere

Farewell to Schwartz

[fm6]

Once again, we have a columnist with the most superficial understanding of a technology and a marketplace trying to spin the deepest implications. Won't work. We talking a specialized device here: a "field-force management" app for truck drivers!

I guess a big part of this is GM/Nextel spin. The device has a lot of PDA functionality. But a smart phone is "less threatening", so they call it that even if drivers mostly use it to access the network and run Java apps. Though I seem to recall that Nextel's network is CDMA, and my experiences with data over that kind of network is not positive.

Contrast this with UPS's deployment of a super-connectable PDA. Not to mention the recent release of bunch of new PalmOS devices. Some of which, yes, are smart phones. But when you base a smart phone on PalmOS or Symbian, do you have a phone with PDA functions or a PDA that makes phone calls? Not that I like either -- I want two separate devices, connected by Bluetooth.

Re:PDA's stink anyway

[Aceticon]

Off-topic but here it goes:

The last thing I want anyway is to be constantly wired up so that idiots can call me and instant message me about problems they could solve themselves if they used their brains instead of their phones.

Try the following:

1. The first couple of times that an "idiot" comes to you with a simple problem, teach said idiot how to solve it (usually teaching them more than the step-by-step solution for that specific problem is more efficient in the long run)
2. If the same idiot comes back again with the same sort of problem, start by asking "Have you tried doing what i teached you last time?". Most times they haven't, so send them back to try it and then come back to you if they can't sort it out
3. If after trying what you thought them, they can't sort it out themselfs, help them. Teach them something new if you can
4. If an idiot is persistently calling you without first trying what you thought him/her, then: always send them back to try it; delay your "service" (basically, reduce the priority of their problem to the lowest possible - if you have anything else to do just give an excuse to the idiot and tell him/her to call back later)

The basic principles behind this is that "people will take the easiest path". Puting things another way - if it's easier to come to you to solve their problems than it is to solve it themselfs, then they will come to you.

Your objective is twofold:

• Make it more easier for them to solve the problem themselfs than coming to you
• Still be available to solve the real problems (and since you are free from wasting time with shitty-shit problems you have more time to deal with the big ones)