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Mobile Phone as Home Computer?
theodp writes "Citing millions of Japanese consumers as proof it can work, MIT's Philip Greenspun hasissued a call for comments on his hypothesis that the mobile phone can function as a home computer for a substantial number of consumers if it's paired up with an appliance that drives the phone from a full-size keyboard and display."
So what he's saying is... the phone makes a good computer if you fundamentally change it's features? A full sized keyboard and monitor are not pocket sized. Pnoto.Net, Greenspun's own site would be a very different experience on a pocket sized device.
From the article:-
The PC is a scaled-down circa 1965 mainframe.
Actually, it's been argued that the microcomputer/personal-computer is actually a scaled up circa 1971 calculator; the first microprocessors were designed for calculator use, and the first microcomputers were exploitations of these by hackers who wanted their own computers. They weren't designed by someone trying to scale down a mainframe, they evolved from someone trying to build a computer from a crude microprocessor.
But that's perhaps disingenuous; I think what he is referring to is the OS; and it has to be said that as they grew in power, personal computers took their cue more and more from powerful mainframe/minicomputer operating systems like Unix.
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.. who thinks that this endless pushing of features onto our mobile phones are stupid?
Why turn our phones into games consoles, video cameras, mp3 players, computers and whatever else we can fit into it, if it doesn't do anything well? We've got digital cameras that can play mp3s badly, mp3 players that can take photos badly, phones that play mp3s and take photos badly. Most people I know who want to listen to mp3s will use an ipod or zen, since the quality is higher and they have more storage, and most people I know who actually take many photos carry round a digital camera. Most people I know who have a camera phone have used the camera only once or twice.
On my ideal phone it would have a phone book, ability to phone people, and the ability to function as a modem for my laptop. Just a plain old black and white screen would be fine though. Maybe there should be an ability to keep a small diary/timetable on it, since we carry it round and it could function as an alerting device.
It doesn't matter how small our laptops get on the inside (save for cooling purposes), it's still going to have a keyboard and a full sized screen. WE aren't getting any smaller. A mobile phone with a keyboard and a full sized screen is... a laptop, except that it's auto-connected to a wireless phone network.
1) Most people aren't at home most of the time (this is the worst generalization, but it works). So most people are not sat in front of their computer, most of the time.
2) Most people have long commutes.
3) Most people don't commute by car, so have time to play with the phone.
4) PDAs don't do well in Japan. Most phones have PDA-like features, which means there is no need for PDAs but actually this is wrong because most phones don't synch with computers in any meaningful manner (and I'm looking at you, Sharp. In fact, while I'm looking at you, Sharp, I'd like to ask how it's possible for you to engineer such ill-conceived user interfaces into your phones time after time after time. Maybe you need to think on this when Vodafone finally gets a clue and asks Toshiba to lead with new-generation phones. Not that Vodafone will be around in Japan much longer unless it stops the ex-pat/in-pat/Japanese in-fighting and gets to grips with the way its phone providers make better phones for the competition than for Vodafone. Hello NEC).
5) Cellphone charges are pretty low, in the great scheme of things, so people can use them as recreational devices.
6) For several of the above reasons, phones are used to coordinate meeting up after school/work, are used on trains where voice is banned, and use to access content to pass the time commuting. They combine elements of recreation and communication tools.
In terms of business models, i-mode is more business model than technology, and the i-mode approach works well where it has been introduced outside Japan. Compare that with Vodafone's idiot Live! service, which is painful in comparison.
Well, not enough infoi there to sway anybody, but I'm in the industry and cellphones can be personal computing devices, but only in some or the majority of cultures. I don't think the US is one of those cultures right now: phones are utility devices, rather than fashion statements and recreational devices. Nothing wrong with that. But I think in Japan, gadgets are likely to be in the pocket, whereas in the US they're more likely to be on the desk.
If my phone had a VGA out and the ability to run Powerpoint or
Impress or some such (with embedded full speed video and complex
transition effects - note that my videos are circa 1 Gb in size
each so you figure 10 Gb of fast storage) then I guess I'd
consider giving up my laptop.
Actually no, I also edit my presentations before conferences so
I'd need things like Adobe Illustrator and Matlab to run. So
I guess I'd need a full desktop OS with 50 to 100 Gb HDD and
a processor equivalent of 2.8 GhZ P4. Oh, it also better be able
to read CD and DVD (and soon Blu-Ray as my lab is buying that as
soon as it comes out).
So no, the more I think about it, the less I like the idea of
everything on a cell phone. In fact most people need to be able
to read CDs or DVDs so this idea seems rather inadequate.
There are places where the networks are not touching,and there are places where they are-Boeing's Lori Gunter
This is my first post, so be kind... :)
/K
Versions of his idea have been floating around for some years now. I don't mean to be sour grapes, but not much novelty here, IMHO.
I think the real need is one of mobility. We're tied to our laptops/desktops because they have OUR applications, OUR environment, configured OUR way, with OUR data. If we could create an appliance that allowed us to carry all of that with us, or network protcols that gave us fast, 24/7 access to those reosurces, then we are not tied to a specific device or place. Right now we are tied to a specific computer for some tasks (e.g. work that requires our personal environment to be productive), or to a specific device (e.g. for listening to music). This is starting to change in exciting ways, but we're certainly not there yet.
I'm not saying we access all that data with the same device or interface, only that it's mobile. We still might normally access that data through different devices, but we would have more flexibility. So a cell phone is a reasonable candidate for this "hub"-like function, in the so many people carry it with them all the time. A wristwatch might be an even better candidate, although the interface to such a tiny object would be an obstacle.
In short, I see the issues of data mobility and interface as distinct concerns.
The biggest disadvantage I see in having my phone be my next computing platform -- aside from miniscule storage (solvable) and tiny screen (less solvable, although the rollable OLEDs have potential to 'fan-out' a more media-friendly viewscreen) -- is that the phone companies lock these things down like the Fort Knox of revenue that they are (OK, lousy mixed metaphor, deal with it).
F'rinstance: My Verizon-servivced LG VX4400 has a "Brew"-based OS, which is a Java-like system owned by Qualcomm. Qualcomm gives away a compiler, but alas, you can't give away your software without getting it certified by the carriers, which takes some pretty hefty fees. Because of this, I can't even get a Solitaire program on my phone without paying $2 and up a month. No other software is available for upload, even with tools that can transfer data to and from the device, such as BitPim. I don't know if there are any locks on Verizon's Treo's, I would hope it's still basically a Palm device like any other.
Shareware has made these PC and handheld platforms what they are today. Free and low-cost software for the Palm and Pocket PC make these devices indispensible. Meanwhile, the phone companies have no interest in supporting your use of uncertified software: it costs them time and money to deal with issues they cause, and the more open the system, the bigger vulnerability to malware of all sorts.
I'm also concerned about cost and performance of networking: high-speed wireless data is starting to trickle in, but at outrageous prices ($80/month for Verizon's service for the Treo). And that's for each handset/computing platform. I've got 6 computers in my house (one for each of the four of us, a company-owned laptop and a media server). There's no way I'd shell out those kind of fees for even the four computers for the four of us.
More open platforms, such as WinCE-, Palm-, and Linux-based smartphones make this a possibility, but there's got to be some kind of reasonable family data plan: If I pay someone such as SBC (my local phone carrier) for DSL and cell service, is it reasonable that I can get DSL-based wireless service in my house, and WiMax or similar outside, all at one price?
Design for Use, not Construction!