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Pen-Based PDA Market on Death Bed
An anonymous reader writes "The traditional pen-based PDA market is destined to evaporate within the next four years, according to HP, and it will be focusing its handheld efforts on converged smart phone devices, such as its latest BlackBerry rivals unveiled this week -- the iPAQ rw6800 and the iPAQ hw6900." From the article: "This won't come as a surprise to many, as HP hasn't given its traditional pen-based product line a refresh since the launch of the iPAQ hx4700 towards the middle of 2004. It released the iPAQ rx1950 in September of last year, but this was very much an entry-level product and made few waves among the high-end, tech-savvy consumers that dominate the PDA segment."
Pen Based PDA's will be replaced by better tablet pcs.
I am not sure why they have not caught on a lot more,
Because people don't want them. In fact, the same dynamic is at work in replacing the pen-based PDA with keyboard-based models. You may not understand it (hey, even unpopular ideas have at least a few fans), but I think the market has proven time and time again that people want keyboard-based input.
Those who argue in favor of pen-based input always talk about how "intuitive" it is, but I think that's a misnomer. Is it more intuitive to jot something down that even you yourself can barely read and that is poorly recognized by the PC than it is to simply type something that everybody can understand? Is it any faster? (The answer to that is clearly no; you can test that yourself.)
Pen-based PDA's are on the way out and so are tablet PC's, except for those certain market segments (medical professionals, construction, etc.) that can benefit from them. But they are not suitable as general purpose machines; not as suitable as PC's with keyboards, anyway.
I love my Palm with satnav software. For me, this is the best compromise yet for satnav: it's linked to my address book, easily updated with new maps/POI etc, and usable everywhere. Much better than traditional in-car satnav. Running this on a phone would suck, too, thanks to the tiny screen of a phone.
With sony out and palm going downhill, where will I get my next PDA?
The one class of PDAs I know to be on the rise is... analog!
I just splurged and dropped ~$20 on a new PDA. This PDA I purchased is great! The batteries never run out, it is almost totally immune to shock from being dropped, I can transfer data easily between home and office, and the format is universal so I never have to worry about incompatibilities, and it is so fast and easy to use that even my parents can understand it. I went ahead and purchased an add-on module for it so I could have the advanced calendaring to track my gigs and rehearsals. Luckily, I already had a docking station for it with extra storage capacity as well as a variety of other add-ons, so it fit right into my daily routine.
I consider it one of the best investments I've made in years. Spending $20 to successfully replace a $300 device may not sound realistic, but I've never been more organized than I am now. All I had to do that I got rid of my old PDA systems (Palm OS based devices) and find something that fit better with my new filing system.
-- Stu
/. ID under 2,000. I feel old now.
I want a Cell Phone. One that isn't the size of a damn PDA, but has text input via a stylus and touchscreen.... Large Phones deter me..... But it's useful being able to "pencil in" appointments, assignments, and stuff like that on a PDA.
In undeveloped countries, the consumer controls the market. In capitalist America, the market controls you.
I'm right there with you. I've got a high-end Palm and an mid-range Axim. I've tried unsuccessfully to use both to get myself organized. My cell phone holds all the contact information I need on a daily basis. Since entering anything in an electronic calendar that requires handwring recognition (or numerous taps on a virtual keyboard) is slow, the only entries in my calendar were recurring things I remembered anyway (weekly team meetings, martial arts class schedule, etc). The important stuff to jot down (oil change on Thursday, doctor on Tuesday) never got written down, so I was always forgetting. I tried to use it as an electronic shopping list, and failed. In the end, my Axim became a way to play games in boring meetings.
Then I moved to some $0.25 mini spiral-bound notebooks from Staples with a bullet-type space pen. It's tiny and light-weight, so it's always with me. Lists get written down immediately. When I'm done shopping, that page is torn out and thrown away. An upcoming schedule page at the front keeps me organized, as does a simple to-do list. When pages fill up or are no longer needed, they're torn out and tossed. When the notebook is empty, I spent another $0.25 to replace it. It's going to take me a long time to reach the level of electronic PDA cost with this system, and I've never been more organized.
I bought a Palm a few years ago and used it actively for probably a couple of months. Then I just stopped. It just wasn't convenient to carry my cell phone and my PDA. The problem wasn't the pen, the problem was the extra device.
As I had to recently decide what kind of phone I was going to get, I decided to spring for the Treo and see if it would help me out. Ever since then, I can't imagine how I got along without it. It has a pen which I sometimes use, sometimes don't. Just depends on what I'm doing. But there are definitely many times that the pen is a lot easier to use than a keyboard.
I'd say 3 hours is about what I'd expect with WiFi on, and maybe playing music. For reading an ebook or browsing off-line, I get a lot more.
There are lots of third-party apps available (cf http://maemo.org/maemowiki/ApplicationCatalog). However, it's a bit weak on standard PIM stuff like addressbooks and calendars. The choice I know about is , whose PIM apps have been ported to the N770. To my mind, it is a bit odd that Nokia shipped the thing without a full-featured addressbook and calendar pre-installed; they seem to really want to distinguish this product from traditional PDAs. (To my mind, the gorgeous if small 800x480 landscape-orientation screen does that quite well enough. :-)
Is it more intuitive to jot something down that even you yourself can barely read and that is poorly recognized by the PC than it is to simply type something that everybody can understand? Is it any faster? (The answer to that is clearly no; you can test that yourself.)
Having switched a year ago from a Grafitti-based Palm to a keyboard-based one (the Treo 650), I firmly believe the keyboard is worse. I suspect raw character entry speed is about the same for me, but now I have to switch back and forth between the keyboard and the stylus all the goddamn time. It's awkward in a way that pure pen-based work never was.
I think the reason people buy the keyboard more is that it's more obvious how to work it. I doubt it's faster to get proficient at the keyboard, but any fool can see where the buttons are.
The interesting question is this: what is the difference between what people want and what people need.
Answer this wrong, and you fail to get the customer on the all important upgrade treadmill.
Keyboards are a trade off. What you give up is the ratio of PDA size to screen. A PDA that is smaller is better. A PDA with a bigger screen is better. It therefore follows that the ideal PDA is all screen, and a keyboard PDA will never be ideal.
On the other hand, a keyboarded PDA has the following advantage: it's easy to learn. A few minutes in the store, and you're as good as you're ever going to be on the thing. And therein lies the problem: is that good enough? Having used both keyboard-less and keyboarded PDAs, I'd say that for the answer is no. I'm not saying that's true for everyone, but it is certainly true for many. I'd be interested to know if many people who got used to Graffitti in the Palm days actually prefer the keyboard after a few months. I'm sure some do, but most people I know who were palm enthusiasts don't.
I think the problem is this: people don't go into a store to buy a keyboarded PDA. They go in to buy a PDA, then choose keyboarded ones over keyboardless ones because they are beginner friendly. However, this doesn't mean that they're necessarily happier after eighteen months than if they'd gone without a keyboard. If the keyboard is a limiting factor in their PDA experience, those people will probably go converged, accepting an even more limited keyboard because they don't perceive the PDA functions as having much value. They might forgo PDA functions altogether.
What I'm trying to say is just because a feature is popular it doesn't automatically follow that it's good for the market.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
Agreed. Three days ago I got fed up with the failing handwriting recognition of my old Palm Vx, Wednesday I bought a brand-new T|X (I was going to buy it with this year's tax refund but I was pushed beyond the point of endurance).
I want something that I can put in my pant's pocket. With long battery life. With a good display. That doesn't crash.
I don't want something with a cell phone, it will violate the size issue and also gives me a single point of failure depriving me of two devices if one fails or the unit is lost. I don't want an MP3 player in it, the fidelity will suck and it will suck more memory that I don't want to give over to it. I don't want Bluetooth, I don't want WiFi (it can't get onto my home network because of my security restrictions). I definitely don't want a digital camera as I'd like to do some DoD consulting at some point.
And I don't want something from HP/Compaq: two B companies that merged to form a bigger B company (except their servers, I like Compaq servers).
Sorry, I've been using Palm Pilots for over a decade and will not give it up until they pry my cold dead fingers from around it.
When you sympathize with stupidity, you start thinking like an idiot.
I remember the rumors recently that the current "iPod Video" is not what Apple really had in mind for the iPod video and that the next generation would have a screen the size of the device, and move the controls to a touch sensitive screen.
If this is true (and I think it likely), then it would also be a perfect opportunity for Apple to upgrade the PDA functions already in the iPod by including better text entry (a soft keyboard, and/or a stylus of some sort?). These small changes could easily turn the iPod into a converged device that would kill 90% of the market for traditional PDAs.
I think most people prefer the idea of keeping their PDA and telephone seperate, mostly due to battery life concerns. On the other hand, since you already connect an iPod regularly to a computer to load up new music, recharge it, etc., it is already being treated as it would need to be to handle most PDA functions. Irronically an iPod/PDA wouldn't have a replacable battery (assuming the follow the previous designs), while a Cell phone would, but one advantage of an iPod/PDA over most PDAs is the large non-volatile storage capacity. With most PDAs, when you run out of power, you data is lost. With an iPod/PDA, running out of power means you ran out of power
Granted, one of the things people like about PDAs is the "add-on" software they put on it, but, after owning various PDAs (mostly Palm), for the past 10 years, I find that the only programs I really use are the Memo, Addressbook, Clock, Calculator, and one "custom app" (eBook Reader). Quite bluntly, I would be surprised if apple didn't offer support for all of those things. In fact, if they had everything BUT the eBook reader, I would still dump my aging PDA (a Sony Clie that I love), in favor of a new iPod. I can read the eBooks on my laptop if I really want.
If Apple is smart they could use the iPod popularity to re-enter the PDA market (everyone remember the Newton?
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