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This site is no longer maintained.
My current weblog.
Thursday, October 17, 2002Standardization vs. Innovation
Frank followed-up on my post on the lack of PDA innovation, writing that "What one calls a lack of innovation, others call standardization." Steve follows-up on that with a list of some things that would provide him with a "more "mobile" digital assistant."
My take is that Pocket PCs have been commodities since Microsoft dropped support for non-ARM processors. Declining component prices have made them cheap, now it's time for vendors to start taking steps to differentiate their products. Better LCDs, faster CPUs, and more memory aren't enough. I want features that will make my PDAs more usable and useful, like keyboards and cameras, not simply more powerful.
Rumour is that HP is working on iPaqs that will be different, offering a variety of wireless and biometric options. Neither inspires me, especially given HP's reluctance to reduce iPaq pricing, but having those features will be meaningful for many buyers. And then there are those Sleeves that iPaq owners seem to love...
PS: One of the things that has shocked me with Pocket PCs is that, while they are commodities made by just a couple of manufacturers with essentially the same guts, everybody designs their own connector to stick on the bottom. And while almost every design includes an add-on chip from Intel that offers USB Host functionality, amongst many other features, very few make use of it.
