palm pilot

Hacking: the sign of a moving market

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 06:59:59 -0400

There's a fairly reliable indicator of a product that's on its way to becoming a massive hit. I saw it with the original IBM PC, the Apple Macintosh, and the Palm Pilot. What's the indicator? When people take a product and turn it into a platform, racing to create new applications and new ways to use the system, the odds are pretty good that there's going to be a robust market for some time to come. I'm reminded of this because I've been asked (forced?) to sit through several demonstrations of the new apps applied to a friend or colleague's iPhone. The threat of a phone turned into a useless hunk of metal and plastic isn't enough to shut down the excitement over the iPhone's potential as a mobile communications and computing platform. Sure, users are upset about the recent software-based lobotomy performed on their phones, but most are still planning to continue working to make the iPhone uniquely theirs.

Apple went through something akin to this in the early days of the Macintosh. Jef Raskin's vision was a platform so simple and useful that no one could improve it by hacking. The vision was compelling, but it ultimately surrendered to the overwhelming need for people to take something they love and try to make it better. I suspect that Apple will ultimately bend to the people's will when it comes to the iPhone, and we'll see an amazing explosion of applications that take advantage of the iPhone's unique capabilities and interface. In the meantime, we'll just have to be ready to un-brick our iPhones on a regular basis. -Curtis

A whole new mobile way

Sun, 03 Jun 2007 20:01:39 -0400

A whole new mobile way
Ahh, the Foleo. If you haven't seen any industry news for the last week, then you've missed the discussion around the latest platform from the mind of Jeff Hawkins, the man who brought us the Palm Pilot and the Treo. The new "smart phone companion" may be another in a long line of technology misfires--or it may be a platform that ends up changing the way a lot of us work. I'm betting that it's closer to the second than the first. If you're like me, you depend on constant access to e-mail, documents, and the web, but you're tired of carrying around a desktop-replacement laptop and your thumbs aren't quite quick enough to use a Treo as your main word processor. The Foleo brings just enough functionality with just enough keyboard and screen--and it may well bring just enough difference to your enterprise application platform to change the way you work.

802.11n will be another technology that changes the way your networks are built. If you're interested in learning more about the new WiFi and how it will change wireless LAN deployments, sign up for a free webinar on June 12. -Curtis

A new mobile era?

Sun, 03 Jun 2007 20:01:36 -0400

Jeff Hawkins has quite a track record when it comes to devices that change the way we think about computing. The GRiDPad, the Palm Pilot, the Treo--each led, either directly or indirectly, to a significant shift in the way individuals and businesses define application platforms. Now comes the Foleo, a "smart phone companion" that promises a full-sized keyboard and screen in an instant-on ultra-portable computer that gives the user access to e-mail, web-based apps, and office productivity documents. The Foleo brings its own 802.11 access, much like the Nokia N800, but uses a smart phone like the Treo for its wireless WAN. If the past is preamble, you're going to be hearing a lot about the Foleo and its relatives in the coming years.

For more on Hawkins' latest:
Read the news at CIO-Today.

Editor's Corner

Sun, 05 Nov 2006 19:01:39 -0500

Wave goodbye to the PDA
There's a great industry perspective piece over at Computerworld on why the Personal Digital Assistant (PDA, or aka Palm Pilot) will fall to being a niche mobile device as smart phones take charge in the enterprise. It's an amazing trend outlook, especially for anyone who was around in 1993 when Apples' Newton launched into orbit as the first PDA. The device let users manage tasks, appointments and contacts. Today's versions include great features such as email, phone calls and Web browsing. Then came the ubiquitous PalmPilot, and of course the BlackBerry, way back in 1999, which gave workers a virtual office environment to work from. But now it seems, due to price and the impact of cellular service providers, the future will be the smart phone. Find out why, and how this trend will hit home in your enterprise just as hard as the PDA revolution did. -Judy

Also: As you may have noticed, the IT-Wireless website now features a comment link for each article. To promote this new feature and increase reader participation we are holding a cell phone giveaway contest every week in November called Let Your Voice Be Heard. This week, one lucky participant will receive a Sony Ericsson W810i in a random drawing--and all you have to do is post a relevant comment on any of the stories on the site!

Editor's Corner

Sun, 23 Apr 2006 20:01:40 -0400

When I'm doing my digging for what's happening with wireless and mobility technology, I'm always looking for columns and articles that tap true expertise--insight from those who've taken the huge step of deploying wireless or have toiled in the industry. That's why you shouldn't miss a Q&A piece at CIO Insight featuring an interview with Jeff Hawkins, who founded Palm Computing and created the Palm Pilot and Treo. Hawkins, who's moving a bit out of the wireless world with his new company, Numenta, is focused on building machines based on a theory of the human brain. But he still has much to offer on the wireless front.

Mobility is a top quest for enterprises, Hawkins says, as people love the immediacy of getting and sharing information. He believes that faster and cheaper and more stable wireless networks are the key to pushing mobile computing and mobile communications technology to the max. Article