Really?

B

BarefootArtistSC

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I assume everybody's seen those "Really?" ads for WP7. If not, one's probably playing atop your BH page right now. I know they're trying to sell their system as being faster and less fiddly than other OSs but honestly, when I first saw them, I thought they were public service ads saying "quit messing with your phone and get back to your life!" As in "look after your children", "pay attention to your date", "hang up and drive", etc.

Not really a bad message.
 
Then perhaps we should set up shop in the club car. :D

Seriously, while I realize I have less and less in common with the "typical user" with each passing day, I see an ongoing decline in the capabilities and features which originally got me using a "pocket computer." That's great for those who's primary function in life is to keep up with the antics and goings on and social shenanigans of half the people on the planet. I, personally, find it ridiculous to try and manage a business by way of tweets and 3 line emails - If I didn't have anything more critical or complex than that going on, I wouldn't need the device to begin with. :rolleyes:

As I'd mentioned recently, I'm finding I use Touchie less and less as a "pocket computer" and am carrying my full-size laptop more and more - A tool much better suited to do what I need to do when not in my office. Without that capability, all the emails and text messages in the world are a total waste of my time. Information sharing is great, essential even, but somebody has to actually do some productive work at some point. Yakking about something never got anything done. Sitting down and applying one's self to the task at hand is far more useful.

I guess I see the whole evolution in focus of the smartphones to be one of leisure and games, not one of getting anything done, business / work-wise. That's great from an entertainment perspective. From a productivity standpoint, not so much. With my encouragement, we've recently banned (yes, banned) ALL personal electronic devices from our employees while in their work areas. Only a couple of key personnel are permitted to have them, and only for emergency purposes. Not that there's much in the way of a signal in our building, anyway, but I've grown sick and tired of finding people standing near doors or windows so they can text, FB, surf, or whatever. I'm not paying them to play.

Of course, that's not the fault of the technology - It's the individuals' irresponsible use of it. So, if it's not used appropriately, it simply won't be allowed. That type of use on a widespread scale, however, is driving the direction the technology is going. Pity, that... ;)
 
Grated minds and all that. I sometimes wonder if I will end up replacing my Nexus One with another Smartphone. I talk about it, but in fact, by the time I'm looking for a replacement, I have little confidence that they will have the functionality I'm looking for and I'm more and more annoyed at the hoops you have to jump through. Especially since I can no longer put work on my personal smartphone, but I can have work on a laptop using a VOIP secure system.

I carry a bag everywhere. Pocketability is not as big an issue to me anymore. We'll see, come 2012. I may be all agog about all the possibilities. Or I may just get a netbook that will probably be as powerful as my current laptop.

In the meantime, my Nexus One is the best pocket computer I have ever had and still manages to beat most of the new ones out there.

We will see what we will see.
 
Great points JRakes. But I'd quibble a bit. I think I've been able to use Palms for 'serious' work. With an external keyboard, I can write seriously, and do spreadsheets (although this is harder). I hope, when the time comes, that I can buy a smartphone (probably an Android) that will do much the same thing. A large-screened Android phone with something like Softmaker Office (if/when it is available) and my folding keyboard should be able to do the same. My biggest concern is no desktop sync. With Palm Desktop and WordSmith's excellent conduit/desktop app, I was good to go. Obviously, some work is not conducive to using such devices.
 
Oh, I could do some of my day-to-day work on my "pocket computer." But I would spend 10-fold as much time zooming in / out and scrolling around as I would actually doing anything productive. For most of my stuff, it would be faster and easier to drive back to my office and work at my desk. Or just take my laptop with me. :)

Perhaps most of what I need to do on a regular basis falls into that "not conducive" category, which goes back to what I've said before: There's a big difference between what one "could" do vs what one "should" do (from a standpoint of actually getting something done in a productive and efficient manner.) Technically, I "could" do a lot more on my handheld device. But I have no desire to work 20 hours a day instead of the 10-12 I average now. ;)
 
I've used my mobile device less and less for productivity for a few reasons, e.g., workplace restrictions, declining functionality (IMO), etc. I'm also using my mobile device less and less for entertainment/news. Sure, the browser is better, but The Internet isn't any better. Stupid internet. I'm not interested in games. And the media player on my current device, while superior in audio/visual quality, absolutely sucks when it comes to functionality.
 
I've used my handheld device for "entertainment" purposes a bit in the past - Mostly with pTunes on my former T3. But that novelty quickly faded, as well. The T3, as well as the TP2, do a fine job, I suppose. But, frankly, I find them to be a bit too "fiddly" for a music player (my iPod is much better as a dedicated music player.) And I've never cared for watching any sort of videos, much less movies, on a screen that small. I carry some pics, simply because it's convenient - Much better than a few tattered prints in my wallet.

I've never cared for doing anything on the 'net, of any sort, on those small devices, either. The screen is simply too small to be useful for me - I detest scrolling around and around and around, zooming in and out and in and out, and menus. I hate menus. Anything worth doing should always be one or two clicks / taps away. The rest is a waste of my time. But that's just me... :rolleyes:
 
As far as work is concerned for me, the office portion mostly consists of CAD work. Not much question of doing that on a handheld device. My drawing board is a jumble of deeds, D-size maps and other paper impedimenta. And the last time my dad asked me how big an ideal monitor would be, I just stretched my arms out and he walked away. It's irritating enough to do this stuff on a 15" laptop. I've likened it to building a ship in a bottle. No, for work, a mobile device will mostly be just a phone, since so many of my clients are old-school. They tend to call just when I'm knee-deep in some swamp but there's no help for that. I need the mobile device when I'm mobile, and in our current downsized state, the office is often unoccupied and I need to stay in contact. The banks, title insurance people, lawyers, etc., are more likely to use email so in that respect, I would probably be just as well off with another Blackberry but I do fiddle around with the other stuff enough to want something more generally capable. When I get back inside, I'm not going to bother with the thing on my hip when I've got a full sized keyboard and mouse in front of me.
 
There are many things I can do on a mobile device, but as JRakes says, "Anything worth doing should always be one or two clicks / taps away." That was the beauty of Palm. Or the Zen of Palm. It was especially true on the 755p with the front-facing keyboard. One press of a key, and I was looking at my calendar, contacts, task list, etc. One press and hold of a key and I was able to read the news, check out updates on forums I frequent, talk to a frequently called contact, or watch a video (usually the previous night's TV news program, sitcom, or mystery). And watching videos was simple -- press and hold to fast forward; click to skip; etc. I could pause and return to where I left off, even after a reset. You want to talk multi-tasking? I can't multi-task on my TP2 like I did with my 755p. When watching the news, do I really need to stare at the screen? Why not be able to switch to my calendar, calculator, or game? I could do that with TCPMP and the 755p or TX. Can't with Windows Media Player and the TP2.

Okay, I'm pulling this off topic and still grieving the loss of my Palm. :sigh:
 
Grieve on, I'm there too.
If that Aceeca will ever get here, maybe I'll be able to recapture some old memories.
It's sad that after all this time, everything gets unfavorably compared to the Palms. Was perusing another thread in which Antoine Wright was advising a former Palm user that he (or she?) wasn't going to find anything current that is as easy to use.
Still don't understand why the manufacturers don't "get it."
I believe it was Columbus who said "Once it's been done, anybody can do it."

Guess I could scuffle around and find a used Treo somewhere.......
 
Yeah, it does seem that the "new capabilities" seem to have added a level of complexity to the interface in some ways. Since 90% of those "new capabilities" are things for which I have no use and less interest, the result is less and less general usefulness of the devices for me.

So, ummm... You're not going to be running AutoCad on your handheld device, LS? ;) (I'm seriously shocked that you'd try it on a 15" monitor, actually - When I did CAD work ~15 years ago, I had a 21" monitor. 15 years ago! )

As for email: Very little of the things I get by email could be handled or answered simply with a quick 2 line reply. Most require some sort of analysis, or at least data checking, frequently from multiple sources, so that's of little use to me. No point in replying, "I'll get back to you later," either - They'll be waiting either way. No point in loading up everybody's inboxes just to tell them nothing. Anything that can be handled quickly and simply in my world can be done more quickly and simply with a text message.
 
Let's just say CAD is do-able on the 15" screen but way less than ideal, as you know.
What I can do with email in the field is pretty much what I can do with voice calls. Respond to clients in a timely manner, take names and numbers and other bits of short info. If they send attachments, like pdfs of deeds or maps, I really can't do a lot with them until I get back to the office. We've got records that go back into the 50's and I still have clients that call asking for "the old man" (my dad), even though I'm 51. Bottom line: I need access to my map records plus the sites, such GIS records, that ain't gonna run on a playing card sized screen.
The smartphone is only an extension of, not replacement for, my office.
 
I don't even like taking calls from Customers when not at my desk with all of my info at hand - If I'm elsewhere in the building, I have them put on hold until I can dash back to my office and be prepared. Then again, most of those types of calls occur when there's an "issue" (real or perceived,) and a quick "I'll get back to you" won't cut it. Just a different environment. Most of the info I need to get is more easily emailed, either as text data or as a digital pic, either of which then requires more investigation / analysis using a variety of sources. The mobile approach to such things simply doesn't work well for my needs.
 
I can easily be miles from my office. My work is as much about the field as it is the office. It's not uncommon. A lot of people in my business consist just of the surveyor and one assistant. They normally leave the answering machine on during the day with a message to call his cell number. People seem to be used to that. So they do their outdoor thing and answer their messages late in the afternoons.
 
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