Text 39712, 64 rader
Skriven 2007-11-24 10:19:03 av Alan Zisman (1:123/789.0)
Ärende: The PDA is dead-- long live the...
==========================================
.... iPod Touch.

Sales of traditional (i.e. non-phone) PDAs are down for the 4th year in
a row; this one-time promising product category looks like it's heading
for extinction.

But I've been playing with Apple's new iPod Touch-- available in
expensive 8 GB and 16 GB models, and it's an interesting gadget for
people who want contact/calendar info -- which is all most people ever
used their Palms or other PDAs for-- and much much more.

In addition, as the name suggests, it's an iPod-- with music and video
storage and playing capabilities.

But it also has built-in WiFi-- and in the presence of a WiFi signal
gains a very good web browser and a dedicated YouTube application. This
makes it usable for webmail and more. In fact, since most of what many
people tote a laptop around for is Internet connectivity, this may be a
usable pocket-sized replacement.

While the web browsers on Blackberries and other smartphone devices
typically show a much-altered web page view-- often one frame or column
at a time, the version of Safari on the Touch (and the iPhone) shows a
tiny but clear view of the page as it would be viewed on a larger
computer-- because it is easy to zoom and scroll, and because the screen
is so clear it is easy to magnify and read the desired text.

And the keyboard-less text input with the onscreen virtual keyboard is
at least as easy to use as the tiny keys on Blackberries and similar
devices.

There are a couple of ways this could be better, in my opinion (aside
from lowering the price):

-- the iPod touch lacks the built-in camera of the iPhone
-- as well, it lacks any sound output (other than a headphones jack) or 
input, though there are suggestions online that input may be possible
-- as with the iPhone, Apple is playing a game of guerilla war with 
3rd-party software developers... there is a growing collection of
iPhone/Touch add-on software, but to make use of it, a user has to
'hack' their iPhone or Touch (the methods are apparently somewhat
different for each of these mostly similar devices). Then Apple upgrades
the operating system, and the hack-- and the 3rd party applications-- no
longer work. The developer community works out a new version of the hack
for the new OS version, and the war continues.

I would really like this to stop, and for Apple to openly allow
development of 3rd-party applications. With sound input and a
Skype-application, for instance, the Touch would become a potential WiFi
phone. Of course this would be seen as infringing on the iPhone market--
and Apple's lucrative contract with AT&T.

I have a friend with a hacked iPhone; he uses it as an e-book reader,
again a pleasure because of the super-crisp screen.

With a little freedom and evolution, these devices could become the
killer PDA replacements.

-- 
- email: alan (at) zisman (dot) ca
- website: http://www.zisman.ca

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