Monthly Archives: March 2010

I have touched on this subject a few times recently, but it is an idea that came clear to me the other day. The MS Courier concept started a debate about a potential device that could be used to jot down notes in the same way we do in a paper notebook. You would be able to search these notes at a later date, but the crucial difference would be that the handwriting is not converted to digital text. We must have surely reached the stage where a computer, or a mobile phone, can recognise shapes and remember them when we search for similar shapes in the future. If Palm could develop a PDA years ago that could recognise shapes written by the user (admittedly pre-defined shapes) and then convert them into text surely it is not beyond the realm to expect a similar feature today, but without the conversion. Transcriber in Windows Mobile is a better example that works beautifully once you are used to it and I see this type of technology as influential going forward.

The discussion around the MS Courier could be taken further to include the humble smartphone and I wonder if we could reach a point where the user simply writes everything into their phone and it stays there in that form. You could then search for that ‘writing’ later on and it would pop up as intended. We seem to be obsessed with digital text and every function from the calendar to contacts to email requires text that conforms to a specific code determined by computers. The latest touch screen smartphones are great examples of how it should not be done. We peck away at letters on a screen and wonder why the experience is so unnatural and, at times, frustratingly slow. There has to be a better way and it is within a grasp to start using it.

There are obvious obstacles that would stop the development of natural handwriting such as email, but even this could be seen as an opportunity. Before the computer we sent letters to each other; personally written letters that mean so much more than an email ever could. Why can’t an email look like that and be delivered retaining the author’s handwriting? It’s easy to say and is not always practical, but something about the concept grabs me because it could change the way we interact with our sterile and faceless desktops and smartphones.

There is almost no part of a smartphone or tablet computer that could not be touched by a human being writing down information naturally and the concept would mark the biggest change in personal computers since the mouse was created. It sounds ludicrous when you consider the ramifications such as sharing information in documents, email and throughout the internet, but the ludicrous ideas are the ones that eventually become reality. Maybe there is something in this idea and just maybe we will see it happen one day.

Alison made a comment yesterday which deserved a place on the front page. It was in response to yesterday’s ‘The Smartphone Trap’ article-

I think that’s why ordinary folks (and by that I mean non – ‘powerusers’) just get a phone and enjoy it. The only thing I’ve ever heard any of them compare is the megapixels on the phone camera (which is pretty irrelevant when the aperture is like a tiny pin hole). In some cases it’s why they could be using a Symbian phone or an Android phone or a Windows Mobile phone and not realise it. The carriers re-brand those devices and if the user has been sold the phone based on how many minutes they can get with it, or because it has a decent camera, or because it includes GPS, they’re likely to remain blissfully unaware of a lot of the features.

When the Nokia N95 was available a lot of carriers offered very favourable minutes and text packages and quite a few of my friends got them. When I asked if they’d used the GPS, they replied that they didn’t know it had one!

HTC make several great phones with a range of different operating systems. They give them names, and then the carriers take them, rebrand them and give them different names, which again causes confusion so that users don’t really know which phone they have.
The one main exception to this is the iPhone. Regardless of which carrier you get it from, it’s always “The iPhone”, and when customers ask for it, it’s not because of the processor speed or the camera capabilities it’s because it has a lovely touch screen, thousands of apps, and can play their music and video.

There are lots of other phones that can do what the iPhone does (Android/WM/BlackBerry etc), but to consumers their capabilities can sometimes get lost because their branding and specifications aren’t as clear. Those same consumers will still buy those phones, but the way the phones are marketed and sold means that the specifications are not highlighted.

We get awfully bogged down in the smartphone press by the way smartphones are designed, the specifications they pack and the way they look. Millions of words are spent discussing why the next smartphone is great and usually the reasons for greatness are levied at the specifications on board.

One thing we rarely talk about is what a smartphone means to the user and why it can become a pocket-sized gateway to the world around you. The web, social networks, instant messaging, GPS navigation, video calling, voice calling, texting, email and so the list goes on. If there is a way to contact another person, a smartphone can likely help you to get in touch. A quick game waiting for the bus or a quick read of a book- whatever you want or need to do it will be there with you to help you accomplish a task.

In a matter of days it becomes an inseparable tool that is held close like your favourite cuddly toy when you were a child and the more you use it, the more you forget that it is so damn clever. You begin to rely on it and the fascination starts concerning how they managed to cram so much in to a small space and then an updated model is released.

Suddenly you start looking at specifications and wondering if this new smartphone will be even better than the one you already own and so the cycle starts all over again, but this time you are now aware of what goes on beneath the surface. Because of this you will forever want something better and before you know it a ‘lot’ of money has been spent on finding the perfect smartphone. It will never happen.

I have been pondering the way core mobile apps play with each other and we are starting to see improvements in this area. You can click on a link in an email and automatically jump to the web browser, you can tap phone numbers and initiate a call and there are various other little tricks than can be used to speed up what you need to do. However, we are still not seeing integration outside of core apps which is a shame.

GPS is a prime example- some apps do include integration with a contact list, but it would be nice to be able to click on an address in my contact list and let my pre-defined GPS software start the routing process for me. A small time saving, but a feature that would make general use easier.

It would also be more than useful if every core app could talk to the others. Will probably get shot for mentioning Psion again, but all of the core apps talked to each other many years ago and I see no reason why it cannot happen today.