Opinions on Future PDAs
kjc
i'm taking a new products marketing class this summer and our group has
chosen the pda market for our project. i just wanted to solicit ideas
anyone has on what future features you would like to see, or you feel
should be available within the next few years from a hardware stand
point. please no sci-fi stuff ;^D
thanks - keith
Harv R Laser
- backlit LCD screen
- longer battery life
- ac power prongs built into the PDA so you can just extend them,
shove it into an outlet and recharge internal batteries quickly
- lighter weight
- thinner (perhaps flexible screen so you COULD sit on it :)
- easy way to scan business cards into it
- barcode input with appropriate software so I could do things like
scan in software from a magazine, or scan supermarket shelf price
tags (for the hell of it)
- built in modem with an rj-11 jack right on the unit's body
- landscape screen mode
- color
And then if you want to get real fancy (but still not sci-fi stuff
as far as I'm concerned..)
- voice recognition
- voice output (turn-offable of course! :)
And I'd like all of this for well under $1000. Thank you :)
Enewsome
You are probably going to receive tons of input on this issue, so I will
try to be brief.
Here is my list:
1) Speed, new devices must have sufficient processing power to make them
useful. I believe the correct audience for these products are users of
cell phones, paper and electronic organizers and pagers. IIn order to
satisfy the needs of these mobile professionals, the devices will need to
be "lighting" fast. Newton Intelligence and Magic Cap (perhaps combined)
represent a solid OS foundation upon which commercially successful devices
can be built. Their execution is all that slows them. Imagine a Newton
Assistant feature that brought up the appointment slip as send as the pen
lifted from the statement " Schedule lunch with Bob next tuesday."
2) backlighting: These devices are impossible to use in various lighting
conditions. I have been a two-time newton owner (OMP and 110) and am now
buying an ML, my newtons now gather substantial amounts of dust because I
can't see them when I needed to and communications support was weak. I
know I will have the screen problem with the ML, but the comm features
will keep me at bay for a year until a backlighted version is availible (
I hope). This is particularly disconcerting on plane flights. I assume
90% of PDA users travel and using that airplane lighting is enough to get
you to toss the "Damn" thing.
If I can get these things all other issues have been dealt with
sufficiently our can be given these improvements (i.e. HWR).
Hopes this helps and pls post your findings when done. Perhaps it will be
your voice that is heard at the manufacturers.
Earl
Michael Scherotter
>
>hello everyone -
>
>i'm taking a new products marketing class this summer and our group has
>chosen the pda market for our project. i just wanted to solicit ideas
>anyone has on what future features you would like to see, or you feel
>should be available within the next few years from a hardware stand
>point. please no sci-fi stuff ;^D
>
>thanks - keith
Ask an architect or architecture student to describe his/her sketchbook.
You will probably get a good idea from that.
____________________________________________________________
Michael S. Scherotter Architectural Design Tools
Lead Software Developer AutoCAD Applications
Tartus Development Corp. Custom CAD Solutions
(415) 491-8925 m...@tartus.com
James W. Barr
: hello everyone -
: i'm taking a new products marketing class this summer and our group has
: chosen the pda market for our project. i just wanted to solicit ideas
: anyone has on what future features you would like to see, or you feel
: should be available within the next few years from a hardware stand
: point. please no sci-fi stuff ;^D
Let me preface this by saying that I own a Zoomer and am biased toward
GEOS. The said, here it goes... ;)
1. Battery Life. I hate having to change the batteries more often than
once every couple months.
2. Speed. the unit should be quick and responsive. No "Please Wait"
dialog boxes! Using the Zoomer as a model, replacing the CPU with a 286
or better CPU would make it really cook.
3. Backlighting. I would like to be able to use my PDA in less than
optimal lighting conditions.
4. HWR improvments. I think EVERY PDA should be shipped with Graffiti.
It has proven itself to me and countless others, and is easy to pick up.
Those who give the argument that you shouldn't have to learn a new type
of writing are full of crap. I had to learn to use a keyboard. I had to
learn to use a mouse. I had to learn how to print. I had to learn
cursive. I can learn to write in Graffiti to achieve almost 100%
accuracy. My wife, who had never before picked up a PDA became quite
proficient using Graffiti in about 10 minutes.
5. Full PDA <-> PC IR communications. One lacking device for the Zoomer
is an IR transceiver on the PC. It sucks having to connect a cable to
both just to swap a couple files. A well-crafted IR device would do the
trick just nicely.
6. FLASH or SRAM system memory. One problem I have is that the OS and
supporting apps in many PDA's are in ROM. This makes upgrading and
personalization difficult. Imagine a PDA that had, say, 4MB of FLASH
ROM. Along with the PDA is shipped a "Setup" PCMCIA card that contains
the OS and ALL apps. The PDA would load into its FLASH ROM the OS. A
setup program would allow users to check-off those apps he wants
included. These (and only these) would be loaded into the PDA allowing
for FULL customization. (For example, I have no need for the AOL
software on my Zoomer. The space that it cooupies could be used for
other apps that I really use.
7. More than 1 PCMCIA slot. It's a pain having to decide between using
a modem or the RAM card.
8. Standard connectors. While the 10-pin proprietary serial connector
on the Zoomer is cute, we should be moving toward standardization.
9. Should be pen-based. While there is a lot of debate about pen-based
vs. keyboard-based units, I think that a pen-based unit would be more
intuitive. This, of course, is based on the UI. In a prior post, I
stated that I started to laugh when I had been using my Zoomer for a long
while and then switched to a desktop machine. I actually reached out to
touch the desktop's screen to select a choice and press a button. A
well-written UI with large buttons and intuitiveness is vital.
10. Optional keyboard. While the pen is my first choice, there will be
some who disagree. The unit should have either a built-in keyboard or an
optional one that can be plugged in.
11. A docking station. I would love to be able to walk up to my Desktop
and drop my Zoomer into a docking station. The desktop computer would
automatically recognize the connected Zoomer, synchronize files, and
allow seamless interaction with it from the desktop. Of course the docking
station would be recharging the batteries while this was happening.
12. All this for under $500.00. OK, I know this may be unattainable,
but it is something to shoot for.
: thanks - keith
Good luck with your project. Just remember that if any of this produces
financial gain, remember where you heard these ideas!!! ;)
--
-Jim
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Buffalo Grove, IL, USA | version of Geoworks Ensemble at:
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David Salvador Flores
kjc <kjca...@cloverleaf.net> wrote:
>hello everyone -
>
>i'm taking a new products marketing class this summer and our group has
>chosen the pda market for our project. i just wanted to solicit ideas
>anyone has on what future features you would like to see, or you feel
>should be available within the next few years from a hardware stand
>point. please no sci-fi stuff ;^D
>
Oooh, my favorite kind of thread!
My list of six things that will come along:
(1) Smaller size. PDA's will be about half as thick as the MP100
and almost all of that will be occupied by the screen. They
will be very light.
(2) Machines will be able to tilt to landscape mode. We will be
able to hook up a small keyboard and write with a WSIWYG
wordprocessor of about Macwrite's capabilities.
(3) Cellular modems will be common. When phone rates go down
(Say in 7 to 10 years) we'll all be checking out e-mail
on the bus, and surfin' the web at the beach.
(4) Backlight and Color. These features will be available, but
not found on that many PDA's. After all, they suck up
battery life. They'll be used for very specific applications.
(5) Mucho memory. The new machines will be used to store
dictionaries, and novels and other space intensive apps.
Many newspapers will go strictly digital. You'll subscribe
over the .net and receive your subscriptions in your account
which you'll download onto your Newt every morining.
(Many folks lament the "death" of the paper novel. Its
really one of the most eco-friendly things that could
happen. And plus, the novel won't really die, just the
paper medium. Instead of a paperback we'll be reading
off an LCD screen.)
(6) Built in minidisk capabilities. The new machines
will accept an audio/data format very similar (in
size) to Sony's minidisk. This will allow the machines
access to hundreds of megs of data, and will allow
them to double as Walkmans.
J. Eric Townsend
File under "been there, done that":
"dsf3g" == David Salvador Flores <ds...@faraday.clas.Virginia.EDU> writes:
dsf3g> My list of six things that will come along:
dsf3g> (2) Machines will be able to tilt to landscape mode.
done. see PenPoint on an EO. Pick any direction of the unit as "up"
and it's "up".
--
J. Eric Townsend j...@genmagic.com USA 408.774.4252 (play: j...@well.sf.ca.us)
AT&T PersonaLink: A5803...@attpls.net
<a href="http://www.spies.com/jet/jet.html">URL bandwagon of hipitude</a>
*** Affiliation shown for identification and contact purposes only. ***
kjc
thanks for your input.
although, i don't own a pda yet. i like the magic link as well. i think
magic cap has the best interface (very hypercard like - reminds me of the
early macs) and eventually telescript agent technology will become very
important.
the only thing i don't like about sony's product is the size. it's a
little big.
keith
EdwardW355
for personal use and as a programming target. Opinion is pretty unanimous
anything other than a low level pcket calendar must have PC connectivity
to take off.
GEOS has the connect button - but no longer has the desktop. If they can
make the button connect to another OS (or revive GEOS (too late methinks)
they have a shot, otherwise Sayonara! Interestingly they at least HAVE a
solution - even tho' there's nothing to connect to.
James M. Sampers
>
>i'm taking a new products marketing class this summer and our group has
>chosen the pda market for our project. i just wanted to solicit ideas
>anyone has on what future features you would like to see, or you feel
>should be available within the next few years from a hardware stand
>point. please no sci-fi stuff ;^D
>
>thanks - keith
Well, since you're just asking for opinions, I guess that I can provide a
few... 8)
Current PDA's consist of "touching" a screen with an object. Some of the
things being worked on include things like magnetic inductance or infra-red
to "locate" the pen. In both of these cases, the pen doesn't actually have
to touch the "screen." You could be writing in mid-air and it could catch
the signature. I've actually seen and used one based on inductance. As
for the IR one, I remember seeing a TV show (Next Step?) where they showed
one that had a screen that was about the size of a chalk board and the
operator was able to go back quite a distance from the board and still
"write" on it. Also, the capability was there for multiple users with
multiple pens (neat for future classrooms in which the students could also
write on the board from thier desk. 8)
There was someone else that mentioned that it would be nice to see a
back-light on the display. This feature is already out on the market.
Handheld units here at Norand have BL's incorporated with touch screens
with VGA resolution. Of course these units are also 386's or 486's as
well...
I don't speak for or represent my company... blah... blah...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|James M. Sampers | "The future, whatever else it may be, is always |
|sam...@norand.com | infintely, flagrantly, more peculiarly strange than|
|(mic...@iastate.edu) | the products of our imagination." - William Gibson |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ronald W. Frye
> In article <kjcambra-300...@lakewood-1-2.cloverleaf.com>, kjca...@cloverleaf.net (kjc) says:
> >
> >hello everyone -
> >
> >i'm taking a new products marketing class this summer and our group has
> >chosen the pda market for our project. i just wanted to solicit ideas
> >anyone has on what future features you would like to see, or you feel
> >should be available within the next few years from a hardware stand
> >point. please no sci-fi stuff ;^D
> >
> >thanks - keith
I'd be glad to provide input for a future feature...How about adding more
weight to the PDA. That way, it would be a more effective door stop. Current
PDAs are about as useful as Ex-Lax in a diarrhea ward. At least this feature
would give it some useful purpose.
Ronald W. Frye
Scott Kallen
>
>I'd be glad to provide input for a future feature...How about adding more
>weight to the PDA. That way, it would be a more effective door stop. Current
>PDAs are about as useful as Ex-Lax in a diarrhea ward. At least this feature
>would give it some useful purpose.
>
>Ronald W. Frye
>
Obviously a man without enough to do, or the intellect to handle it. Perhaps
if he had more to do, he would need something to organize his work in. But
then again, how many tasks can a ditch-digger come up with?
Jim Sizemore
1) More speed.
2) Longer battery life.
3) Pocket size--1/4 VGA screen is about perfect.
4) Some buttons to speed things up. Look at portable games (e.g., Sega game
gear) to get the idea.
5) Portrait/landscape switchable.
6) More memory.
7) Solid state voice recording.
8) Better synchronization programs to synchronize ALL files with PC.
9) Calculator up to par with advanced programmable, graphic pocket calculators
currently on market.
10) Low cost, high capacity removable memory.
Jim
Manuel Veloso
fr...@llnl.gov writes:
>How about adding more
>weight to the PDA. That way, it would be a more effective door stop. Current
>PDAs are about as useful as Ex-Lax in a diarrhea ward. At least this feature
>would give it some useful purpose.
Hah! You've obviously never used a PDA effectively!
For most PDAs, you can usually fit them between the door and the
frame where the hinges are. Some, of course, are better than others,
but overall they'll keep doors open...with no annoying stop to
trip over.
Be sure to wedge the PDA in there so it doesn't fall out if
the door opens wider, BTW.
---------------------
Manny Veloso
Digital Plumber
---------------------
"We must stick them with quills! It's the only way!"
Harv R Laser
ALL "old" episodes now ;-) where some alien had a "PDA" in his hand
that consisted of what looked like nothing more than a Newton-sized
sheet of 1/4" plexiglas or Lexan [tm] with some regions etched on
it. There weren't any closeups of this thing and of course it was
just a film prop so it didn't really do anything but the vision of
that thing has always stuck with me. Further, in the recent
Star Trek: Generations, there's a scene with Picard in his quarters
where he's fiddling with a similar "device."
I know the original poster-asker who was soliciting "future PDA"
desires asked for no science fiction, but I thought it was interesting
that this kind of device seems to keep showing up in various
"futuristic" series and films.
Actually, if you took a Newton back in a time machine with you to,
oh... say an era as recent as the 60s or the 50s, and showed it
around, they'd probably burn you at the stake for being a witch. ;)
We take an awful lot of technology for granted these days. Try to
remember what life was like before ATMs, for example ;)
Marc Paquette
kjca...@cloverleaf.net (kjc) wrote:
> hello everyone -
>
> i'm taking a new products marketing class this summer and our group has
> chosen the pda market for our project. i just wanted to solicit ideas
> anyone has on what future features you would like to see, or you feel
> should be available within the next few years from a hardware stand
> point. please no sci-fi stuff ;^D
>
> thanks - keith
What's my idea of the perfect PDA? Well! [Rolling up my shirt sleeves]
Marc's ideal PDA would:
* be much thinner, lighter, and have a larger screen compared to the
PDAs available today. Of course, it's just a matter of time before
these enhancements happen.
* be water-resistant, shock proof, and generally be able to take a lot
of physical abuse.
* not only have better handwriting recognition than what is available
today, but also have speech recognition. This is probably inevitable,
but I can't imagine usable speech recognition (in a noisy airport, hotel
lobby, etc.) being available on a PDA in the next 2-3 years.
* be able to talk so it can be a "smart" answering machine. Imagine
asking your PDA something over the phone and have it answer in speech!
Imagine calling your PDA and asking it to check for voice mail, or
have it fax or e-mail something to someone.
* be very expandable, and conveniently so. Today's PDAs have a lot of
potential, thanks to PC cards. My ideal PDA would have _at least_ 3 PC
slots instead of just the 1 or 2 you see today. Incidentally, I'd be the
first to buy a GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) receiver card.
* have backlighting for the display! Sometimes the glare gets so bad,
I want to bust every fluorescent light in my office when I'm using my
Magic Link.
* be able to read and write those mini-CDs that Sony developed. Imagine
reading your e-mail while listening to some music, or backing up your PDA
onto a disk instead of having to connect to a desktop computer.
* be able to connect to anything in any way possible. Have you seen the ad
for the Timex watch that uploads from your Windoze machine just by reading
bar-code data off the screen? My PDA would do that too. It could also use
its built-in speaker and microphone as an accoustic modem, as well as having
an ordinary phone jack connection. People often (usually?) use their PDAs
when they're far away from service technicians, modern telephone connections,
a compatible desktop computer, etc. When you gotta connect, you gotta
connect now!
I hope this helps. Good luck on your project.
Regards,
Marc.
---
Marc Paquette internet: paqu...@metrowerks.ca
Technical Writer voice: (514) 747-5999 ext. 232
"Lead Lead Pipe Fitter" fax: (514) 747-2822
metrowerks inc.
James M. Sampers
<snipped stuff from previous quote...>
>Oooh, my favorite kind of thread!
>
>My list of six things that will come along:
>
>(1) Smaller size. PDA's will be about half as thick as the MP100
> and almost all of that will be occupied by the screen. They
> will be very light.
>
We already have hand held ones...
>(2) Machines will be able to tilt to landscape mode. We will be
> able to hook up a small keyboard and write with a WSIWYG
> wordprocessor of about Macwrite's capabilities.
>
Our handhelds do this too...
>(3) Cellular modems will be common. When phone rates go down
> (Say in 7 to 10 years) we'll all be checking out e-mail
> on the bus, and surfin' the web at the beach.
>
You can get PCMCIA cellular radios or just regular radios for a WAN...
>(4) Backlight and Color. These features will be available, but
> not found on that many PDA's. After all, they suck up
> battery life. They'll be used for very specific applications.
>
Some current prototypes have this...
>(5) Mucho memory. The new machines will be used to store
> dictionaries, and novels and other space intensive apps.
> Many newspapers will go strictly digital. You'll subscribe
> over the .net and receive your subscriptions in your account
> which you'll download onto your Newt every morining.
>
Jeess... We already have units with 16Meg of RAM built in, what more do
you want! ;)
> (Many folks lament the "death" of the paper novel. Its
> really one of the most eco-friendly things that could
> happen. And plus, the novel won't really die, just the
> paper medium. Instead of a paperback we'll be reading
> off an LCD screen.)
>
(Well, I prefer being able to flip back and forth between different pages
at will and compare stuff, so in my mind the "paper" medium is still better.
Also, magnetic storage degrades over time, whereas paper can last longer.)
>(6) Built in minidisk capabilities. The new machines
> will accept an audio/data format very similar (in
> size) to Sony's minidisk. This will allow the machines
> access to hundreds of megs of data, and will allow
> them to double as Walkmans.
Well... I don't know... What happens if you're walking along and trying
to read from the minidisk drive?
ERROR...
COULD NOT READ FROM DEVICE...
How about cheaper/larger SRAM, Flash, Hard Drive, etc... cards instead?
Scott Kallen
Heck, since we're dreaming, why not aim high?
(Neural implants aside...)
I envision the future like this:
Every house will have a main computer, like a water heater, furnace, etc.
Individual communications will be the rule of the day and everyone who wants
one will have a device similar to a Newt that will function as a communications
device with a modicum of computing power (compared to the home system). I
expect there will be KidNewts, SportNewts, like radios. They'll probably BE
radios, too. They will accept voice commands and will be lockable via
voiceprint, just like I expect the newton to be lockable via signature, some
day. The small devices will learn the voice patterns, much as the newt learns
the writing patterns after time. Perhaps there will be some language helper
like Grafitti...Slang?
The small systems will be able to handle many basic functions, connecting to
the larger system when the tasks require it. I expect the Bells to have
converted to some level of wireless commo and the small devices will be able to
tap into them when far away from home.
Anyway, that's my opinon.
Ernest Wong
extendable light source like those itty bitsy book lights with a micro
halogen bulb to cast controlled light on the screen.
I'd nix color except for specific apps that need it as some else already said.
Color LCD of current technology is basically a useless screen outdoors in
daytime. Needs a reallly strong backlight to overcome ambient light.
The mention of easier biz card scanner brings to mind to wish for a small
built in scanner like the scanning pens currently available. Something on
the base of the Newt would be good.
On the point about pointing device, the pen could be built with micro
accelerometers in it to let Newt know where the pen was. Alignment of
'air' pen and screen could be tricky. The trickiest part would be letting
the Newt know actually when one wants the pen to engage since it doesn't
need to touch the screen. Side button like current graphic tablets?!?!?
The landscape mode looks like it's just the right size for letter-boxed
movies or HDTV. HMMMMM! And sometimes it's nice to have full width text in
a legible font size. Scrolling doesn't bother me much.
my 2 AAA's worth
Allen Ethridge
In article <3vtcsq$1...@po-box.norand.com>, samp...@norand.com (James M. Sampers) writes:
> In article <DCM0u...@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU>, ds...@faraday.clas.Virginia.EDU (David Salvador Flores) says:
>
> >(5) Mucho memory. The new machines will be used to store
>
> you want! ;)
>
Call me greedy, but i'd like a bit more, like, say, 256Meg. 8)
> > (Many folks lament the "death" of the paper novel. Its
> >
>
> (Well, I prefer being able to flip back and forth between different pages
> at will and compare stuff, so in my mind the "paper" medium is still better.
> Also, magnetic storage degrades over time, whereas paper can last longer.)
>
> >(6) Built in minidisk capabilities. The new machines
>
> Well... I don't know... What happens if you're walking along and trying
> to read from the minidisk drive?
>
> ERROR...
> COULD NOT READ FROM DEVICE...
>
> How about cheaper/larger SRAM, Flash, Hard Drive, etc... cards instead?
I'm waiting for a hypertext, minidisk based book system. Somehow i
think that minidisks would fit the uses of a removeable medium better
than the alternatives. (A minidisk is a 3.5 inch CD thingy, right?)
--
ethr...@bnr.ca
my opinions are my own
--
ethr...@bnr.ca
my opinions are my own
Douglas B. Luckie
there!
"Ronald W. Frye" <fr...@llnl.gov> wrote:
>
>> In article <kjcambra-300...@lakewood-1-2.cloverleaf.com>, kjca...@cloverleaf.net (kjc) says:
>> >
>> >hello everyone -
>> >
>> >i'm taking a new products marketing class this summer and our group has
>> >chosen the pda market for our project. i just wanted to solicit ideas
>> >anyone has on what future features you would like to see, or you feel
>> >should be available within the next few years from a hardware stand
>> >point. please no sci-fi stuff ;^D
>> >
>> >thanks - keith
>
>
>I'd be glad to provide input for a future feature...How about adding more
>weight to the PDA. That way, it would be a more effective door stop. Current
>PDAs are about as useful as Ex-Lax in a diarrhea ward. At least this feature
>would give it some useful purpose.
>
>Ronald W. Frye
>
_________________________________________________________________
D o u g l a s B. L u c k i e -Stanford Newton Users Group (SNUG)
http://www-leland.stanford.edu/~luckie
net: luc...@waldron.stanford.edu, NewtonMail: DoLu...@eworld.com
Ross J. Reedstrom
at the tone taken by some of the replies to Ron's some what sarcastic
comment about using current PDAs as doorstops. I too am interested
in the technology, but the current crop of machines are underpowered and
overpriced for my (and apparently Ron's) computing needs, and will probebly
continue to be so in the near future. We don't usually get so ad hominem in our
arguments over here in geos-land - You newt-heads feeling threatened or
something?
--
----------------
Ross J. Reedstrom
r...@pharmacy.wisc.edu
School of Pharmacy, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Ernest Wong
Get the damn IR port to talk to something other than another Newt. I don't
mean just remote control for a TV. Apple has IR ports on the Centris 650.
A few of the HP lasers have IR ports. All the IR port does now on my 100
is get scratched. I'd rather take it out and put in an audio jack or
something. At least I have headphones or CD's that I can connect to that.
I'll keep quiet now.
Ernest Wong
es...@cornell.edu
Bill Kearney
: And I forgot one little thing.
Well, keep quiet a while longer. There's no such port on any Centris or
650 model machine. None. There is, however, one on the 630 series
machine. There is also one on the MacTV product. The TV one will only
accept IR remote type signals. I've had no luck finding any info on the
630 port.
As for headphones, why? To listen to it beep?
Bill
--
| Bill Kearney | wkea...@access.digex.net | copyright 1995
| Butler, MD | http://access.digex.net/~wkearney/ | W.G.Kearney
| 410-239-0060 | ftp://ftp.digex.net/pub/access/wkearney |
This random quote brought to you by the fortune program:
All science is either physics or stamp collecting.
-- E. Rutherford
Ian Clark
laguage like that?
The magic-link pda does suffer from not much memory (and extra 2
meg on a card costs $250) and a problem with readable screen
(ameliorated by purchasing a screen protector from Creative
Kitchen in San Fransico - $25 a pack of 12) and a slow modem
(2400 bps)...but...
It's a GREAT device. There's a wealth of software being developed
and there's already VT220/VT100 emulation,handwriting recognition
and other applications in addition to built-in Quicken,
spreadsheet, AOL, ATT telephone service, mail, etc...
What do you want Ronnie?
A Cray? They've gone chapter 11 or didn't you know.
Ian.
Keith Cambra
just wanted to let everyone know that i am reading all your
replies (except the smart a** ones). some are quite good.
our favorites include:
1) Indiglo screen
2) Mini-disc support
3) tilt screen (landscape)
keith
Douglas B. Luckie
So a RISC chip doing 20 MIPS in a complete unit @ $149.00 is
'underpowered and overpriced'?! WOW how much did you pay for your
desktop?
James LaRue
: > (Many folks lament the "death" of the paper novel. Its
: > really one of the most eco-friendly things that could
: > happen. And plus, the novel won't really die, just the
: > paper medium. Instead of a paperback we'll be reading
: > off an LCD screen.)
: (Well, I prefer being able to flip back and forth between different
pages : at will and compare stuff, so in my mind the "paper" medium is
still better. As a librarian, I have to put in my two cents' worth:
the most common paperback has a resolution of a minimum 1200 dots per
inch. A Mac (featuring a higher quality resolution by far than an LCD)
has a resolution on screen of 72 dpi. For *sustained reading* the book
wins, every time. Don't believe me? Try reading 10 point type on a
piece of paper -- then experiment with point sizes on a screen to
achieve equal legibility from an equal distance. Besides, at a used
book place you can get books that are cheap cheap cheap, and they
won't kill you if you drop them while reading in the bathtub.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
James LaRue * "Any man can understand the pain of childbirth. Just
jla...@csn.org * pull your upper lip over your forehead." - Groucho
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Helmar Rudolph
>"Ronald W. Frye" <fr...@llnl.gov> wrote:
>>I'd be glad to provide input for a future feature...How about adding more
>>weight to the PDA. That way, it would be a more effective door stop. Current
>>PDAs are about as useful as Ex-Lax in a diarrhea ward. At least this feature
>>would give it some useful purpose.
>>
>Wow, I looked up the word 'looser' in the dictionary and Rons photo was
>there!
No wonder, because under 'loser' you might not have found him ;)
PTR
Helmar Rudolph
Barry Bocaner
: ERROR...
: COULD NOT READ FROM DEVICE...
I don't know how a minidisk would fare as a data storage medium, but the
audio minidisks are just about skip-proof. I take mine jogging all the
time and it never skips.
--
Barry J. Bocaner
<ba...@laser.net>
Barry Bocaner
: I'm waiting for a hypertext, minidisk based book system. Somehow i
: think that minidisks would fit the uses of a removeable medium better
: than the alternatives. (A minidisk is a 3.5 inch CD thingy, right?)
No. A minidisk is a recordable magneto optical digital audio storage medium
pioneered by Sony. The actual media, which is read similarly to a CD, is
enclosed in a plastic cartridge not dissimilar to the way a 3.5" floppy
disk is made. The cartridge's measurements are approximately 2.5" by
2.75".
Dlvryman
three flights of stairs.
Dan
Peter Lemmond
Apple should include an IR port on *every* box they sell - desktop, notebooks,
and PDA's. Having to use cables is just so old-fashioned. Would make updating
your Newt from your Mac (or vice versa) alot easier...
-Peter
Peter Murray
: In article <kjcambra-300...@lakewood-1-2.cloverleaf.com>,
: >hello everyone -
: >
: >i'm taking a new products marketing class this summer and our group has
: >chosen the pda market for our project. i just wanted to solicit ideas
: >anyone has on what future features you would like to see, or you feel
: >should be available within the next few years from a hardware stand
: >point. please no sci-fi stuff ;^D
: Oooh, my favorite kind of thread!
: My list of six things that will come along:
[...]
[7] DOS/WINDOWS COMPATIBLE
hehehehe :)
Daniel Kim
>hello again -
>
>just wanted to let everyone know that i am reading all your
>replies (except the smart a** ones). some are quite good.
>
>our favorites include:
>
>2) Mini-disc support {Great idea as well}
>3) tilt screen (landscape) {Hmmm, I don't know}
>
>
>keith
I think the form factor should be re-thought. The Zoomers I tried at
RadioShack just felt a little cramped. Something more the size of a half
sheet of typing paper would be about right (Kind of like on StarTrek, I
think).
daniel Kim
Daniel Kim
I think the CD and minidisk players use a RAM buffer to smooth out
skips. I don't know whether this results in ALL of the bits being
played, or just most of them. The difference is not so critical for
music, but is important for data. I'd think that a RAM buffer for a data
disk could obviate the problem for a handheld computer.
Daniel Kim
Ian Soboroff
hmm, what's the effective throughput on an IR connection? i'll take a
serial port any day of the week (never mind that serial cables have
some sort of standard... c.f. trying to make a newton work as a
general remote control).
ian
--
+--------------+---------------------------------------------------------+
! Ian Soboroff ! "Beware the Subjects bird, and shred -- Jabberwocky on |
! i...@umbc.edu ! The serious Bandwidth!" -- a Newton by R. McNally |
+--------------+---------------( http://gl.umbc.edu/~ian/ )------(C)'93--+
Peter Lemmond
>In article <405hun$m...@pearl.whoi.edu>,
>Peter Lemmond <pet...@tone.whoi.edu> wrote:
>>
>>Apple should include an IR port on *every* box they sell - desktop, notebooks,
>>and PDA's. Having to use cables is just so old-fashioned. Would make updating
>>your Newt from your Mac (or vice versa) alot easier...
>
>hmm, what's the effective throughput on an IR connection? i'll take a
>serial port any day of the week (never mind that serial cables have
>some sort of standard... c.f. trying to make a newton work as a
>general remote control).
>
I don't think throughput would be much of an issue, since a smart Mac
and a smart Newton should be able to exchange bytes in the background
w/o much drain on either system. Imagine sitting at your Mac, with your
Newton on the desk nearby, trading information as you sit and work for
awhile.
As for serial ports being standard, I guess you haven't seen all the
posts here asking for pin-outs for cables. With an IR connection, all
of the necessary implementation would be in software -- not hardware --
and considering that Apple would "own" both sides of the software, this
is unlikely to be much of a problem.
-Peter
John Schettino
i...@umbc.edu (Ian Soboroff) writes:
> In article <405hun$m...@pearl.whoi.edu>,
> Peter Lemmond <pet...@tone.whoi.edu> wrote:
> >
> >Apple should include an IR port on *every* box they sell - desktop, notebooks,
> >and PDA's. Having to use cables is just so old-fashioned. Would make updating
> >your Newt from your Mac (or vice versa) alot easier...
>
> hmm, what's the effective throughput on an IR connection? i'll take a
> serial port any day of the week (never mind that serial cables have
> some sort of standard... c.f. trying to make a newton work as a
> general remote control).
The general throughput is 9600,19200, or 38400 bps. Not bad, actually.
As far as standards go, there is one for the Newton IR. It's the sharp
protocol. There's nothing like IR for speedy data exchange - just point
and beam! The new DIL stuff from apple will make development of IR
syncs easier, so this may be a reality someday.
------------
John Schettino (I'm telecommuting today!)
js...@gte.com
http://metro.turnpike.net/J/jschettino/index.html
Greg LaCoste
-- Newton II - NITRO
Ok, this is my brainstorm.
What can PIE do to thrive?
Have they put the BIC on hold because of vertical
market uncertainty?
Should vertical markets be the target or should
PERSONAL devices be the market?
These problems lead to the following question:
What would I like in a true Personal Information
Electronic device?
Which leads to my solution:
The new sharp color lcd screen (3.5" x 5")
with touch sensitive interface
2nd generation Sony MiniDisc recorder/player
(ideally with about 600mb capacity)
(gives about 1 hour video recording
capability with MPEG)
Newton core guts with an 8 meg user/dealer
upgradeable ROM, 8 meg SRAM.
ROM includes Quicktime, Quickdraw
and basic Mac interface routines.
(Like the rumored Sweet Pea which
was killed by Kaleida's tardiness)
(Will you guys please leverage
the Mac stuff!!!!)
ARM 710 (or 810, or better yet: PPC 400 or 603-)
MPEG video chip
Lithium ion quick recharge battery
(Like Sony TR200, TR500 cams)
PCMCIA type 3 slot
Built in microphone and speaker
Speaker phone compatible
Line level IFs through docking station:
Video in/out (S-VHS) Audio in/out
Serial or maybe Firewire.
Phone
Interface could resemble Sony TR200
camera docking station
IR remote capable send and receive
What the base unit can do:
Full Newton interface
Conventional TV
Digital Music play and record
Digital Video play and record
Sega genesis type capability
Mac CD-ROM game/info capability through MiniDisc
Hooks into home stereo/video setup with dock
Use newton interface to control other devices
in their native working mode
PCMCIA options (about $300 for each):
Video camera to make a full function digital
video handycam
Cellular modem for voice, data and lan
GPS card
IBM voice recognition card
(Better yet, build this in)
Characteristics:
4" x 6" x 2" landscape orientation
Runs for 2-8 hours on battery
Weight 1.5 - 2.0 lbs
Cost $1600 - $1900
Cost breakdown
Screen $300
MiniDisc $400
Processor, chips & glue $250
Packaging $ 40
Dock $ 20
Battery $ 20
----
$1030
Overhead and Software $170
Marketing (Go cheap) $30
Apple Profit $325
Dealer Profit $175
----
Total $1730
There should be a market of at least 750,000 - 1,000,000
the first year. ($1.5 Billion to the bean counters)
Release in fall of 95 ( I know that's impossible
(unless they started 6 months ago 8^) )).
Shoot for spring comdex 96 and a May 96 release.
This is doable in the next few years and would come on line
just in time for the Information Highway hype to start
turning into reality. And you'd cut into seven markets at once:
PDAs, Portable TVs (info spigots), Personal music devices,
Video Cameras, Sega/Genesis CD-ROM driven games and
Computer CD-ROM driven games and information libraries.
And people who don't need a computer would be willing to
buy it because they wouldn't see it as a computer.
Send the Motorola Envoy back to the benches.
Best of all, you'd eat Bill Gates lunch and maybe he'd have
an embolism. . .
Just think of the possibilities. (Tag line)
Get a vision . . . for under 2 grand!
Jim Bailey
(Greg LaCoste) wrote:
-> Cost breakdown
-> Screen $300
-> MiniDisc $400
-> Processor, chips & glue $250
-> Packaging $ 40
-> Dock $ 20
-> Battery $ 20
-> ----
-> $1030
->
-> Overhead and Software $170
-> Marketing (Go cheap) $30
-> Apple Profit $325
-> Dealer Profit $175
-> ----
-> Total $1730
What about manufacturing? Generally, the way I've seen retail prices
calculated is based on a multiplier of the cost of goods. I don't know
what model you are using but it isn't one that I've seen before (but I'm
no expert).
I would expect that no one could produce what you want for under $2000.
BTW, the last company I worked for used something like 5.25 times cost of
goods. A mass market consumer electronic would use a smaller multiplier.
2-3 times CGS is probably more likely.
--
Jim Bailey Software Consulting Services for Mobile Computing
Internet: j...@tiac.net NewtonMail: jdb (j...@eworld.com)