Why all current “smartphones” are awful
This pretty much sums up all of my thoughts on smartphones (web-enabled mobile phones).
I’ve played with friends’ Iphones and Blackberries and other phones and thought when it comes to content creation and ability to crank out material on a keyboard that they don’t at all compare to a netbook. The only missing solution that currently impairs me is the internet access – I have to find free wireless hotspots (Starbucks is very reliable for this), but with the introduction of cheap highspeed mobile USB sticks, this problem might be alleviated and worth the $50/mo cost for the service. It might even replace Shaw Cable, which is getting at that price range, although I don’t know what the capacity of an internet USB stick is when doing applications like Bittorrent.
I think you’re missing the point of smartphones, when viewing them through such a narrow lens. They aren’t intended for the most part as content creation devices; however, I do a ton of reading and note-taking with my portable device (an iPod Touch) and I imagine if I had a microphone, I’d be doing a lot of voice and sound recording as well. The “tricorder” analogy has been done to death now, but it’s probably the best paradigm to use — they’re for sensing and recording, and acting as information nodes. To gauge them by the uses of a netbook is kind of silly, in my opinion.
I have a couple friends that use their smartphones as virtual books, and I can see their utility when on the bus or transit compared to a netbook. That said, I always found it quite difficult to read or do anything productive except reading paper when on the bus/skytrain/airplane, I don’t know why that is the case. Most, if not all, of the content I’ve cranked out here has been sitting down at my notebook desk.
The one area you did point out that I think could be useful compared to a netbook was some quick recording device. There have been numerous moments where I have been driving in a vehicle that I had some thought come up and would have loved to capture it before I forget about it. Mind you, recent legislation makes activating the “hand-held” recorder while driving illegal anyway…
“The one area you did point out that I think could be useful compared to a netbook was some quick recording device.”
I use a pencil and small Post-It Note pad.
I literally meant “voice recorder”, not pen-and-pad type recording (which is difficult driving!)