I'm doing a weekend roundup early this week because this weekend is my wedding anniversary, and I intend to spend my time with my wife and not on the computer. ^_^ So, here are the things on my mind before the start of the weekend:
Airship Progress
The airship concept has hit a major snag that is beyond my control: There is apparently a national Helium shortage, making personal retail helium canisters scarce. Not to be daunted, I tried using my paper mache shell as a hot-air airship, and it didn't have enough lift for the shell, let alone the chafing fuel.
The engine will be worked on this next week. I am going to use tin snips to cut the propeller and the turbine buckets from a soda can. They will be sharp, but also lightweight. As long as no one tries to grab it, we should be fine. ^_^ I hope to have a working steam turbine motor by the end of the week.
Rumored Apple PDA
Apple Insider has published a story of a larger screen version of the iPhone and iPod Touch that Apple is currently working on and will release some time early 2008. Referred to as a resurrected "Newton", the new PDA it touted to have the same multi-touch interface and design as the current iPod Touch and iPhone, and use the same version of OS X.
Now, I have wanted an Apple PDA for generations as something that would sync easily with my Mac and even perhaps take the place of my Powerbook. If this PDA is going to do that, there are a few things that it needs to have going for it:
1. A full version of iCal: I don't want to have something watered down, as exists with the iPhone and iPod Touch. It has to have all the same features as iCal does now. Also, I need an iCal that can connect in some way to Exchange (for work). Of course, if I can bypass that through an iCal Server, then I can live without that feature. ^_^
2. A full (if spartan) version of Mail: I don't care if the mail templates are not included, but I do want a version of Mail that will work with Exchange (or at least IMAP).
3: 802.1x WiFi Support: Right now the University has 802.1x security set up for it's UConnect WiFi network. Using this network would be paramount for any device I get as a PDA. If Apple expects this device to get off the ground, this feature needs to be available. Why? Because most businesses (that are security minded, and tech savvy) have 802.1x for their open networks. To get into the Corporate Market, this tool would be necessary.
4: Specific Apps: I don't think third party apps will an issue once Apple gets the SDK out for the iPhone and iPod Touch, but it all comes down to what is available. I want a Terminal (It's UNIX, after all!), and I want chat tools like an iChat to work with Jabber connections. Also, I want to see some video conferencing built in: Put a iSight camera facing the user! It's that simple. Everything else would be there. I would also like VoIP available for the device. After all, this will be the mobile office I carry with me on trips. I want to be able to talk to my family. There are some others, but I think I will leave that for an app wish list. ^_^
5: Battery Life: It needs to have a killer battery life, and be easily replaceable (to be green). 10 hours would be phenomenal, but I would be happy with 5 to 8 hours of continual use. You also need to be able to use it while it is charging. That way you can plug it into the wall and still go.
6: Storage Space: Storage is a big issue. If this is going to be a PDA, it's going to work as a del facto replacement for a PC at some point. That means lots of writing to the drive, storage, etc. So if Flash memory isn't going to cut it, and Apple plans to make it bigger than the iPod Touch anyway, they should use the same drives they have in their iPod Classic. If it's a little thicker for it, that's fine. I wouldn't mind 160 GB of storage space on my PDA. ^_^
7: Easy Video Share: I would love to view content from my Mac at home and share content from this new PDA. Enable iTunes Sharing, and it will be brilliant!
8: Bluetooth Human Input Devices: If you don't have a physical way to hook these up, enable Bluetooth input devices. It would be sweet to be able to use a bluetooth keyboard with the device to make computing that much easier. It would also make it possible to have Pages, Keynote, and Numbers installed on the machine. That would be huge! ^_^
9: Price: Price is going to be a big issue. If it's cheaper to get a Mac Mini, I'll get a Mac Mini. Just because it's Apple doesn't mean people will pay what you tell them to pay. *cough* Newton! *cough* Apple, I hope you are listening, because while some people will pay through the nose, others would rather just hack your existing (and less expensive) multi-touch devices than pay more than $500.00 for a device that does basically the same thing. Look at your competition, look at what you are offering, and make the price reasonable. $500.00 is great if it has the same storage capacity as the iPod Classic, and can easily replace the most basic functions of a MacBook.
For the couple of you who have followed my blog since last December, you may recall that many of these requests are the same as my post back then. Differences? I know it will sync with the Mac (but could do with a sync option for Linux, hint hint!), and I know it will "Just work", since it works for the iPod Touch and iPhone. Connectivity is all down to how they enable the WiFi/Bluetooth, not whether or not it will be included. But other concerns have not yet been addressed, and some new ones have come up since the platform has been "test driven" with the iPhone and iPod Touch.
So, basically, I am looking for a watered-down version of a notebook that can handle my office needs without worrying about the personal/creative needs. If I want to use the rest of iLife, I can use a regular computer for that. But iWork would be ideal for a device like this.
Showing posts with label PDA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PDA. Show all posts
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Apple iPhone: Phone or PDA?
Well, all the guessing and waiting has paid off: Steve Jobs announced today in the Macworld Keynote that Apple will be releasing an iPhone in June of 2007. But as they went through the features (according to the live "play by play's" that I have read), it became painfully obvious that it was far more than just a phone, or even an iPod. It will be a computer in and of itself, allowing for WiFi and EDGE connections. That makes it a PDA, at least in my book. Don't believe me? Check out the features as shown by the Apple website:
Touch Screen
As far as I know, there isn't a multi-touch screen out there for a phone. There are some that requires a stylus, but nothing that is meant to work with your own finger, at least not well. The screen is also well designed, with 160 dpi resolution. That's much higher than any phone that I am aware of.
The OS
Yes, it's running Mac OS X Embedded, which means that the OS is robust, based on BSD, and basically has the same interface as the Dashboard (yay!). That is what really sold it for me.. You can build widgets for your iPhone, so software for the iPhone shouldn't be a problem at all! Look for some really cool widgets coming in the near future.
The interface is also intuitive, which means they integrated the Rosetta software from Newton into the QWERTY keyboard interface.. It's really cool based on the demo's available.
PIM
Yes, the personal information management software fully integrates with iCal and Address Book. Also, Mail has full functionality (still can use your Exchange server). There hasn't been any word on it yet, but with WiFi built in, I would be surprised if iCal would sync with the CalDAV server that Lepoard is due to release. That's good news for all Apple IT networks, now if iCal would just have native exchange support! Perhaps that's also coming down the pipe.
Widgets!!!
For those that have been following my public list of wants for an Apple PDA, I mentioned that I wanted a PDA that would use widgets. Well, I got my wish. But instead of having a Front Row interface, it has a Dashboard interface. Before I had time to get dissappointed, it became clear why. It takes a lot less time and effort to use the Dashboard rather than Front Row. And as it doesn't have a click-wheel, Front Row is completely obsolete.
The widgets that come with it are basically the same default widgets with Tiger, with the exception of Google Maps, and the Phone application. Yes, the phone is actually an afterthought, it seems. The design is stressing the usability of the device as a device, not a phone with add-ons. That's what I really like about it.
A Keyboard!
Yes, there is a software keyboard built into the device. More and more, this is looking like a strong candidate for a distance learning student that want's to be able to truly be mobile without taking a huge laptop with them. Why? Because it can be used as such, doesn't require a stylus, and is smaller than my old NEC Pocket PC.
My 2 Cents
I thought that I wanted to get another 12" laptop, but now I don't think I need one. I'll probably get a nice iMac like my wife's, stick with my PowerBook as I need it, but use the Phone for all my day to day applications. That can be done with this device. The expansion of mobile device concept in this direction is incredible.. THis is what I have been looking for in a mobile device. Ease of use (Pocket PC didn't have it), simple application development (widgets), and multiple connection options means this is the device that I would want in my pocket.
Touch Screen
As far as I know, there isn't a multi-touch screen out there for a phone. There are some that requires a stylus, but nothing that is meant to work with your own finger, at least not well. The screen is also well designed, with 160 dpi resolution. That's much higher than any phone that I am aware of.
The OS
Yes, it's running Mac OS X Embedded, which means that the OS is robust, based on BSD, and basically has the same interface as the Dashboard (yay!). That is what really sold it for me.. You can build widgets for your iPhone, so software for the iPhone shouldn't be a problem at all! Look for some really cool widgets coming in the near future.
The interface is also intuitive, which means they integrated the Rosetta software from Newton into the QWERTY keyboard interface.. It's really cool based on the demo's available.
PIM
Yes, the personal information management software fully integrates with iCal and Address Book. Also, Mail has full functionality (still can use your Exchange server). There hasn't been any word on it yet, but with WiFi built in, I would be surprised if iCal would sync with the CalDAV server that Lepoard is due to release. That's good news for all Apple IT networks, now if iCal would just have native exchange support! Perhaps that's also coming down the pipe.
Widgets!!!
For those that have been following my public list of wants for an Apple PDA, I mentioned that I wanted a PDA that would use widgets. Well, I got my wish. But instead of having a Front Row interface, it has a Dashboard interface. Before I had time to get dissappointed, it became clear why. It takes a lot less time and effort to use the Dashboard rather than Front Row. And as it doesn't have a click-wheel, Front Row is completely obsolete.
The widgets that come with it are basically the same default widgets with Tiger, with the exception of Google Maps, and the Phone application. Yes, the phone is actually an afterthought, it seems. The design is stressing the usability of the device as a device, not a phone with add-ons. That's what I really like about it.
A Keyboard!
Yes, there is a software keyboard built into the device. More and more, this is looking like a strong candidate for a distance learning student that want's to be able to truly be mobile without taking a huge laptop with them. Why? Because it can be used as such, doesn't require a stylus, and is smaller than my old NEC Pocket PC.
My 2 Cents
I thought that I wanted to get another 12" laptop, but now I don't think I need one. I'll probably get a nice iMac like my wife's, stick with my PowerBook as I need it, but use the Phone for all my day to day applications. That can be done with this device. The expansion of mobile device concept in this direction is incredible.. THis is what I have been looking for in a mobile device. Ease of use (Pocket PC didn't have it), simple application development (widgets), and multiple connection options means this is the device that I would want in my pocket.
Thursday, December 28, 2006
PDA Ideas: Return of Newton
Today I was reading the posting on CNET.co.uk regarding the top ten Apple rumors, and got caught in the Return of Newton. Now, as you know I have mentioned my wishlist for an Apple iPhone, but if you notice not one of the features were specific to a phone. Instead, they were specific to a PDA that can and will work natively with the Apple computer. It's been a while since I had read about the Newton, and it seems that in the past few weeks (including my trip to Cupertino), the Newton has come up quite a bit.
The reason why the Newton has been referred to so often in the past couple of weeks, in my opinion at least, is because the iPhone has people talking glorified PDA with phone capability. The Newton was so well designed that it easily remains one of the best PDA's one can own. But if that's so, why did it fail? Let's take a look and see:
The Development Team
This information I have is coming from an inside source from Apple, so please take it as the hear-say that I heard. According to the source that I have within Apple, the Newton developers were rather proud of their role. They saw themselves as creating a destiny for Apple that would revolutionize the company into a portable handheld world. And as such, they made some very stupid mistakes.
First, they ignored the budgetary constraints that were placed on the entire company when times were hard. After all, if you were redefining the company's future, why shouldn't you have frequent catered lunches? This, of course, didn't go over very well within company management, or within the rest of the company. But this could have easily been overlooked if the device had been a huge success.
Second, they developed a huge device that made it difficult (at the time) to lug around. Now the device would be acceptable if only because most professionals no longer carry a PDA in their pocket, but rather carry the device in a backpack/briefcase/handbag. But in the early 1990's, it was too bulky to be considered a portable device that was of any use.
Marketing
The final nail in the coffin was the price. At the time, personal expenses could be written off to the company for a device if it was under $500. This means that any more expensive device needed to be tied directly to income, and that limited the purchasing power of more expensive devices within the Corporate world. My source was aware of this, and actually asked the Newton development team if they had run a cost analysis on the Newton, and if their choice of pricing it above $500 was taken into consideration. The answer she received was"We are Apple, people will pay what we tell them to pay."
Yes, blunders like that are precisely why Steve Jobs axed the project when he came back as CEO of Apple. Since then, according to Wikipedia, the Newton has floundered. In the end, though many of the software innovations that were created for the Newton have been implemented into Mac OS X, hope for a Macintosh PDA or tablet PC has been all but dead.
But Why Bring It Up Again?
Good question: Why would I bring it up again? Because so many PDA's that I have used and experimented with have let me down. They either have a battery life that make them virtually unusable, have a screen size that doesn't work well with the applications that I try to run, or they don't work with the platforms that I would expect from my PDA. I'm sure that I'm not the only one out there that has this same desire, and would like to see a decent device come out that not only does everything you need it to do, but is also relatively inexpensive as well.
I've looked at and played with several, including the NEC MobilePro's (which I really liked), Palm Pilots, GPE on an iPaq, and various Pocket PC's. Every one of them has lacked a single feature that I would want om a PDA that works for me. Either it was too complicated to learn how to write (Palm), too small to type (MobilePro), lacked connectivity and syncing abilities (GPE), or lacked native platform support for the Macintosh (Pocket PC).
Added to that is the price. Being fiercely Scottish myself, I don't want to pay a lot of money for something that is scaled down from a Desktop for the same price. Why don't I buy a WiFi + Bluetooth iPaq or phone? Because I can spend that same $400 and build a decent PC running Linux, and have it do more. Nope, if I get a PDA again, it needs to either be closer to the price of an iPod, or it needs to be comparable to the same priced PC. With components becoming less expensive, you would think that would be very possible.
So, what is it that I want out of a PDA? Here is my wishlist:
1. Needs to sync with the Macintosh, and Linux as well as a PC.
2. Provide connectivity (WiFi + Bluetooth), perhaps with 3G phone technology.
3. Support CalDAV standards, and utilize subscriptions to iCalendar formats (either vCal or iCal). Additional MS Exchange Server support would be a plus.
4. Video Conferencing out of the box through open standards (Jabber), and popular standards (AIM, MSN Messenger, Bonjour, etc.).
5. Very simple user interface. I just want it to work.
6. Audio to text dictation. Speech recognition has greatly improved, and should be utilized.
7. Simple developer interface. Use something like Dashboard widgets, and have it drag and drop to the Mac.
8. At least a 10 hour battery life.
There isn't a lot there, if you notice. I didn't say that I was going to require a color screen, though it would be nice. In reality, I would be happy with a black and white screen, as long as it did everything else I like. I also don't really care about editing documents either. If I was going to edit a document, I would use my desktop, or a small form notebook. That is, after all, what they are designed for. But I would need to read the document, or leave notes. While handwriting recognition would be nice, I think voice recognition would be more effective if possible. And finally, I don't care if I can't watch full length movies or listen to my iTunes music on it. That's what the iTV is for, and an iPod Shuffle.
Anyway, I don't know if anyone from Apple is looking at this, but if they are, I hope they understand that the request isn't necessarily for them, but if they would work with a PDA company to develop a device that meets all these specifications, they would definitely have my money. ^_^
The reason why the Newton has been referred to so often in the past couple of weeks, in my opinion at least, is because the iPhone has people talking glorified PDA with phone capability. The Newton was so well designed that it easily remains one of the best PDA's one can own. But if that's so, why did it fail? Let's take a look and see:
The Development Team
This information I have is coming from an inside source from Apple, so please take it as the hear-say that I heard. According to the source that I have within Apple, the Newton developers were rather proud of their role. They saw themselves as creating a destiny for Apple that would revolutionize the company into a portable handheld world. And as such, they made some very stupid mistakes.
First, they ignored the budgetary constraints that were placed on the entire company when times were hard. After all, if you were redefining the company's future, why shouldn't you have frequent catered lunches? This, of course, didn't go over very well within company management, or within the rest of the company. But this could have easily been overlooked if the device had been a huge success.
Second, they developed a huge device that made it difficult (at the time) to lug around. Now the device would be acceptable if only because most professionals no longer carry a PDA in their pocket, but rather carry the device in a backpack/briefcase/handbag. But in the early 1990's, it was too bulky to be considered a portable device that was of any use.
Marketing
The final nail in the coffin was the price. At the time, personal expenses could be written off to the company for a device if it was under $500. This means that any more expensive device needed to be tied directly to income, and that limited the purchasing power of more expensive devices within the Corporate world. My source was aware of this, and actually asked the Newton development team if they had run a cost analysis on the Newton, and if their choice of pricing it above $500 was taken into consideration. The answer she received was"We are Apple, people will pay what we tell them to pay."
Yes, blunders like that are precisely why Steve Jobs axed the project when he came back as CEO of Apple. Since then, according to Wikipedia, the Newton has floundered. In the end, though many of the software innovations that were created for the Newton have been implemented into Mac OS X, hope for a Macintosh PDA or tablet PC has been all but dead.
But Why Bring It Up Again?
Good question: Why would I bring it up again? Because so many PDA's that I have used and experimented with have let me down. They either have a battery life that make them virtually unusable, have a screen size that doesn't work well with the applications that I try to run, or they don't work with the platforms that I would expect from my PDA. I'm sure that I'm not the only one out there that has this same desire, and would like to see a decent device come out that not only does everything you need it to do, but is also relatively inexpensive as well.
I've looked at and played with several, including the NEC MobilePro's (which I really liked), Palm Pilots, GPE on an iPaq, and various Pocket PC's. Every one of them has lacked a single feature that I would want om a PDA that works for me. Either it was too complicated to learn how to write (Palm), too small to type (MobilePro), lacked connectivity and syncing abilities (GPE), or lacked native platform support for the Macintosh (Pocket PC).
Added to that is the price. Being fiercely Scottish myself, I don't want to pay a lot of money for something that is scaled down from a Desktop for the same price. Why don't I buy a WiFi + Bluetooth iPaq or phone? Because I can spend that same $400 and build a decent PC running Linux, and have it do more. Nope, if I get a PDA again, it needs to either be closer to the price of an iPod, or it needs to be comparable to the same priced PC. With components becoming less expensive, you would think that would be very possible.
So, what is it that I want out of a PDA? Here is my wishlist:
1. Needs to sync with the Macintosh, and Linux as well as a PC.
2. Provide connectivity (WiFi + Bluetooth), perhaps with 3G phone technology.
3. Support CalDAV standards, and utilize subscriptions to iCalendar formats (either vCal or iCal). Additional MS Exchange Server support would be a plus.
4. Video Conferencing out of the box through open standards (Jabber), and popular standards (AIM, MSN Messenger, Bonjour, etc.).
5. Very simple user interface. I just want it to work.
6. Audio to text dictation. Speech recognition has greatly improved, and should be utilized.
7. Simple developer interface. Use something like Dashboard widgets, and have it drag and drop to the Mac.
8. At least a 10 hour battery life.
There isn't a lot there, if you notice. I didn't say that I was going to require a color screen, though it would be nice. In reality, I would be happy with a black and white screen, as long as it did everything else I like. I also don't really care about editing documents either. If I was going to edit a document, I would use my desktop, or a small form notebook. That is, after all, what they are designed for. But I would need to read the document, or leave notes. While handwriting recognition would be nice, I think voice recognition would be more effective if possible. And finally, I don't care if I can't watch full length movies or listen to my iTunes music on it. That's what the iTV is for, and an iPod Shuffle.
Anyway, I don't know if anyone from Apple is looking at this, but if they are, I hope they understand that the request isn't necessarily for them, but if they would work with a PDA company to develop a device that meets all these specifications, they would definitely have my money. ^_^
Monday, December 11, 2006
iPhone Rumors, What They Say To Me
This is a bit of a divergence from the recent series that I have been posting, but I feel the need to make a comment on the recent rumors about an up-coming Apple "iPhone", that is supposed to be announced this January. I have been following the rumors for quite a while, mostly because I think it's an interesting concept if all the proposed features are implemented. But we need to stay focused: Why do Mac users want such a gizmo? Can't they fulfill their technology needs with other devices? This isn't so much about the device that is proposed, it's about what's lacking in current devices. Let me explain:
Easy UI
The first complaint that I have had with just about every phone I have used is the UI. Mobile phones have very complex UI's that require someone to go deep into different folders to get to each feature. Wouldn't it be nice to have a single screen that can rotate to each section with one screen? Then have that one screen have all the features you need. Make it intuitive, and you have a winning UI for any device.
PDA Flexibility in a Small Package
I don't like modern PDA's, because they are generally too bulky to be comfortably functional. Do they need to be that big? Not really, particularly if you can use a separate display option (see My Vu eye wear). Also, do you really need to have such a large writing display for handwriting recognition? Maybe if you tried using a bluetooth lazer keyboard to input your information, you wouldn't have an issue. Or better yet, if you used an internet Calendar program using CalDAV (Google Calendar, iCal Server, Yahoo Calendar, etc.) to enter a lot of your information, you would rarely need to enter any text at all. Use the microphone to take notes for yourself, and enter them into your online PIM manager once you get to a computer. That cuts down on the overall size, and makes it that much more convienient.
Better, More Open PIM Management
Exchange is not the answer, and constantly syncing your information can be a hassle. What I want as a Mac user (or a *nix user in general) is a PIM system that has open standards and will sync with any open standards server out there. That means that if I use Google or Yahoo Calendar to keep track of my classes, I can sync it through my phones Internet connection without having to sync with anything. Why not Exchange? Because it's not open, and therefore very restrictive.
But, I would also like to point out that currently the only mention of PIM management has been through syncing and through .Mac, both of which I would not be happy with. I would much rather have a CalDAV client that will let me subscribe to a CalDAV server to access my calendar information. Hopefully Apple has this in mind, should they actually make the iPhone.
Open, Simple Development Options
Little has been speculated about the iPhones OS, other than it's supposed to be really "cool". What would I consider really cool? I ported version of Darwin, that would run programs that can be made with simple tools. Dashboard widgets would be great, but more to the point I was thinking of building a development base such as GPE or OPIE. Keep it open source, easy to develop for the platform, while keeping the proprietary software for Apple. This could technically be possible, but as I have yet to find a website devoted to porting Darwin to embedded devices, I'm not sure how this could be possible.
iChat AV
Ever since I saw a commercial for HP showing a young lady in the middle of a video conferencing session with her iPaq in the middle of Red Square in Moskow, I have wanted a video chatting device that was mobile. Now, it must be said that previous phone connections have been too restrictive and slow to make this happen. But now with 3G becoming available in most major cities (yes, even in Salt Lake City), it should be possible. And why not? Isn't this something that we have all dreamt about, ever since seeing Inspector Gadget's niece Penny speak to Brain the dog on her video watch? Despite dating myself with that last comment, I think it would be an amazing innovation that few have seen fit to integrate.
Syncing Abilities with All Platforms
I know I said I don't want to sync with my computer, but that's just me. Many people out there would like to be able to sync with their personal mail client, calendar software, etc. And not all of them use the Mac, or even Windows. I'm talking about all those Linux users that have to fight through dependencies to get synce, multisync, opensync, etc. working on their system just to use a PDA. Why force someone to go through all the pain? If Apple is going to release this, they need to think of the Linux users out there, which would be a change for Apple. They haven't been too keen on releasing any of their proprietary software for Linux in the past. But this change would be a welcome change, if Apple saw fit to release it.
Cool, Killer Apps
Really cool, killer apps need to be released for the platform. That means a universal eBook reader for those that like to carry their books with them for a quick read. That also goes for games (including multiplayer games), GPS, etc. This could best be implemented by using the Dashboard Widgets out there. They already exist, most have a small footprint, and few require other applications installed to run.
In fact, this whole platform could be just one integrated Dashboard with a Front Row navigation system. That would make it easy to install your software apps, and make it easy to navigate through them all. Why hasn't someone thought of this before? It eptomizes the ease of use for Apple, the "just works" mentality, and makes the complex install process for Palm and Pocket PC look that much more unattractive to the average user.
Battery Life
Yes, I want to be able to use iChat AV on a device for longer than an hour or so. I would also like to see the battery be something that can easily be replaced if it goes bad. This means more of a traditional cell phone battery, rather than the iPod's battery that requires someone to tear it apart in order to get to it. That way the device can live longer than the battery, and it's more eco-friendly. It's also cheaper to maintain, which is why I would want it. ^_^
Final Words
So, while the iPhone hype is still frenzied out there, I thought I would give out my list. You notice that I didn't mention watching video or listening to music on my list. Why? These have already been done. While listening to music or watching a movie would be nice, I would rather have a device that allows for multimedia communication and open standards PIM management over a glorified MP3 player on my phone. Make a device that fulfills this need, and you will capture my heart as a consumer. If Apple does this, great! If not, I hope someone else is listening to the hype, realizes the need, and meets it.
Any EE majors out there? This would be a perfect project, particularly if you can do it within a small budget. ^_^
Easy UI
The first complaint that I have had with just about every phone I have used is the UI. Mobile phones have very complex UI's that require someone to go deep into different folders to get to each feature. Wouldn't it be nice to have a single screen that can rotate to each section with one screen? Then have that one screen have all the features you need. Make it intuitive, and you have a winning UI for any device.
PDA Flexibility in a Small Package
I don't like modern PDA's, because they are generally too bulky to be comfortably functional. Do they need to be that big? Not really, particularly if you can use a separate display option (see My Vu eye wear). Also, do you really need to have such a large writing display for handwriting recognition? Maybe if you tried using a bluetooth lazer keyboard to input your information, you wouldn't have an issue. Or better yet, if you used an internet Calendar program using CalDAV (Google Calendar, iCal Server, Yahoo Calendar, etc.) to enter a lot of your information, you would rarely need to enter any text at all. Use the microphone to take notes for yourself, and enter them into your online PIM manager once you get to a computer. That cuts down on the overall size, and makes it that much more convienient.
Better, More Open PIM Management
Exchange is not the answer, and constantly syncing your information can be a hassle. What I want as a Mac user (or a *nix user in general) is a PIM system that has open standards and will sync with any open standards server out there. That means that if I use Google or Yahoo Calendar to keep track of my classes, I can sync it through my phones Internet connection without having to sync with anything. Why not Exchange? Because it's not open, and therefore very restrictive.
But, I would also like to point out that currently the only mention of PIM management has been through syncing and through .Mac, both of which I would not be happy with. I would much rather have a CalDAV client that will let me subscribe to a CalDAV server to access my calendar information. Hopefully Apple has this in mind, should they actually make the iPhone.
Open, Simple Development Options
Little has been speculated about the iPhones OS, other than it's supposed to be really "cool". What would I consider really cool? I ported version of Darwin, that would run programs that can be made with simple tools. Dashboard widgets would be great, but more to the point I was thinking of building a development base such as GPE or OPIE. Keep it open source, easy to develop for the platform, while keeping the proprietary software for Apple. This could technically be possible, but as I have yet to find a website devoted to porting Darwin to embedded devices, I'm not sure how this could be possible.
iChat AV
Ever since I saw a commercial for HP showing a young lady in the middle of a video conferencing session with her iPaq in the middle of Red Square in Moskow, I have wanted a video chatting device that was mobile. Now, it must be said that previous phone connections have been too restrictive and slow to make this happen. But now with 3G becoming available in most major cities (yes, even in Salt Lake City), it should be possible. And why not? Isn't this something that we have all dreamt about, ever since seeing Inspector Gadget's niece Penny speak to Brain the dog on her video watch? Despite dating myself with that last comment, I think it would be an amazing innovation that few have seen fit to integrate.
Syncing Abilities with All Platforms
I know I said I don't want to sync with my computer, but that's just me. Many people out there would like to be able to sync with their personal mail client, calendar software, etc. And not all of them use the Mac, or even Windows. I'm talking about all those Linux users that have to fight through dependencies to get synce, multisync, opensync, etc. working on their system just to use a PDA. Why force someone to go through all the pain? If Apple is going to release this, they need to think of the Linux users out there, which would be a change for Apple. They haven't been too keen on releasing any of their proprietary software for Linux in the past. But this change would be a welcome change, if Apple saw fit to release it.
Cool, Killer Apps
Really cool, killer apps need to be released for the platform. That means a universal eBook reader for those that like to carry their books with them for a quick read. That also goes for games (including multiplayer games), GPS, etc. This could best be implemented by using the Dashboard Widgets out there. They already exist, most have a small footprint, and few require other applications installed to run.
In fact, this whole platform could be just one integrated Dashboard with a Front Row navigation system. That would make it easy to install your software apps, and make it easy to navigate through them all. Why hasn't someone thought of this before? It eptomizes the ease of use for Apple, the "just works" mentality, and makes the complex install process for Palm and Pocket PC look that much more unattractive to the average user.
Battery Life
Yes, I want to be able to use iChat AV on a device for longer than an hour or so. I would also like to see the battery be something that can easily be replaced if it goes bad. This means more of a traditional cell phone battery, rather than the iPod's battery that requires someone to tear it apart in order to get to it. That way the device can live longer than the battery, and it's more eco-friendly. It's also cheaper to maintain, which is why I would want it. ^_^
Final Words
So, while the iPhone hype is still frenzied out there, I thought I would give out my list. You notice that I didn't mention watching video or listening to music on my list. Why? These have already been done. While listening to music or watching a movie would be nice, I would rather have a device that allows for multimedia communication and open standards PIM management over a glorified MP3 player on my phone. Make a device that fulfills this need, and you will capture my heart as a consumer. If Apple does this, great! If not, I hope someone else is listening to the hype, realizes the need, and meets it.
Any EE majors out there? This would be a perfect project, particularly if you can do it within a small budget. ^_^
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