There's no one box solution
Posted by Martin on Oct 30, 2004 in Mobile. PermalinkI thought I'd chip in with my views on the debate that seems to have kicked off over here. Having spent the last few years working on/with mobile applications I am still convinced that the one box solution does not and will not exist, but that mobile phones (and smartphones in particular) are a crucial part of the computing landscape.
While a phone is easily carried and (for many) always present, if I have a laptop or other computer nearby I'm going to choose a decent size screen and keyboard every time. Give a Blackberry user a desktop computer to read and answer their e-mails and I think I know which most would pick. I've tried reading and writing emails on a PDA, it gave me a headache. This doesn't mean that I would never choose to use my phone for e-mail, just that in some circumstances I prefer to use something more comfortable. The phone is there for when I don't have that more comfortable device. I wrote my GMailChecker midlet so that I didn't have to log on to my computer just to check for email.
Right here, right now the laptop and a bluetooth phone are probably the best mobile solution for our current computing desires. But as much as I love my laptop I can't use it when I'm out shopping or at a bar when I want to book cinema tickets.
The fact that this discussion taking place is indicative of the affect mobile technology is having on the software industry. The internet led many businesses to change their behaviour letting their customers choose the time and place they did business (face-to-face or online). Now its our turn. Users want access to data, services and applications at a time, place and via a device of their choosing. It is up to us (the software developers) to meet that demand.