Tuesday, March 19, 2002
Integrated versus accessory Wireless
Posted by Tycho Morgan in "THOUGHT" @ 10:14 PM
I find that I feel guilty if I don't post at least one thing a day, so here's what's been floating on my mind today.
It seems there's this big movement in the mobile tech sector to integrate wireless and PDAs: for example, the Handspring Treo, Pocket PC Phone Edition, the whole Nokia-Symbian venture, the smart phone, and so forth. While I agree that these are cool devices, and some of them have really great ideas, there are some serious problems with this.
The biggest issue I have with integrated wireless is that it really ties you into one wireless network, with a limited number of carriers, and at least in America, a limited number of places in which to use your device. These integrated solutions aren't like cell phones: they are at least 300 dollars per unit, and possibly as much as double that depending on the device in question, as compared to cell phones for which consumers generally pay no more than 150USD, and usually a good deal less.
What happens if you have to move to an area that uses a different kind of network? What happens if the company folds? What happens when you need to get a new PDA? Not a problem with separate devices.
In my mind an integrated device restricts your options, rather than add to them. Why? Because instead of having a PDA with a wireless card or sleeve that can be changed as your needs and usage patterns change, you have a device that is only able to provide one wide area wireless function, and if you want to provide a different function you have to buy a whole new device. In short, integrated wireless is inflexible, and in the world of PDAs flexibility is of the utmost importance.
It seems there's this big movement in the mobile tech sector to integrate wireless and PDAs: for example, the Handspring Treo, Pocket PC Phone Edition, the whole Nokia-Symbian venture, the smart phone, and so forth. While I agree that these are cool devices, and some of them have really great ideas, there are some serious problems with this.
The biggest issue I have with integrated wireless is that it really ties you into one wireless network, with a limited number of carriers, and at least in America, a limited number of places in which to use your device. These integrated solutions aren't like cell phones: they are at least 300 dollars per unit, and possibly as much as double that depending on the device in question, as compared to cell phones for which consumers generally pay no more than 150USD, and usually a good deal less.
What happens if you have to move to an area that uses a different kind of network? What happens if the company folds? What happens when you need to get a new PDA? Not a problem with separate devices.
In my mind an integrated device restricts your options, rather than add to them. Why? Because instead of having a PDA with a wireless card or sleeve that can be changed as your needs and usage patterns change, you have a device that is only able to provide one wide area wireless function, and if you want to provide a different function you have to buy a whole new device. In short, integrated wireless is inflexible, and in the world of PDAs flexibility is of the utmost importance.
