> -----Original Message----- > From: Jochem van Dieten [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Saturday, July 19, 2003 4:17 PM > To: CF-Community > Subject: Quick design question > > Jim Davis wrote: > > > >Jochems's right- they are very rare still. However they are getting > online > >more and more. Most models of cell phone do the web "out of the box" and > >many of the new handhelds have built in 802.11b. > > > >(That being said most "web browsing" on handhelds isn't done live in any > >case: it's done with cached pages using out-of-the-box tools like MS > Mobile > >Favorites, AvantGo and MobiPocket.) > > I remember my first iMode experience when I worked in Japan 3 years ago. I > was just browsing the real internet, even visiting some of my own websites > (which looked horrible on such a small screen), but that was all live, no > caching involved. I know that most PDAs here are also used 'live'. > What is the rationale for all the caching?
Basically it's just easier. With "Mobile Favorites" for example I can "bookmark" a site and give some instructions (how deep to travel, store pictures, etc) and then every time I synch my handheld it checks for new information at the site and places it on the handheld for me to read at my leisure. I don't need a wireless link (or the signal and power that requires and means that older devices are included). I can take my handheld out of the cradle in the morning, read the news on the subway on the way to work and when I get there new news will be downloaded for the ride home. I use MobiPocket.com for this... the library of news isn't up to something like AvantGo and it is limited (unlike Mobile Favorites) but (also unlike mobile favorites) you're guaranteed that the content is handheld ready. (MobiPocket.com actually uses a technology they've created to parse sites into custom PDB files for Palm and PokcetPC) > >802.11b is taking off here in the states. It's still small > comparatively, > >but most airports, Starbucks and even many McDonald's provide > connections. > >The trick is getting people to subscribe for service, but that gets > easier > >to more widespread it gets. > > Some NRENs in Europe are doing a very cool thing to advance this. They are > allowing their users to roam on eachothers networks for free (based on the > idea that NRENs have enough bandwidth anyway). So basically, by the end of > the month (my university is slow) with my username and password from my > university I will be able to use wired and wireless networks of an > increasing number of educational institutions in the Netherlands, England, > Portugal and Croatia. For free ... I think you'll see more offers like that here in the states soon as well. Text Messaging is just beginning to take off here (it's nearly universal in Japan for example) and I think that mobile internet will be next. There's a new law being pushed that will force mobile phone carriers to let their customers keep the same phone number no matter the provider: things like that will increase competition something fierce. Wireless Internet's a decent bargaining chip. > >As an aside, putting on my pundit hat: the "Holy Grail" of portables is > the > >foldable/rollable screen: right now portables a limited in size to > somewhat > >larger than their screen size: you just can't get smaller. > > > >However a screen which could "roll-up" might allow a handheld the size of > >d-cell flashlight to have a 10" screen. However this technology will run > >much later than WLAN and super cheap handhelds... perhaps 5-10 years at > >least. > > I'm betting 3 to 5 years :-) I'm not so sure... I hope you're right tho! Super-cheap, super-small fuel-cell powered handhelds with retractable 10", 1024x768 screens on fast, ubiquitous wireless LANs... drool. ;^) Another technology that keeps popping its head up but never "sticks" are projected micro displays: those little eyepieces that when worn are supposed to give you a "big screen" experience. I'm not sure but they may take off as well... although all the ones I've see to date are low resolution headache machines. > >So for a while, if things keep going like they are, we'll have very > cheap, > >very capable devices (lots of memory, fast CPUs, etc) with tiny screens > >coupled with (at least in the urban areas) near universal wireless 'Net > >connectivity (where this is from 802.11x, cell phone networks or > something > >else I'm not sure). > > Probably all of them at the same time. I know that in the FreeBand project > TERENA is aiming at having roaming between UMTS, GPRS and WLAN by the end > of the year. Yup - and (I think it was) TI that just introduced a new low-power, tiny, chipset that supports four or five of the major standards. We're definitely moving towards a place where nearly everything will be sending out or receiving signals. I think that short-distance wireless (Bluetooth and the like) will also encourage some interesting design decisions. For example you might (if the bandwidth was high enough) be able to make a laptop with a removable, touch-sensitive tablet screen. The screen could be held in the hand with a smaller attached power source and receive all information from the heavier "base unit" (containing the hard drive, processor, CD ROM, memory and a another battery) in a briefcase or backpack. You could also have something like a small GPS unit attached to a bike's handlebars able to pull maps and other data from a portable CD ROM kept in the saddle bags. Lots of potential (I think) for modular, dis-(physically)-connencted devices. Jim Davis ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/index.cfm?forumid=5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/index.cfm?method=subscribe&forumid=5 Your ad could be here. Monies from ads go to support these lists and provide more resources for the community. http://www.fusionauthority.com/ads.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5
