benny1967 | # 91 | 2007-11-02, 09:14 | Report

Mhm. I never asked this question because its so obvious what it is: A small handheld computer. I dont sit in front of my desktop PC wondering what it is and what it isnt, arguing that it could be something like a TV set because I can watch TV on it, but it isnt really a comfortable TV because it lacks a remote control and doesnt have a wide screen... Its a computer!

Same for the tablet. It is what it is, it does what it does (and it does most the things well), and there are some things it simply doesnt do as well as specialized devices (like acting as a media player because it lacks mass storage).

Why try to define a scope? Look what your tablet does, thats the scope. If you find it useful, then you should be happy with it. If you dont, then you should buy another device instead.

Zoso | # 92 | 2007-11-02, 09:34 | Report

Compared to the alternatives (handwriting recognition, various virtual keyboards for stylus and fingers, predictive texting from numeric keypads), people like hardware keyboards (see the BlackBerry, Treo, chunks of the iPAQ range etc. etc.) No "learning" requirements to scare people off, no screen real estate taken up while using it.

Or perhaps because they should do that "future proofing" stuff people keep talking about, where future web services may be location-aware?

After the 770-800 incompatibility backlash?

benny1967 | # 93 | 2007-11-02, 09:35 | Report

This has nothing to do with the device as such, even less the concept of such a device. Its only software related.
BTW: Yes, the internet is pretty much the same as in 2004. YouTube started in 2005, but streaming videos were around before.
MySpace, FaceBook, Google Docs etc. ... I know exactly one person who uses Myspace, not a single one who uses Google Docs or Facebook. We should put things in proportion. Same with F|ash: 99,9% of the web doesnt use it at all or for advertising only. If you spend a lot of your time on the few sites that really have f|ash-encoded content, then its important to you, but still not essential in general.
Still, as I said, no matter what services you use, its not a conceptual matter. It only depends on the right software and, to a certain degree, on the horsepower to do the jobs.


I see only a few platforms that are as future-proof as the tablets. If there's need for new software, new plug-ins, new document standards, there's a chance you'll be able to install them either by firmware update or even by normal software installation in case the manufacturer doesnt support what you need (as it happens with OGG vorbis). Even a lot of hardware can be added to older models via bluetooth. (I have GPS on my 770 even though GPS will be introduced in the future with the N810 - how future-proof is that?)
How much more "future proof" could a device be? Did you expect a crystal ball instead of the GPS in the N810?

So if pure horsepower is what you're after: Thats not an improvement of the concept; it doesnt change the concept at all. (The keyboard, btw, changed the concept a lot.)
I agree that there is a reasonable expectation that processor speed and RAM should improve with each generation. Well, thats what happens. The N800/N810 are faster than the 770. And probably the next generation will be even faster. So even though this is not a change to the concept, they already do what you expect.

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Last edited by benny1967; 2007-11-02 at 09:50.

GeneralAntilles | # 94 | 2007-11-02, 10:00 | Report

It doesn't get much better than ARM in this size/price/power level. Really, all you need to do is wait for those tasty new OMAP 3430 cores that are going to come with the N900.

. . . speak for yourself! :P

lavo | # 95 | 2007-11-03, 12:25 | Report

Soups were more like databases rather than things like vcards. They were dynamic, which meant the NewtonOS never had to save anything (which also meant backups were imperative - no going back!). These "databases" were System wide, which made programs like Moreinfo turn the Newton into a very powerful contact manager. A better explanation of soups can be found here:

What Are Soups?

While Soups were integral to the very core of the NewtonOS, OS X has made a similar system available by APIs within the OS. For Nokia to do that, I guess it depends where they want to take the IT. If they stay true to its original intent, there is no point having data sharing APIs for just surfing the web

Jobester | # 96 | 2007-11-05, 02:31 | Report

If the current trend somehow continued ten years from now people shall claim iPong was the first and greatest videogame ever made and Apple created it, blah blah innovative user interface et cetera

*goes back to lurking*

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Last edited by Jobester; 2007-11-05 at 02:36.

lavo | # 97 | 2007-11-05, 04:56 | Report

I'm a fan of Newton-era Apple, rather than today's Apple. I think Steve has pigeonholed the company, rather than opening up what is a good platform to areas other than people changing their photos of family holidays The idea Sculley had for the Newton was brilliant - unfortunately they rushed it to market and the product was virtually sunk from day one with bad reviews (and people having no idea what to do with it - sound familiar?).

BTW, after reading through the Maemo 4.0 brief from maemo.org, I have found that there is an underlying framework for data sharing. Well, the address book. But at least its there. Fingers crossed Nokia will see that the N800/N810 is more than what it really is, and stop thinking the platform is just for internet browsing.

benny1967 | # 98 | 2007-11-05, 10:09 | Report

I thought it might be interesting for some of you (those who speak German, to be precise ) that one of the two most popular news sites in my country published an article about the iPod Touch today. While they're very much pro Apple in general and hyped both the iPhone and the Touch before anyone had actually used it, their real-life test experience now is different.

Their main point is that the UI, while beautiful, is not very useful for a mobile device. Why? Because you cannot keep the player in your pocket and press the buttons there. You have to take it out, unlock the display, look at it and then perform whatever action you want on the touch screen.
They are also disappointed with the quality of the display among other things.

In trying to stay Apple-friendly, they say the device "has potential"

Original article in German:
http://futurezone.orf.at/produkte/stories/233285/

EDIT: One user posts that after having used the Touch for 1 weekend, the display looks as if his dog had licked it.

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Last edited by benny1967; 2007-11-05 at 10:17.

lavo | # 99 | 2007-11-05, 10:12 | Report

I sold off my Touch today. I'm just waiting for a cheaper N800 in Oz, or I have heard that the N810 is due Q1-2008 here. The Touch was disappointing in the end. But I guess it is an iPod, with other things thrown in as an afterthought. I can't wait to get my hands on an IT!

ragnar | # 100 | 2007-11-05, 13:22 | Report

You're probably not listening to music with it then.

The Touch is really strange in where in the iPhone you can actually control play/pause/next track with the headphones, in the iPod Touch that feature is no longer available. (In precisely the device that would be the music oriented one.)