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[Roger Austin <raustin3 AT nc.rr.com>]

Phillip Rhodes wrote:
> new applications for these devices, personally.   I know if I had a 
> handheld device such
> as a Treo or an OpenMoko, one of the first things I'd start thinking 
> about is "what apps
> can I put on here to help me manage and access data." 

 I have a Treo from the company that has some stuff loaded on it
out of the box, but I have struggled to try to learn what the apps
do. So far, I don't see that they do much.

 I don't expect a smart phone to be a laptop, but it would be nice
to have some killer apps that would make it easy to leave the
bigger hardware in the office. So far, I don't see that the smart
phones offer reasonable options to the laptop.

> What I find appealing is having a wireless data connection means that I 
> can deal with data
> on a server somewhere and not have to deal with synchronization issues; 
> kinda like storing
> bookmarks on del.icio.us so you always have the same bookmarks available 
> no matter where
> you are.  Looking forward, I also see some appeal in the idea of the 
> "home server" and would want to
> be able to program my handheld to interact with my server in useful ways.

 Web applications could be the thing that helps make the smart phone
type of device really useful as a standalone. Server based stuff with
high speed connections could take it to the next level. I see the lack
of good data entry as a significant problem.
 In business for example, you might want a server based timesheet app,
a task status system, an advanced customer/contacts interactive system,
and a variety of other applications. The issue is how to efficiently
get information into those apps via the phone. No way that I can type
on that little Treo keypad. A voice conversion system might be the
solution, but nothing beats the normal keyboard at this point.
 Also, I think that security will need to be updated on these phones
if business applications are running. I have had issues with trying
to type in passwords on my Treo and get them right before the apps
time out. A serious PITA. A finger swipe biometrics function might
be the solution for that.
 One other thing that seems to be an issue is power. I have to power
my Treo about every other day. If I used a smart phone for other
activities, I wonder if power would become an issue. I don't want to
heft around a bunch of cables. How many days can you folks use your
phones before you have to plug them in?

 I don't see leaving my laptop in the office anytime soon. I haven't
studied the iPhone so I don't know what applications come with it,
but I don't need another phone or an iPod. My feeling is that I will
wait until several more generations of equipment are created before
looking into them further.

 Good luck, Roger
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