General

Michael Mace wrote a fantastic article about the mobile computing market. If you haven’t read it, you really need to read the entire article. I think he is on the money with his analysis and I quite literally could not have said it better.

BUT

The one thing he said that I disagree with is:

“Information manager [device] innovation has basically ground to a halt, and the users in this space are very frustrated.”

I agree that the users are frustrated. I don’t agree that innovation has ground to a halt. In fact, the information manager’s dream device is already out there.

The UMPC.

[Read more…] about UMPC: The Missing Link

Just returned from attending the two day Windows Mobile Partner Summit held in the Seattle area. The summit included OEM, Mobile Operator, and key strategic partners to discuss what’s coming down the road from the Windows Mobile team. We’re under a NDA so I can’t say much about the meeting right now, but I can say that I very much liked what I saw. Stay tuned for more details as we’re allowed to release them. A big thank you to the Windows Mobile Partner team for putting on the event and sharing future plans with us.

… to a great site – PDA24/7 – on their 5 year anniversary! We wish you all the success you deserve for the next 5.

With every release of new technology a million so-called experts jump up and start shouting about all the things that are wrong with it. I’m as supportive of critical analysis as the next guy, but I’m also a strong proponent of “appropriate analysis.” Too often people attack new technology from the wrong direction. The iPhone and the UMPC are two great examples of this…

[Read more…] about My Toaster Won’t Make Cookies!!

Everybody’s thinking and writing about the iPhone, so here’s my 2 cents worth ….

As a consumer – I never bought an iPod because my 2 top requirements for an mp3 player are that I can use it with gloves on (this is Michigan, and I walk to work), and that I can easily replace the battery (I may not have been born with a battery curse, but I’ve definitely picked one up somewhere, batteries tend to die when I’m nearby). The iPod doesn’t let me do either of those, and I doubt the iPhone will either.

As a developer – there’s not a definite statement that the iPhone won’t allow third-party apps, but that’s the way it looks. Too bad for us, if it’s true.

As a market watcher – Microsoft imitates a lot of Apple’s successes, but I can’t see them ever adopting the “closed to third-party apps” approach. Michael Mace wrote about the consumer vs. professional audience, and I think he’s called that exactly right. In fact, I think he’s written the best commentary on the whole thing, and anyone who’s interested in the iPhone and hasn’t read that yet should do so.