On Media Centers, Mobile Phones and Form Factor

I’m hoping someone out there can help me here, clue me in as it were. I’ve got something to confess here: like Tim Bray, I’m a bit of a gadget luddite. Seriously. Mr. “I Can’t Wait for Nationwide EV-DO” and Mr. Internet Junkie is just another crotchety old man when it comes to the latest crop of devices.

Earlier this year (or actually, last year now), Mount Beattie erupted over Tim Bray’s suggestion that he wants a phone that’s just, well, a phone. That put me in mind of some comments Jonathan Schwartz had on my post here.

And then yesterday, I was listening to the latest Gillmor Gang (good show BTW, guys), in which one of the many topics was the Windows Media Center. That in turn reminded me of some comments from Wilcox that I found almost shocking; he replaced his TV with a Windows Media Center.

So here’s my question – here’s what I need help with: does form factor all of a sudden not matter with these things?

Let’s take the mobile phone space first; I haven’t used the latest Audiovox phone that Scoble’s pimping, but I have used some of the Treos that many folks rave about. And as cool as they are, I just don’t see them cutting it, even for simple tasks like email. The screens aren’t great and the keyboards are too small. Fine for simple things, perhaps, but as a true PC alternative? I don’t think so. Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think they’re that great. The problem isn’t primarily technical either, it’s simply a reflection of the fact that I want a decent sized screen I can read, and a keyboard that’s comfortable to write on. Unfortunately, at least for me, that means something larger than a phone I’m ready to carry around.

Media Centers are even more confusing to me. I think for the most part it’s because people have been talking about them as TV replacements, rather than complimentary devices. But I simply can’t figure out why I’d want to trade in even my modestly sized 27 inch Sony WEGA for a 19 inch LCD monitor. I can’t even imagine doing what Wilcox did. If I had to watch TV on a 19 inch monitor I’d probably stop watching TV – and maybe that’d be a good thing. I remember being terribly excited in 1997 when I got my Dell Dimension and it had a 19 inch monitor and a DVD drive. Since 1997, I think I’ve watched a grand total of 2 movies on it. Actually, make that one and a half, since I didn’t make it through the whole second one. The problem was form factor. When I’m looking for a better multimedia experience, that usually means bigger screen and better audio, not the ability to browse my stored photos. That’d be a nice addition, but nothing worth paying 2 grand for. A 32 inch flat screen? That’s worth 2 grand.

The key advances in these respective spaces to me are essentially the convergence of broadband, local and cellular networks. Not new hardware. I do want my mobile phone to have access to a high speed network, just as I want my TV to be able to connect to movies, phoots, etc that I have stored on my LAN.

But frankly, my Nokia 6200’s about as big as I want my phone to get, while my WEGA can’t get big enough. It’s all about form factor. That’s why I simply don’t understand the buzz around some of these new products, but maybe some of you can help me get it.

Update: Mike D says exactly what I’m thinking in response to a post of Beattie’s.