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. <\/p>\n
Earlier this year (or actually, last year now), Mount Beattie erupted<\/a> over Tim Bray’s suggestion that he wants<\/a> a phone that’s just, well, a phone. That put me in mind of some comments Jonathan Schwartz had on my post here<\/a>. <\/p>\n And then yesterday, I was listening to the latest Gillmor Gang<\/a> (good show BTW, guys), in which one of the many topics was the Windows Media Center. That in turn reminded me of some comments<\/a> from Wilcox that I found almost shocking; he replaced his TV with a Windows Media Center. <\/p>\n So here’s my question – here’s what I need help with: does form factor all of a sudden not matter with these things? <\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n