Recent Blog Posts

My colleague, owner of a Samsung Palm phone, got an interesting SMS recently:

From: Unknown Callback#: Unknown
Date: 9/21/05 3:36 pm
Message: Important notice from Sprint:Your Blazer browser will not work after 9/22/05.Go to http://web.palm.com/support/blazer/sprint.html to register for a new browser.

When we went to that web page earlier today, we got redirected to the main Palm support page. Not too useful for the owner of a Samsung. However, later this afternoon, the link redirected to a valid page:

Important notice — Blazer 2 discontinuation This courtesy notice is being provided to you in connection with the terms of your Blazer 2 browser end user license agreement. As of September 22, 2005, you will no longer be able to access Internet sites using the Blazer 2 browser. If you would like to download a web browser from Novarra, Inc., please complete the registration form below. You will be sent an email with information and a web link to download a new web browser.
NOTE: Installation from your desktop computer is required. A new browser for Kyocera 6035 users will be available soon.

This was interesting on several fronts.

First, the message came within the context of a discussion about how, with Access's (publisher of mobile browser NetFront) acquisition of PalmSource (owner of the Blazer browser), the Blazer browser probably wouldn't last long. While Palm's interest in Novarra browsers as an alternative is long-standing, that shouldn't affect owners of Kyocera and Samsung Palm devices.

Second, this is unannounced and mishandled, which makes me think it was unexpected. The SMS did not have a good originator (sender) listed, the URL did not work at lunchtime, the lead time was very short, the Blazer browser actually continued to work after the deadline, and there is no browser replacement for Kyocera owners.

Third, the form on the page above had a pull-down list for carrier ... only Sprint is currently listed, but the note about Kyocera users makes me think that other carriers will be added soon.

Fourth, this appears to mark yet another break between Palm and PalmSource - the most recent of which is the announcement of the Treo 700W, a Windows Mobile device. While Access may have plans for the Palm OS, I'm not sure that Palm does. I keep thinking this is corporate suicide: without the Palm OS, what do the devices really offer? Pretty good design and poor quality phones. Sooner or later somebody else is going to figure out how to implement a good user experience and then they could be through.

I remember reviewing the Blazer browser back in 1999; it was by far the best mobile browser out there in terms of user experience. With that sort of lead, they should have been able to dominate the market. They did, and now they don't.

Jef Raskin coined the term "information appliance" to mean a device designed not to do everything, but to do a small set of tasks very well and be closely matched to the needs of the people using them. They tend to be simple, always deal with information, and tend to share information. An ATM is an example. Donald Norman popularized the term; learn more in an interview about personal computers and an essay about appliances of the future. Or go read his book.

Thus, I introduce the carry principle: Devices which are always carried, such as mobile phones, can not be mass-market information appliances precisely because they are always carried. We expect flexibility in exchange for the cost of always carrying (or using) a device.

Thus, information appliances are relegated to:

• environmental devices (home automation)
• fixed devices (home stereo, ATM)
• occasional-use devices (book reader, walkman, calculator, etc.)
• professional devices (such as the <a href="http://pressroom.ups.com/utility/image_viewer?alpha=361&tag=DIAD%20IV";UPS delivery device or a high-end camera

This principle explains the explosion of features for mobile phones.

Watches may be an exception. They are simple devices (or most of them are) doing only a small number of tasks in a fashion that matches how they are used. Perhaps the carry principle does not extend to wearables.

I just wrote about a PDA companion phone. If you take a look at the design specifications again, you'll notice something: the suggested phone would be a good base for a phone for the technologically relectant elderly market. Filling out the specifications, the design might include:

• A scroll control. If you pick up the phone and use the scroll wheel, you are immediately going through your contact list.
• Large-font mode. Use both lines of the display to show a single name.
• Text-to-speech. Read the names of contacts as they are highlighted; do similar announcements for other menu functions. This should be able to be turned off by the user.
• Server push of contacts. Let a more technologically astute relative manage changes to the phone number list.

There are some other features, but you get the idea. What we now have is a large market for this device. Do we have any takers?

You won't find me advocating separate PDA and phone devices for everyone, but for some it's the way to go. I'm finding it very useful to have a "large" device for normal everyday use, and a smaller device when I just want to travel light. It's also really nice to be able to talk on the phone and look at my PDA at the same time.

But I really need the devices to work together. The PDA (a Palm LifeDrive) has a Bluetooth connection and the ability to tell the phone to make a call, or to browse the web using the phone's network connection. This is a good first step (and it would be better if I actually had a phone that could support it), but other steps are necessary.

What would the ideal PDA-companion phone look like?

• Small. It should have maybe a 2-line display and a comfortable keypad. I'd be happiest with a clamshell form factor.
• Bluetooth connectivity. I want to be able to use my PDA to tell the phone to dial a number, use my PDA to browse the internet or use any applications, and use a headset.
• Pushed contacts. I definitely want my most-frequently called contacts in my phone, but not all the contacts. I also want my phone to be updated automatically when a contact number changes. I'll leave thus intelligence to my PDA, which has to be able to push contact data onto the phone.
• Limited function. Don't give me a browser, a KVM (J2ME environment), a scheduler, a tip calculator, wallpaper, or anything else. The phone should be very simple to use.

Carriers can still offer me add-on services - on my PDA. They can also offer me voice-driven services. But give me a small, simple phone to support my PDA (or other device).