What do you call phones like the iPhone and the Droid, which have gone beyond what we have traditionally called smartphones?
- Steve Rubel notes on Twitter that his iPhone has become his computer:
@steverubel I spent 17 out of 31 days in October on the road. The upshot of it all is that my iPhone is now my primary “computer.” - David Pogue posed the question on Twitter and received the answer:
@pogue I like this new term for iPhone/Droid etc from @mentalworkout: “app phone”…
Both are good answers, but I especially like “app phone” … I suspect that may catch on.
Regardless, I am enjoying the fact that these phones are so powerful and that the iPhone finally has some serious competition. I love competition: it leads to continuous improvement, so that we benefit from more features (and sometimes better pricing).
Based on MobileCrunch’s comparison of the iPhone 3GS and Motorola Droid, it looks like most of us would be happy with either device. I currently have the iPhone 3GS, and consider it to be the neatest device I have ever had. But, if I were to switch to Verizon, it looks to me like I would be perfectly happy with the Droid. In fact, there are a few things about the Droid that especially appeal to me and that tempt me to consider a switch (physical keyboard, screen resolution, true multitasking, open development environment so that Google Voice is not hampered from working on it, and so on).
I’d love to hear your thoughts on these devices and where the “app phone” market might be headed.
By the way, does it look to you like Microsoft’s Windows Mobile platform has become irrelevant?
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By the way, does it look to you like Microsoft’s Windows Mobile platform has become irrelevant?
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Yeah, it does, and I actually used to *prefer* Windows Mobile. My first PDA was a Dell Axim X30, I later graduated to a Sprint Mogul that I received from my employer, and after I left that employer I bought a Samsung BlackJack II for personal use. I’m still using that last one today.
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I liked Windows Mobile because it synchronized nearly seamlessly with Outlook on the desktop without having to buy third-party software. Over time, however, the little things that the Windows Mobile developers never got right began to add up for me. For example, it bugged me (no pun intended) that I couldn’t sync categories from Outlook Notes to the Notes app on a Windows Mobile device.
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The straw that broke the camel’s back for me was a bug introduced in Windows 6.1 that prevents users from synchronizing with more than one desktop. Microsoft alledgedly issued a fix but most OEMs, including Samsung, aren’t offering it.
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I have another year to go before I’ll be eligible to upgrade to a new phone. I have no idea what the playing field will look like at that time, except that Windows Mobile will likely be even less of a player. It’s too bad, really.
Oops, that’s Windows *Mobile* 6.1, not “Windows 6.1.”
Hi Bill. Good to hear from you again.
Yes, the lack of updates for many WM phones is annoying. As WM became less popular, the telecos probably decided to shift their engineering resources away from WM support, resulting in a lack of any updates that weren’t truly essential. Of course, this cascaded into making the WM phones less desirable, which translated into even less resources for WM, and so on.
I haven’t had a WM phone in over 2 years, and can’t think of anything I missed from them, except perhaps the occasional use of handwriting recognition on the few models that supported it. No doubt they are still the primary device for a lot of folks, though. Nonetheless, I see them as becoming less and less relevant. The syncing example you used is one of many reasons: MS did something that resulted in making syncing harder (to multiple devices) while Google and Apple were working on making syncing easier for everyone.
What’s funny, Bruce, is how things can change in a truly competitive market. Palm pretty much defined the PDA market initially and became synonymous with PDA. Microsoft’s first foray into the market, Windows CE, was clunky and not much of a challenger. Palm made a bunch of missteps and lost its market dominance, while Windows Mobile got better. Then both were kinda blown away in terms of public perception by the Blackberry, which became synonymous with mobile email. Then came the iPhone, and now Android. Palm is trying to come back with the Palm Pre. You can’t keep up without a scorecard.
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I know you enjoy the iPhone, but I’m hesitant to invest in a platform that doesn’t come with a good built-in PIM out-of-the box. I don’t want to have to purchase and learn third-party software. I want something that just works so I don’t have to think about it.
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Anyway, when it comes time to upgrade to a new phone next year, I’m really going to have to do some homework. I’ve defaulted to the Windows Mobile platform out of complacency and laziness, but next time I intend to take advantage of the fruits born of a highly competitve market. God only knows what innovations we’ll be talking about next year!
Things sure can change quickly. I would have thought 2 or 3 years ago that WM would stomp Palm and BB, instead of working its way toward irrelevance.
Yup, a year from now, innovation will have produced some really good choices for you. It will require some homework, but should be kinda fun.
I love these smartphones too. I adore my iPhone, but I’m interested in Android. Anyone know if and when the Droid might hit the UK?
I think WinMo is becoming obsolete, but there are a few things that help it hold on. Why, why, why for example, do other smart phones not come with a built in office suite? I don’t want to have to download apps for that, I want it to work straight away, since I often use phones SIM-free. WinMo is the only OS I’ve used that has one built in at all! But it might well be that WinMo dies a slow and lingering death at the hands of it’s up-and-coming competitors.
Hi Helen,
Yes it would be nice if all the App Phones came with office apps standard, but of course MS is the only company that can pull that off without it costing them.
I did a quick search to see when the Droid might hit the UK, and found nothing firm, but this article suggests that it shouldn’t be too much longer: Good luck on getting it soon.
I actually _like_ the term smartphone. It’s a phone with more features. It’s odd to me that David Pogue doesn’t think that smartphone means a phone can run applications. The first Treos were arguably the first real smartphones and they ran the full set of Palm OS apps. BlackBerry also has applications as well.
Maybe it’s just me, though.
I don’t think it’s just you, Thomas. I’ve seen others criticize Pogue’s choice of a new term for smartphone.
I kinda liked App Phone at first, but now I think it’s stupid to invent a new term for a smartphone, which, as you point out, the new phones are.
gdgt also ran into issues because they said that BlackBerry wasn’t a full smartphone because it runs Java applications, then changed their tune and said “well, since they have an App Store, maybe they are”. But they were talking about J2ME Java programs (which run on “feature” phones), not the actual BlackBerry SDK, which is what all apps you are familiar with are written in. It’s odd to me that everyone feels that there were no smartphones prior to the iPhone…
Agreed, Thomas. I even considered my old Treo 600 to be a smartphone. To me, smartphone didn’t mean that the phone was smart, but that it helped us to be smart by giving us the information we needed when we needed, wherever we were.
I have been an avid user of pda’s and smartphones since the first Palm was released.
In fact I recently discovered to my horror, these devices had became such an important part of my world, that when I moved from a PalmOS based machine to a Windows mobile platform (Palm Treo 750) my lifes plans came unhinged.
This may sound a little dramatic but I found myself trying to shoehorn my thinking and support processes onto a very retrictive world. Not one to give in without a fight, I persisted but I think Palm found themselves with a similar situation when they started to use Windows CE/Mobile.
To cut a long story short, I found myself reverting back to a paper based system and purely using the Treo as a mobile phone and calendar.
This in fact has been a positive experience, allowing me to get back to using tools, like mind mapping etc, that has rekindled my creative juices.
The next step was to find a device that would support and not limit my new found freedom, enter the iPhone GS.
Being in IT management in the Arts, the IPhone presents itself as a potential security nightmare. I tried, but to no avail, to discourage it’s use. Ever tried to hold back the tide ?
When the GS was released I watched in horror as techo’s rushed out and bought it. Now I understand why!
It still has some security nasties and NO todo/task app as standard, but a few bucks well spent soon had me back on track.
So thanks to Microsoft for being so below par and Apple for setting the new paradigm.
You hit the nail on the head with Apple changing the paradigm on this, Grant.
Thanks for the in-depth discussion. I, too, used the Palm devices extensively when they first came out, and still consider them to be among the best PIM devices around. I also went to paper for a while when Windows Mobile overtook Palm, although I eventually bought plenty of WM devices, too.
But, the game has really changed with the iPhone and Touch. My calendar and contacts sync seamlessly with Google via their exchange servers, and my OmniFocus apps are great for most of my task and project management needs (Mac and iPhone). I must say, though, I am loving the good reviews that Droid is getting. Sounds like it is still not up to snuff with the iPhone, but is off to a really good start. And for those who dislike AT&T (damned near everybody), having an option with another carrier is great.