My work-and passion-lets me buy, use, and review the latest in wireless
devices, PDAs, smartphones, digital cameras. And stock up on a wide range of
other gadgets-from Sim Lim in Singapore, or Fry's in California...
So people often ask me why I keep going back to my three-year-old phone, and
even older PDA.
It's simple. I have expectations of a phone, and the Nokia 6310i met them.
I haven't found others that do, even from Nokia. A battery life of over a week
with moderate use. Slim, light and fast, especially for rapid one-hand SMSing.
Bluetooth, GPRS, tri-band, infra-red, 500 phonebook entries. I don't need-at
the cost of-battery life-a camera, color, MP3. (Incredibly, Nokia did not and
does not sell this phone in India.)
My Palm Vx still gives me amazing battery life, and the apps and memory I
need; its IR syncs with my laptop, and pairs well with the folding keyboard on
which I am writing this column on a flight, as I did four years ago. OK, I need
Wi-Fi, so I'll upgrade soon.
Most smartphones and PDAs make too many compromises, especially on the phone
side. I like the Blackberry and the O2 and Mini for what they do with mail and
apps. But as phones they don't match up. The T910i and Nokia 9500 genre are
closer, but you still compromise. I like instant 'push' email, but I do have
a light (CDMA- and Wi-Fi-connected) laptop with me most of the time.
Am I a techno-purist? Like those folks who refuse to touch CDs, and spend
zillions on LPs, turntables, and valve amps? I sympathize-you can't beat the
sound from some of those systems-but I'm not there. I happily use an MP3
player: the Creative Muvo Slim slips into my wallet, charges on the fly from my
laptop, and lets me record for 12 hours at a stretch: nice for my work.
I used digital cameras for five years when shooting for our publications, but
I found them slow, kludgy, and low quality, after my mechanical SLRs. My
personal decade-old Minolta SLR finally made way for a Nikon digital less than a
year ago, when I found in the affordable D70 the basics I expected: speed and
simplicity, good battery life-and great optics.
So here's the challenge for product designers: advance, but don't lose
sight of the basics we expect of the product. A smartphone must be a great phone
first. A digicam, a great camera. With each step toward convergence, I don't
want to take a step back in those basics.
Meanwhile, here's a tip for those looking for the one perfect converged
device: Don't. You won't find it.
And I guess that means I'll be out shopping again, in an imperfect,
poorly-converged world.