I was sitting at home the other day cursing the fact that my Nokia E71 would not sync properly with my desktop PC. As I sat there plugging-unplugging-cursing-replugging I thought to myself ”do I really need a desktop PC?”.
My phone has an “always on” internet connection, wifi, email, web browsing, office apps, a pdf reader, media playing ability and more. Unlike a laptop it also has a battery which lasts for days, virtually never needs rebooting and does not need antivirus or firewall software.
In fact, the main reason I have a desktop is to enjoy the benefits of a large screens, full size keyboard and mouse. There are some other benefits like big hard drives and more processing power, however, the performance gap is closing fast. New portable technologies are coming thick and fast:
- SD Cards with capacities as high as 2 Terrabytes are are set to be released to market within the next 12 months. This has gotta satisfy even the most addicted iPhone media junkie!
- Nvidia is working on a new mobile phone GPU which will give phones Playstation style 3D graphics, HD video capabilities and more
iPhone Extender Concept
Putting on my Industrial designers hat I have rendered a few ideas I think would appeal to the wider market:
The first is an iPhone Extender based on the Apple iPad concept. However, instead of being a stand alone iPad machine, an iPhone would dock directly into the larger screen. The Extender unit would have a battery (to run the screen), usb ports, a card reader, microphone, bigger speakers and some extra storage. All the things a mobile phone usually lacks.
This concept removes the need for any computing power in the iPad. Instead of costing $5-900 it could be $2-300.
This concept could easily be extended to the desktop PC. Think about it. You wake up on Monday and get ready for work. You pickup your Iphone 7GS 2020. It is still set to it’s home profile showing only your personal contacts, email calendar etc. With a swipe of a thumb you switch over to your work profile.
iPhone PC Concept
Upon arriving at work you slide your phone into a cradle at your workstation. Immediately, your phone connects to your 24′ widescreen, wireless keyboard, mouse and phone handset.
While in the office, all you calls are made through a voip application installed in the phone using the companies bandwidth rather chewing up mobile time. the sames goes for the internet which is delivered via local wifi.
The phones 2TB micro SD card easily stores all the business information you require locally, whilst the rest is in “the cloud“.
The boss is ecstatic because his electricity bill has dropped by 30-50% as mobile PC’s consume a fraction of a desktop PC. Not to mention that mobile phone cost far less to buy and maintain than PC’s. Employees are happy because their business data is always at hand
In my opinion, convergence is where it’s at. As much as the manufacturers will not like it, having one device that acts as a PC, phone camera, video camera, games machine etc will appeal to the mass market in the future.
What are your thoughts on this matter? Are you with me, or do you like having a different device for each task?
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Why WOULD Apple want to send any of their IPads out to the Apple Stores for demo before they are released to sell? Because they won’t sell as many if the consumers know how much they suck beforehand! As for the “anti apple Shrils” (Gee.. I hope I misspelled that as accurately as “Gijoeinla”), we simply want something a bit more versatile, less restricted by Apple’s greed (App-Wise), and not so dumbed down that it appeals more to the masses that cannot even spell or use correct punctuation.
I still don’t understand the target group for this gadget. If you want something pocket sized without 3G – get an iPod Touch. If you want something more powerful and non pocketsized – get a netbook. What niche is this supposed to be filling?
Didn’t realise there was this type of information out there…
Terrific post. I just pre ordered my iPad from the Apple Store and you should see all the Cool accessories that are coming out to.
Only 18 Days until I recieve it ( Hopefully )
Why does it even need to dock? It can connect via bluetooth and your phone could stay in your pocket.
Bluetooth is nice, but too slow and laggy for applications like games. We need a new faster Bluetooth standard!