MANORATHA

I get a little irritated at the iPhone/iTouch being pointed to as the model device/computer of the (near) future.  Having traveled the world a few years ago with just a BlackBerry RIM device (no laptop), I can happily report that it serves far better as a model than the iPhone.  The far future clearly has some elements of body-computer integration not widely seen today that neither device models today.  I have both devices and assert that the RIM is a better base for the future computer.

I travel enough to know and understand that it will be a while under we
really have ubiquitous connectivity (recent newspaper article points
out that Fiber connectivity to homes may stall at 13% in the US).  To me, the ideal device starts with the classical BlackBerry RIM design and adds elements of the iPhone.  In a world that still has large patches where connectivity and bandwidth are scarce and precious, a device that makes smart use of bandwidth for critical communication is far more important than a compelling (but still flawed) user interface.  The Touch interface also has some significant shortcomings –  requiring sight based gestures (you need to look at the device) and  requiring multiple steps for what should be single click access.

Here’s my view of my ideal near term portable computer:

• Hip holster form factor
• Flash based high-density storage with a pluggable SD card for sneakernet data transfer (at 30Gb, its a real laptop replacement)
• RIM style messaging (no polling, messages arrive in the background with low bandwidth usage and works even in low connectivity areas)
• Ability to dock device to run keyboard and monitor and full browser/VPN capabilities – I run a desktop tower at work and often will VPN into that machine to run high compute/connectivity requirement tasks.  Perhaps the ideal computer replaces that but I’d be happy to have a window into my home/office computer.
• Some range/choice of analog controls – I remain a fan of the analog click-wheel on the original blackberries which made sight free control possible.  I think current device design has really neglected the clever use of button based controls to accelerate common tasks.
• Ability to span and operate over the best connectivity available (WiFi, 3G, GPRS, etc.
• Full day operation, handcrank recharge (or movement driven constant recharge)