From small things big things grow

I have to laugh about the latest fuss over Microsoft's Origami Project and Intel's Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC) efforts. Sure cute tablets that fit nicely in your bag (baby) are well, cute. But the reality is as soon as they come out someone decides boy aren't those screens tiny? I mean all those fifty-something executives who can actually afford one are going to have a really hard time reading their spreadsheets on that. And while you're at it, how the heck are they going to peck at the oh-so-tiny keyboards with their fat little overpaid fingers? Besides, in first class seats on a plane you can actually use a 17-inch laptop hooked up to the airline power connector and hefted on-board by your ever present ass-istant (now sitting back in moooo-class).

So my point is there are plenty of 10-inch compact portables out there in the 2-lb range that are cute, functional and oh-so-tiny. About as tiny as you could want them before they become as useful, or useless at a "Pocket PC" device. How useful those are is something I'm very aware of having plonked down some cash for a T-Mobile MDA in the last couple of weeks. Its small but perfectly formed - and its utility, for me at least, is completely linked to its diminutive size. I can peck at the keyboard, peer at the screen and do just about what I need to do, and because its so small I can wear it on my hip and always be prepared (no I never was a boy-scout).

The MDAs biggest weakness is however the software (Windows Mobile 5.0, Pocket IE and Pocket Outlook) leave a lot to be desired. I mean seriously JavaScript has been around for almost ten years now, HTML even longer and PIE and PO don't handle either? Sigh... The best thing you can do with thise device, other than stream media on it and use it as a wireless modem (my intended use) is throw Opera and third party mail clients at it.

At this point I'm obliged to point out that the Psion 3 device I had back in 1994 when I arrived in the USA had better designed software for small screen mobile use than Windows Mobile has today. The only thing that's been added since then was higher resolution, color and an IP stack. It is really too bad that Symbian (who inherited the EPOC operating system devloped by PSION) abandoned the PDA world to concentrate purely on phones and that the only manufacturer to stick with Symbian was Nokia, who's hardware I loath and detest with a passion (seriously, it sucks).

I can only hope that sooner or later some Linux based gadget loadable with plenty-o-3rd party goodness comes along to fill the gap, nay gaping void between Windows Mobile 5 and Symbian OS. Oh and don't even talk to me about Palm, their OS comes a distant third to both the aforementioned systems. I do have to wonder how long it is before hand held device power meets the bottom end of what Apple would consider a decent hardware platform for MacOS. At that point iPOD will meet wireless and PDA and iPhone will be born - maybe they'll call it an iNewton just for old time's sake?

Regardless, lets hope technology upstarts Origami and UMPCs fare better in the software load they are saddled with... My guess is Origami will get XP, or some trimed down Vista dubbed Vista-Mobile, and with all those anti-Microsoft pro Apple ads Intel has been running these days maybe UMPC will be the mobile Mac platform everyone, well 10% of everyone, has been waiting for.