May 31, 1999
Will wireless services spark PDAs?
By Bob O'Donnell
I've always been a fan of various types of electronic gadgets and I'm similarly
intrigued by the notion of instant Web or other data source access anywhere, anytime. So,
last week's introduction of the Palm
VII, which integrates wireless information retrieval in a PDA-like device, caught my
attention. In many ways, the Palm VII represents the first of what is bound to be a wealth
of wireless data access devices. In fact, a report from Dataquest last week said that
wireless data services and the devices that use them are expected to boom over the next
few years.
In many ways, this isn't surprising. After all, having a pocket-size information
"tuner" is an undeniably appealing thought. Plus, it can't help but make you
think about where we'll be headed in the next millennium. But, I'm not convinced that
today's devices are up to the task. Plus, I'm still not sure that more than a limited
group of people are really that interested just yet.
Part of the problem is that even though handheld devices are showing relatively strong
growth, they're still seen by many to be a niche device. Bad impressions generated by some
of the earliest and even many current generation products have created a stigma that the
PDA market has yet to overcome. Certainly the convenience of wireless access to useful
information could overcome the shortcomings that many of these devices have, but as a
category, handheld devices aren't anywhere as convenient as they're implied to be (and
should be). They also aren't cheap. In fact, in this regard, the Palm VII may have a tough
road ahead of it because the $600 purchase price and $25 monthly fee (for moderate to
heavy users) could prove to be a bit too rich for many.
On the other hand, the Palm VII seems to have many things going in its favor (that is,
based on the reviews and other information I've read -- being on the West Coast, I don't
have access to one). For one, it uses the familiar, comfortable, and successful Palm Pilot
interface and form factor. In addition, the mechanism it uses for making the information
it receives and displays as appealing as possible is very clever. It also takes maximum
advantage of the low-bandwidth 8Kbps connection the Palm VII uses. Like the old AOL
interface, much of the Palm VII's bundled Web clipping apps have the graphics and form
layouts stored locally and then simply transfer over data that "fills in" those
forms.
Even with this design, however, many people will be disappointed that it's not
"true" Web surfing and that you're limited to the information that's available
in the special Palm VII form factor. Also, there's no denying that color screens can make
a big difference with many types of information (a topic I discussed in a previous column,
Gadgets
galore: Will color screens brighten up handheld sales?) and, like all the Palm
devices, the VII is monochrome. Finally, one review I saw pointed out that it was
difficult to move data received from the wireless link into other Palm apps, which could
prove to be a real sore spot, even for Palm enthusiasts.
I really want to see wireless data access and handheld information devices come
together in a combination that proves to be useful and affordable (and fun would be good
too). But until I see a device that would essentially be like a foldable version of the
wireless Web Pad concept that Cyrix debuted at last fall's Comdex convention, I don't
think the industry will offer what I and many others would like.
©
Copyright 1999, by InfoWorld Publishing Corp., a
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