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Tuesday, September 24, 2002 |
And sometimes, More is More
There have been a number of cartoons on the theme of the hapless user who goes down to the store and comes back with "the biggest cell phone they've got!".At the Seybold Show in San Francisco, I got to gawk at the biggest laptop I've ever seen. It's a Xentex Flip-pad Voyager, and it uses some clever folding techniques to give you two side-by-side 13.3 inch LCD screens, along with a fullsized keyboard that includes a number pad.
At a list price of $5000, it's not going to shake the market, but I hope the techniques and ideas of this design get picked up and used in less expensive designs.
Less is more, Part 2
Existing keyboard devices for PDAs and cell phones are sometimes clever and always clumsy. I'm currently thumbing data into a cell phone again; this is the third time and I'm getting tired of it (at least this phone has an IR link to feed data in, but it only supports Windows and I'm a Mac user). I want a virtual keyboard on these things that is full sized and easy to use.Two virtual keyboard solutions that look interesting are the Senseboard, which uses a couple of hand straps to sense what you're typing, and Canesta's design, which projects a keyboard on a flat surface and uses motion sensing to tell what you type. Canesta needs to get device manufacturers to license and build their product into PDAs and cell phones.
Without actually getting to play with one, the Canesta is more appealing (less stuff to keep track of), but the Senseboard doesn't need a flat, stable surface (so you could use it on a bus or in an auditorium), and one Senseboard could be used with several different devices.
Less is more, part I
Wisconsin has activated it's "Do Not Call" list: you can sign up at http://nocall.wisconsin.gov or call 866-9NO-CALL (866-966-2255).
Less telemarketing, more peace and quiet.
