Ok, I haven't fallen off of the earth, just been too busy to post, and haven't had anything exciting to say anyhow. Today a thought finally popped into my head though, so we'll run with it and see where it goes.
Those that know me well know I'm a gadget head, I had XM the day it was available, a PDA before most people could spell it, pagers, cell phones, internet, then broadband. I've been at the beginning of all of it. That being said, I've been avoiding a smart phone for several reasons. First, I'm not sure I want to be that connected, my email will be there when I get to it. Second, it won't yet replace my laptop, it's not like you're going to type a dissertation on a keyboard half the size of your palm. Lastly, and probably the biggest, was the one thing I refused to drink the Kool-Aid on, text messaging, it drives me nuts. A friend sent me a text message on my cell phone one day and after figuring out how to read it, the message was "wher r u?", I had to call and ask her what she wanted, because that wasn't any language I spoke. I had someone tell me the other day they loved the cell phone commercial with the girl and her mother arguing, the girl speaking in all txt (that's text for those not ITK or in the know) shorthand. The first time I saw it I had to fight the urge not to throw the remote through the screen. When I was in high school the complaint was that without spell check most kids couldn't type or write a sentence. That's the way I feel about text messaging and that dumb commercial, how long will it be before kids are saying things like "AFAIK my frend Jim was ROFL.", and no one finds it odd. In reality I think that would be too long for a text message, and probably doesn't have enough shorthand. I could just see a billion people with smart phones and all of a sudden email, which, as odd as it may sound, I actually use to get things done and stay in touch, would turn into "wher r u?". So yesterday I head up to my cell phone provider's store to upgrade my phone as my new every two has kicked in. After deciding on my new phone I was still about 10th in line so I wander over to the smart phone section. Well, I think, it does sort of have a keyboard, I could combine my PDA and phone into one, and update appointments, contacts, and tasks(my to-do list) on the fly with my PC at work, even if I'm sitting on a stream in Montana. I'd still need my laptop to get real work done, but could easily answer email on this pint sized keyboard from anywhere I might care to read it. So I got one, heck I've got 30 days to take it back if I don't like it. I think I'm already sold. I ended up with Motorola's Q for several reasons. One, it runs Windows Mobile, which means Outlook, which is what I use to pretty much run my working life. Two, it fits in my pocket, I refuse to wear a phone on my belt, it's like a pocket protector for the new millenium(although a thumb drive around the neck really looks good!), also, the new Palm 700 has a touch screen which after going in and out of my pocket a few times and getting scratched would have been worthless. The Motorola is also rubber coated, which should help keep it from getting beat up by all the other crap I tend to carry in my pockets. Now that I have it I'm surprised, it's not nearly as intrusive as I thought. I can schedule how often and between what times I'd like it to check my email(every 20 min. from 8am-10pm). I can ignore it if so inclined. If there is an emergency I can deal with it. Just tonight driving home from Erie I rescheduled an appointment, called the person, rearranged the time, entered the new appointment on my phone, and when I get to work tomorrow it will be updated on my calendar. Most importantly smart phone's may save conversation as we know it, simply because it doesn't take any longer to type "where are you?" (13 keystrokes on a smart phone without the question mark) versus "wher r u?" (15 on a regular phone, 26 if you spell it correctly, yep, I counted). I still don't yet see the day where you're "typing" a document on one, but mine already does voice recognition for various functions like looking up a contact, calling someone, or opening a program. I'm thinking that the next time my new every two shows up that my new one may be able to do voice recognition for document writing. That to me is where they will start to replace laptops. Now I'm off to find a spell checker for mine since I can't type a sentance.