View: The fight is on By: Jørgen Sundgot, Friday 25th October 2002, 13:20 GMT
With the launch of the Orange SPV, all three major handheld platforms are more or less represented in the smartphone space. But does that mean Jørgen Sundgot likes smartphones?
So then, it's official. First came Palm OS "smartphones", then came the Nokia 7650, based on Symbian OS, and this week I was fortunate enough to attend the launch of the Orange SPV - the first device to run on Microsoft's Smartphone 2002 platform. With the introduction of the SPV, all three major handheld operating systems are represented in the smartphone space - a dangerous turf.
According to numerous reports and my very own gut feeling - which I've actually had since before analysts started going haywire with predicted sales numbers for smartphones - smartphones will be big. Right now, at this very point in time, is when the smartphone hullabaloo in most of the world takes off (Japan and Korea have a head start of about a couple of years on the rest of us, as usual), and operating systems that were initially intended for handheld devices are being squeezed into small form factor devices to create new devices that are neither handheld nor phone, but something in between. Of course, I can't keep my trap shut when it comes to goodies like this.
First of all, I'll tell you why I won't be mentioning Palm OS smartphones. The reason is that I prefer referring to current Palm OS "smartphones" as connected handhelds, simply because placing a device in the smartphone category doesn't rely only on the form factor and capabilities of the device, but also its user interface - and Palm OS wasn't created for smartphones. That's why I'll just leave it out of the equation for now, even though certain manufacturers using the OS are very eager to call their devices Palm OS smartphones.
Now, there seems to be an American way and a European way of going about smartphones, which in my opinion is a good thing since both approaches to a solution have been covered. While Microsoft shrinks its Windows platform to fit in a mobile phone fom factor device, the Symbian camp is made up from a number of phone manufacurers that beef up their devices from from using proprietary operating systems to an EPOC based one with vastly increased potential. So far, my experience with the two approaches leads me to say that Symbian OS devices respond faster and are more stable, whilst Pocket PC and Smartphone 2002 devices shine in terms of raw power. And yes, I know I'm generalizing.
The user interface is a major part of what makes a smartphone just that, and for the time being there are just two major players; Nokia's Series 60 platform, based on Symbian OS 6.0, and Microsoft's Smartphone 2002, based on Windows CE 3.0. I've tried both, and have a hard time deciding which one I like best - each one has its good sides, and I honestly believe it will be an issue of preference (which is why it's a good thing that there are two ways of going about this, without delving into further detail on that subject). If forced to choose, I'd have to say I like Series 60 better - but remember, I have minimal experience with SMP 2002.
My question numero uno, though, is whether I see myself using a smartphone, a connected handheld or a combination of a mobile phone and a non-connected handheld comunicating by means of Blueooth or another wireless standard to keep me connected when I'm out and about. I'm struggling to choose, since each solution has its advantages, and since I'd like to have just one primary device to carry with me all the time. Believe me, keeping one device in sync is hard enough, two is frickin' difficult and three is close to impossible. For the time being, I've decided that a smartphone just isn't for me. I need to be able to process data and not just access it while I'm out of the office, and even though the Nokia 7650 and Orange SPV have all the capabilities I need their input solutions hampers them too much to be of any real use.
To round up things, and since I know I'm going to be grilled on this very point by some of you, dear readers, I thought I'd let you know what Microsoft's Juha Christensen said during the SPV launch event just to show you that you're not alone. Apparently, Juha (according to himself) managed to reply to a total of 250 e-mails on his SPV during a day spent at the recent CTIA fair - choosing that solution over a connected handheld of some sort with a proper input solution.
I have two things to say to that: First; that has to be a world record. And Juha, my friend - Masochist Magazine will be calling you for an interview shortly.
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