Is your smartphone your next computer?

That’s the question raised by a current InformationWeek story. And over a third of the business technology professionals they surveyed say that they already find they can either occasionally or frequently leave their laptops behind, relying on their smartphone to stay connected to their workplace.

For example, the story notes that “at Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, the Palm Treo 750 is being used by some 50 field sales representatives to access the company’s back-end CRM database,” noting that laptops and tablet PCs were too bulky, short on battery life, needed rebooting too often, and were too visible as targets of theft.

What about you? We’d love to hear your thoughts via comments, or on the discussion boards on our Facebook page. 

Jon Zilber

Comments

[CountBuggula]

Perhaps if Treos had kept pace with the rest of the technology world I would still consider it a suitable replacement for a laptop, but in the last 5 years we haven't seen any sort of noticeable increase in hardware specifications at all.

If my Treo had the 30gb internal storage that my MP3 player has, wifi, gps, bluetooth 2.0, and USB host, then I would rely much less on my laptop. Why can we find these features on feature phones and other compact electronic devices but not on a Treo?

[Edward]

I have to agree with the smartphone as my next "computer". Just as we were able to move to notebooks when they became as powerful and capable as desktops, when mobile devices can duplicate 95% of the functionality of a desktop/notebook in a fraction of the size and cost, I think we'll see a strong shift. Already in Asian and European countries, we see a majority of people using their mobile devices as the center of their connected lifestyle. Mobile phones have long outnumbered PCs in those countries.
In the enterprise, if companies like Palm can provide strong connectivity to the office and line-of-business applications, I think many mobile workers could rely more on their mobile devices and less on easily-stolen, expensive, and bulky notebooks.

[Jon Zilber, Palm Inc.]

Our newest smartphone, the Palm Treo Pro, has Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth 2.0 and comes with a 3.5mm stereo headset jack. If you add a microSD card, you can easily and inexpensively add gigabytes of storage. And Palm smartphones support thousands of applications for business travelers or anybody with a mobile lifestyle.

[CountBuggula]

Wow, thanks for the response - nice to see this blog is occasionally two-way.

You're right, the Treo Pro is certainly a step in the right direction. Any chance of seeing one on CDMA with a non-Microsoft OS? And don't point me at the 800w, it doesn't have true stand-alone GPS.

Granted, we can add memory cards to increase storage, but why hasn't the available on board storage increased as well? Flash memory is dirt cheap and doesn't drain battery life, so I don't see why we can't have 1GB or more of onboard storage. As much as I hate the iPhone, they make a case for having 4-16GB standard. If you really want us to be able to replace our laptops with a Smartphone, give us ample storage PLUS the ability to add to it via USB hosting and SD cards. I can't copy anything from one card to another without it, so I'd still need a laptop. And like I said, my MP3 player can do that, with 30GB, and it's smaller than my Treo.

When you produce a device that can do all that, you'll not only keep me as a customer, you'll have a very happy one as well.

[Jon]

Thanks for the feedback. Each item on your wishlist comes with tradeoffs -- not just cost -- and input like yours helps guide us to designing products that will meet customer needs.

[Tam]

And do not forget to add a big screen also to this wishlist. Treo screen is to small for replacing a laptop. We need a Huge Landscape Screen on TREOS!

[AndAl]

A big landscape screen on Treos also should be included in this wishlist. I have a TX and I could not find any replacement for it. Even the iPhone cannot replace my TX. I need a TX with Cell phone.

[Lin]

There is no way that this is ever going to replace either my phone, my laptop or my must have-much loved PALM TX. It does not share the same PALM interface as my TX, it does not have a stylus, it does not have a pop-up screen and it does not have the large screen that my TX does. I have a LG voyager phone that has a touch screen and it is far harder to use than my TX. We have repeatedly asked, pleaded and begged for a TX based phone. PLEASE PALM - LISTEN TO YOUR FEW REMAINING LOYAL USERS!!

[Lin]

My Palm TX is my "substitute computer." The Palm TX is so much better than a Windows Mobile phone. The Palm TX has a large screen, a stylus, a great keyboard, wi-fi, Palm software (which meant I did not have replace all of the existing Palm software), great apps, a touch screen with a stylus. Why can't you make a TX so that it is my next phone??

[PRM]

I think in the near future a smatphone will have so much processing power and storage capacity that we will not need a desktop or a laptop anymore. We will just need a separate display and a keyboard in our home or bag for the situations where we need a PC interface.

[CES]

Aplm, definetively you need to develop a TX with cell phone. The are too many users waiting for such device. The TX was the best palm device ever made any needs urgently an update!

[John Thomas]

You know, when I look at the iPhone, I see the Palm Live Drive if Palm would have had enough foresight to put a phone on it. Instead the came up with first the Treo and then the Centro, with their microscopic screens. Then they turn around and abandon all the loayal Palm users with PDA's

[Nicola]

I would disagree with my Smartphone being my next computer simply because I demand more out of my computer than my Smartphone. Assuming the original comment is regarding a future purchase to be a Smartphone instead of a computer. The original comment regarding Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream and having sales representatives use Treos to connect to their databases is a valid point for why a Smartphone would be desired over a laptop for a particular corporate function/process. In my particular field, corporate finance, a laptop is preferable because of the complicated computing needs. I must have a device that can handle complicated pricing algorithms, database needs, the ability to create presentations, and full internet browsing (including flash and other complicated visual displays that fall short with Smartphones) keeping in mind that a small Smartphone screen gives me a headache after prolonged use. So I will never truly be able to eliminate my laptop. Personally, I view a Smartphone as an ancillary device that will allow me to leave the laptop home from time to time or reduce my dependency for less complicated applications. With that said I am looking for my next mobile ancillary device that will allow for (just listing a few off the top of my head):

1. Complete html email connectivity over a secure VPN that will contain embedded pictures, links, charts, etc…
2. Better intergration to use the Smartphone as external memory device, like a USB drive, that will send documents to a Bluetooth printer or a projector for presentation purposes.
3. OS stability so I do not have to worry about losing data.
4. Better web browsing so I can do research on the fly.
5. More stock market tools that allow me to keep in touch with my portfolio.
6. WiFi.
7. GPS.
8. Ease of use! (Always an area of improvement).
9. Power Power Power! I do not like it when I am trying to do work on my Treo and the system is sluggish or has momentary “lockups”.
10. Or whatever else can be dreamt up like how Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream corporation used the Smartphone, which was not a computer replacement rather a support device to alleviate the use of a clunky computer for a more streamlined process.

To summarize I have no expectations of my Smartphone freeing me or replacing my computer, which is a good statement since my expectations for a Smartphone would then be ridiculous. Nevertheless, I am look for my next “computer companion” that will make my life a lot easier by fulfilling all of my mobile needs, whether it be business or work related.

Keeping in mind that blackberry is dominating this industry and Apple is controlling the non-business related user market because of their innovation and updated user interfaces. I am not a fan of windows mobile, at least not yet, so I am hoping for a new palm OS because I love the simplicity of it but I am looking for a more stable environment, much better user interface, and relaying less on the stylus and more on my finger. Plus I love buttons instead of a complete touch screen device. But I digress because I am off topic!

Hopefully this was helpful…
-Palm supporter!!

[Vincent Benedict P. Castro]

Having spent 10 months without a PC at home I can say that the smartphone is capable of doing most of the things a PC can. I did email, browsing, blogging, music, video, calls and sms, and even some gaming.

I used to have a 750 and the lack of WiFi made me give it up for a device with one. I do miss the front facing QWERTY though and was really excited when the Treo Pro became available.

When will the Treo Pro be available in the Philippines? It is still not shown in the site [we still have the centro and treo 750 on the front page]. Maybe you can ask the philippine distributor to hurry up with the release hehehe :D

treos rock!

[cheap computers]

I would still consider it a suitable replacement for a laptop, but in the last 5 years i haven't seen any sort of noticeable increase in hardware specifications at all.

[cheap computers canada]

if companies like Palm can provide strong connectivity to the office and line-of-business applications, I think many mobile workers could rely more on their mobile devices