Does the world really need an all-in-one device?

Fair enough, although that stance alone seems to be a reasonable argument against. I would say, though, that my previous post still has a valid point if you consider only the case where the person wants everything.

The statement should be ammended to something like, "Does the world want an all-in-one considering the components won't be as good as the stuff in stand alones?"
 
there will always be customers who want just a phone - and you'll have that choice...

there will always be customers who want just a phone - but maybe an extra feature or two...and you'll have the choice....

choice is good - im sure if you walked into a phone shop and said - 'dont sell me a camera phone with web and bells and whistles - sell me a phone'...thats exactly what you'd get.

and the choices can only get better as technology converges and becomes more ubiquitous...if you only look at the here and now of what tech can offer then there'll never be innovation in things like speed or miniaturisation of componants...if an all in one was introduced to the market now it would bomb - it'd be too big, and too expensive.

just look at 15 years ago when mobile fones were the size of briefcases...how far we've come...
 
Yep, if you want 'just a phone', cfleck, then you have two VERY good options:

1) Keep your old one. Get a new battery for it, if that's getting old.

2) In case your old one isn't "good enough" anymore or you want a change in style, get a new one. I hear that ANY bl**dy mobile phone out there can still make and receive calls quite easily. And yes all the phone makers still have models without cameras. Some even still have greyscale screens (which in "just a phone" is more than good enough).

And now for the other arguments... :)

Okay, we can of course agree that a separate digital camera bought at the same point in time will always be 'better technology' than what you get in a 'mixed device'. Yet phones will probably reach the day when they make more than good enough digicams for 'most' people. Then at least for _them_ it could be a tougher decision. I don't guess that right now anyone would take one of those 1.3 MP cameraphones and replace a 'real' digicam with it.

With the music player, this could theoretically happen earlier. I mean: The iPod Shuffle? Come on: A phone can beat THAT any old day if it's totally iTunes compatible and has a fast enough (read USB-2) connection to Macs and PCs. And those RS-MMCs and SD-Cards aren't _that_ expensive, either. It's rather the software there that is lacking.

And as for PIM integration: iSync does a great job - if Apple only would support more new phones faster. But you can use mobical.net if a certain phone isn't iSync-supported, so although you won't be able to integrate totally with iCal and Address Book, you'll still have some integration with your desktop or notebook Mac.

Technologically, a really good smartphone would not only be feasible today, it _could_ incorporate an iTunes compatible mobile player, it _could_ have a more or less decent 3 MP camera and it _could_ come with good iSync integration. But like I said earlier: No-one's really interested in selling you a mobile phone they can't really top in three or four months themselves. They want addicts, not customers. (Well, they want customers, too, of course, but they're much more interested in those who replace their mobile phones every few months...) - That's why I suggested Apple. There _is_ a market for 'the finished phone'. Sure, Vertu might not be _the_ perfect example for you, but it is _one_ attempt at producing the finished phone (for those who buy RADO watches and drive Mercedes Benz cars) and you _can_ drop it btw., since it's made from very durable materials, very unlike your Moto or Nokia... But it was a good example for how there _are_ a lot of niches to be found in the mobile phone market.
 
fryke said:
With the music player, this could theoretically happen earlier. I mean: The iPod Shuffle? Come on: A phone can beat THAT any old day if it's totally iTunes compatible and has a fast enough (read USB-2) connection to Macs and PCs. And those RS-MMCs and SD-Cards aren't _that_ expensive, either. It's rather the software there that is lacking.
Click to expand...
I take your point that it's mainly just the software that's lacking.

However, I put it to you that the shuffle is still a much better MP3 player than a phone in certain environments, from a hardware perspective (e.g. while jogging) where size, weight and durability count.

Kap
 
I think jogging is overhyped, anyway. And btw.: A little more weight lets you lose more calories per minute.
 
but when you add more weight you have to be care where you put it as it will throw off your gait. no one wants to run lopsided.
 
OK, I challenge anyone to find me a mobile phone that is:

1) Cheap
2) Small
3) Stylish
4) Has Bluetooth
5) Doesn't have MP3, Camera, etc...

The argument that you will always be able to buy a phone without all the 'all-in-one' features already proves to be untrue. In this day and age I see Bluetooth as a basic option a phone should have to provide syncing and/or use as a bluetooth modem; however, it is only available in expensive (and usually large and ugly) phones, which have umpteen features I couldn't care less about, and are generally pretty useless, and I have better alternatives to, but which push the price up all the same.

The other problem at the moment is that no device offers all the functions, but nearly all of them offer more than one. It's hard these days to buy any gadget without it having a crappy built-in camera. OK, maybe one day there will be a true all-in-one, but I doubt it.


And yes, an all-in-one is always going to be a compromise compared to individual items. It will always be bigger than a stand-alone phone (due to the screen), the screen will always be smaller than that of a stand-alone video player and/or PDA (due to trying to keep the size down), them camera and MP3 player will always compromise on quality and features, etc...

Does the world really need an all-in-one device? Well, there will always be people to buy them, who will be happy with the compromise. Personally however, I think what the world really needs are for the companies to start working on making a number of separate small devices that can all take advantage of each other to offer the functions to a much higher standard than an all-in-one ever could.

If the screen isn't attached to the phone, or the storage device, then no size compromise is needed in either case. If the storage isn't physically part of the phone, or MP3 player, or the PDA or the video device, then its physical size isn't as important.

It would be great if I could connect my Clie into my iPod, and use it as a hard drive so I could play back movies on my Clie (with it's much larger screen), and if my Clie could use bluetooth to talk to my mobile phone and use it as a modem, so again I could use the larger screen of my Clie to browse the web on the move, and if my Ixus camera could also use my iPod to store it's photos, and use the larger screen of my Clie to view them on the go.

That's what the world needs (or, at least, what I do), a number of small devices that work together. Not some all-in-one compromise.


Oh, and obviously there is a place in the world for both, but as I said at the start of this post, it is already becoming very hard to find gadgets that aren't trying to jump on the all-in-one bandwagon.
 
isnt this all terribly subjective?

i know people with mobile phones with bluetooth who dont even know what bluetooth is. but just because its there doesnt mean they dont want it there!

i have a microwave with a grill setting - i've never used that setting - but that doesnt mean that when i bought it the fact it had it swayed my decision in buying it.

i know a couple of people who dont even have mobile fones! yes thats right! - they are totally uncontactable unless they're at home!

seriously - if you want 'just the phone' you can get them - there are good models circa 2002 that might be perfect.

isn't it a bit like saying - i dont want a ferrari because its top speed is too high for me - i want something that doesnt go as fast please.

my mac can do so many things that i might never make it do - all that 'apache' stuff and the command line gubbins...i'll probably never find an everyday use for them - but i'm glad they're there. i'm glad that in the evolution of macs and the OS that i can have pure power but still keep it nice and simple...

the amount of times i totally forget that theres even a camera in my fone is alot! let alone a grill option in my microwave...but both things do exactly what their original purpose was amazingly well.

heck! how many times have i needed to make a phone call but cant recall a persons number because i dont have my address book with me - only to find half an hour later that i'm actually carrying a copy of it on my ipod! doh!

devices are jumping on the all-in-one bangwagon - because they all want to be the next ipod! - 'bring our product to market first and flood it' - but that -as we know - won't work, because the innovation hasnt quited bloomed yet- its early days, and the first team to make an all-in-one that makes you forget its 10 other things apart from the one mode your currently using it in will come out on top.
 
i just bought a cheapo temporary phone (cus my last one died) while im saving for a p910. it cost me $AU69 with $30 of included credits and a pre-paid (aka Pay As You Go)sim card. That is effectively $30 for a phone. $30 Australian. That is $23US.

It has a monocrhome screen, with blue backlight. it makes calls. receives calls. sends SMS. receives SMS. plays a few crappy games. it has a clown tune ringtone (by far the best feature). it is very sexy silver/aluminium that would match the g5 perfectly (if it could communicate with it).

You CAN buy cheap NEW phones. not many people do though. some of my friends get new phones every few months. i don't know why. they just do. "ooh look it does this. it does that". Whoopie. when you keep using a crap network with no coverage it makes no difference how cool your phone is.
 
lnoelstorr: Well, then simply get one WITH camera and WITH colour display. What do you care? They don't cost much with a contract anyway. If you want, you can install a greyscale background or remove it totally. Let's say you get a SE T630 or a similar phone. They're quite good. Just ignore all the bells and whistles. iSync works. SMS works. Calling works. Just _ignore_ the rest of the features if you don't care for them. Simple as that.
 
fryke said:
lnoelstorr: Well, then simply get one WITH camera and WITH colour display. What do you care? They don't cost much with a contract anyway.
Click to expand...

1) They do cost much with a contract, because a contract is expensive. Plus I'd probably have to change my number if I signed up to a contract. So, Expensive and hassle.

2) Because they tend to be too big, bulky and ugly, etc...


If they cost no more, were no bigger, no bulkier, no uglier, etc... Then I wouldn't care; however, that is simply not the case.
 
I'm mostly with Inoelstorr on this subject. There's nothing wrong with having extra features on the phone, but it doesn't take a genious to figure out that you are paying extra for those extra features in some way.

I have a Sony Ericsson T616 and while it's small, it's still got a bad camera. The interface absolutely sucks because there are SO many options to scroll through (lots of bells and whistles). I got the phone because I knew it had excellent Bluetooth support, but that's pretty much it. I wish I got another phone now, one that Inoelstorr is describing.
 
lnoelstorr said:
OK, I challenge anyone to find me a mobile phone that is:

1) Cheap
2) Small
3) Stylish
4) Has Bluetooth
5) Doesn't have MP3, Camera, etc...
Click to expand...

Ericsson t39m. Shouldn't be too pricy any more. B&w screen, BUT is small, battery life is a week of standby, is small, has bluetooth, and does NOT have cameras, mp3s etc.

I am keeping mine as a spare phone, as well for friends who will be visiting us, and don't have a phone taht works here. So one more prepaid card in it, and "here, this is a number people can call you to, and this is our number".
 
I hope so! I would hate to do away with all-in-one devices because the world doesn't need them. We have alot of examples where they have been successful: iMac, eMac, Any laptop, Playstation 2, Xbox, Brother Fax Machines, Nokia and Sony Ericsson phones, Digital Video Camcorders, Pocket Knife, Lunchboxes[its all in one!], Personal Digital Assistants.
I am sure there are much more that we take for granted everyday like the refridgerator that preserves food cool and frozen. It doesn't have to be computer related to be technology and an all in one device. It all depends on what you are using that all in one device for. :p
 
Really, I think the best phone for me at the moment is the Sony Ericsson T68:

http://www.sonyericsson.com/spg.jsp...4001&template=pp1_1_1&zone=pp&lm=pp1&pid=9773

I wouldn't lose the large colour screen (useful and nice), it's got Bluetooth, GPRS (which are the two main uses for it), and most importantly, it has nothing else! And you're not just buying an old, old phone when that technology wasn't invented yet (like Gia's example :p). I think it's easy enough to get what you want, but it ought to be easier.

I also have no idea how good the iSync capabilities of that phone are.
 
t68i is anyway ... big. I'm not used to even p800 yet, everything feels too big compared to t39m. Mobile is one of the devices I like small, I don't have big pockets and it annoys if it doesnt fit there. :p
 
The T68i isn't big, Gia... As small as current SE small phones. Just a bit more oddly shaped, and the colour screen was bad. I had one back then when it was new. (and iSync came out first...)
 
I had a t68 and my g/f also did (that was the phone that pushed me back to Nokia). The quality sucked. I had to take it to the shop for repairs multiple times (the microphone would come loose). The reception was terrible. Once, the infra-red port popped out when I was typing an sms.
It was fun at first but very, very limited in what it could do and quickly outdated. The i's were a little better but uglier.
That off my chest, 3G services were just launched here and it makes the Series 60 so much better. I actually watched a news program on the way to work today.
 
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