The All-in-One Device - What we have today
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We don't have that all-in-one device yet, or I would be reviewing that. But we do have some good devices now. They won't come close to being your main PC, but they will serve as great companions to your PC.
Hardware-wise I would say that Apple's iPhone is the closest to the all-in-one device. The size is right for what we want. It isn't very thick and the device is mostly screen. It is really one of the few devices that has any memory in it. You won't be able to store all your videos, music, and files, but it is enough for many things. It is really good that some company has taken advantage of the flash memory that MP3 players have. The major downfall for this device is the lack of third party devices. With third party applications and a solid base of applications, the iPhone could be the next big thing.
Microsoft's OS is broken into two branches. There is the Smartphone, which has a smaller screen that is not touch sensitive. This cuts down on cost and size, two of the major issues with most pocket PCs today. You will lose some functionality with a Smartphone.
If you go the route of the pocket PC, you will get back all your functionality and it will be a good device. But it will be bulky. I haven't seen a Pocket PC PDA phone that is very slim. The other issue that I will bring up is that I have yet to see a Pocket PC with any decent amount of memory for music, videos, or documents. Typically we see a few MB of room. That isn't going to cut it. Hardware-wise, Microsoft devices are lacking.
Conclusion
We have been told these all-in-one devices are coming, but where are they? I guess they are coming sometime, but right now we have some other devices that seem to be getting there. Hardware-wise, we are still far off. The hardware manufacturers need to continue to push the mobile hardware as well as desktop hardware. Solid state hard drives are going to play a huge part in future all-in-one devices; it's nice to see that its popularity is growing rapidly.
Software-wise, I feel we are getting there. Windows Mobile seems to be on the right track. You can get lots of third party applications for it and can easily make your own if you need to. Apple needs to open up their OS to allow third party applications. The only ones you can use as of now are web applications, which won't cut it.
It's hard to see which platform is ahead. Apple just recently moved into the market and is already leading the way in cell phone data plans. It will be interesting to see what the next step for handheld computers will be. I don't see us being too far off from the all-in-one handheld PC.
I would like to thank you for reading my article. If you have any input on what you think would make the perfect all-in-one handheld PC, let me know. If you are in the business of making computers, make me one of these!
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