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The title for the fall CTIA show is “Wireless IT & Entertainment,” which seems like a contradiction until you look at some smartphones today: Research In Motion Ltd. has added 2-megapixel cameras and media players to its BlackBerry line, Apple Inc. calls its iPhone the best iPod it has ever made, and HTC Corp.’s Advantage looks like a tiny notebook but includes a 3.2-megapixel camera, GPS navigation and an 8 gigabyte hard drive ideal for media storage. The line between computers and phones used to be pretty clear: You used a phone when you needed to make phone calls, you used a PC when you needed to get work done, and you used a media player when you wanted to listen to music. However, despite all of the functionality crammed into the latest devices, form factor continues to get in the way of usability.
I have been testing the $849 HTC Advantage, $1149 Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.Q1 Ultra (its second generation UMPC), and the $900 Nokia Corp. E90, trying to determine when it makes sense to have something bigger than a smartphone and smaller than a notebook. The largest smartphones like the HTC Advantage are actually about the same size as the smallest PCs, like an OQO. (I was looking forward to adding Palm Corp.’s Folio to the mix, but Palm has wisely killed that stripped down sub-notebook in “smartphone companion” clothing).
HTC’s Advantage
I want to like the HTC Advantage because it has a feature list a mile long and serves nicely as a halo product for HTC. But while it thrills my inner geek, it just doesn’t fill a real market need. It is far too large to serve as a phone-even if used with a Bluetooth headset-and it is far too small to replace a notebook for any serious document creation, even for a day trip. While HTC has managed to secure independent distribution at Amazon.com and what’s left of CompUSA, this channel is not rich enough. Consumers aren’t rich enough, either-the Advantage costs nearly $900. On paper, the price may even appear justified so long as you ignore the notebook PC you could get for the same money, and instead start adding up mobile devices that the Advantage theoretically replaces. The list is long: a PDA, a notebook for short trips, a video player, an MP3 player, a GPS navigation device, a Web tablet, a digital camera, a mobile phone and a kitchen sink. Unfortunately, it doesn’t pass the spouse test. (Buy one and try to explain why you spent $849 to your spouse. Good luck with that.)
At its price, it really needs to be competitive with the best smartphones and a dedicated device or two. It isn’t. The Apple Inc. iPhone is arguably a better Web tablet and definitely a superior media player; while Windows Mobile 6 synchronizes nicely with a Media Center PC, Microsoft Corp. still has work to do on other content types. The Advantage’s size and VGA touchscreen should make for a killer GPS navigation system, but it lacks car accessories and the Telenav software for it is terrible (which is odd; I found Telenav to be quite usable on the BlackBerry 8800). Sure, you can add TomTom or other software instead of Telenav, but that brings the price up even higher. For productivity, the Advantage fares better, but HTC’s smaller, much less expensive Tilt at AT&T Mobility actually has a better QWERTY keyboard. Nokia’s E90
Nokia’s E90 Communicator is far more pocketable and has many similar features (GPS, 3-megapixel camera, a smartphone OS, high-resolution screen). The E90 looks like a mobile phone from the mid-1990s when closed, but the E90 can actually be held up to your ear as a phone. (You can no more use the Advantage as a phone without a Bluetooth headset as you could use a paperback book.)
Most of the E90’s functionality is accessible from the front screen, but the magic is inside. When open, the E90 has ample real estate for a big, wide screen-which most Symbian S60 applications do not take full advantage of-and a wonderful keyboard with a separate row of numeric keys. The E90 is outrageously expensive, and is often more of a status symbol in Europe and Asia than a productivity tool. Still, the form factor is about as big as you can get while still replacing a separate phone.
Samsung’s Q1
Samsung’s first UMPC was criticized for poor battery life, the lack of a keyboard, sluggish performance, and a high price point. The second generation Q1 Ultra makes improvements across the board-at least in the Windows XP configuration I used (performance may still be an issue with Vista).
However, I still couldn’t quite figure out what to do with it. It makes a wonderful Web browser, and indeed, products like the Q1 Ultra, Sony UX Micro and OQO are ideal for certain vertical markets and executives who need full PC browsing and storage. A full PC is the only way to run some enterprise applications and Web sites that use ActiveX or Flash, and there is enough screen real estate to see most Web sites without excessive scrolling, zooming and unzooming.
However, the Q1 Ultra is too pricey for most people to use that way. If Web browsing is the goal, Nokia’s N800 provides Web browsing with Flash for $400, Archos’ 605 Wi-Fi 30 GB will match that feat for $329 (a Flash software upgrade is planned), and the iPod Touch 8 GB is the least expensive and most elegant of the group, at $300 (though Flash is not supported).
As a productivity tool, a full PC means being able to use a “real” e-mail programs like Outlook. Unfortunately, I found the new QWERTY keyboard basically unusable with my fingers, so composing e-mail or writing Word documents was literally impossible. I’m sure some people will not have this issue, but I had to connect a Bluetooth keyboard before I could correctly type in the security key for my Wi-Fi network. (An on-screen keyboard is another less-than-ideal option.) There is no easy way to keep Outlook and Office documents in sync between two Windows XP computers. Third-party solutions exist but are additional cost and often just don’t work in real world scenarios.) Therefore, the utility of a tiny Windows XP computer is limited unless it can substitute as a true replacement for a desktop or a bigger and heavier notebook.
A Bluetooth keyboard turns the Q1 Ultra into a budget sub-notebook replacement, but after living with the combination for a few weeks I much preferred a genuine sub-notebook over a two device solution. There are definitely use cases where smaller-than-sub-notebook PCs make sense, and with an unlimited budget, I’d love to keep one around. However, mainstream users are better served with a full-sized keyboard and screen.
Breaking it down
The mobile device market is full of innovative new form factors, but the landscape can be decoded by focusing on two key elements: keyboard size and data synchronization.
Sub-notebooks can only get so small before their keyboards become thumboards, negatively impacting document creation, and the need for a single data store mandates that even the thinnest/lightest sub-notebook be a desktop replacement (Microsoft really ought to fix that, they’d sell a lot more full Windows licenses).
Beefed up smartphones with wireless broadband are ideal supplements for a regular notebook, large or small.
Pocketability-not features-is still the primary determinant for how broad an audience a smartphone can attract, because everyone needs to carry around a phone, and if the smartphone gets too big, consumers will substitute a smaller phone and dedicated devices instead.
Avi Greengart is the Principal Analyst, Mobile Devices at Current Analysis Inc. Greengart can be reached at agreengart@currentanalysis.com. You can contact RCR Wireless News at rcrwebhelp@crain.com.
