I was away for a week and browsing this forum on the tablet is such a chore that I did not do it (yes, I know that you can change the style of the forum). Maybe there is some knowledge to be gained here, but I'd rather talk about something else...


This discussion has evolved in a different direction than the one I had intended (nothing wrong with that, this is a forum). It seems to have turned into a discussion on "how do I want the next tablet UI to be like?".

My question was rather: "what will people do on the Internet with their mobile devices in two years?". This is why I cited the iPhone (and the iPod touch, which everyone forgets about). I don't particularly like the iPhone and I did not buy one, but it is changing the market.


Maybe I should give my vision of the market (derived from casual observations, this is why I would like other people's opinion).


Two years ago, the big thing were camera phones. You say people taking pictures with their phones on holiday all over the place. This is gone, people have reverted to digital cameras.

In China, a year to 6 months ago, Windows mobile was a big thing. I have not understood why.

One big thing at present in arabic countries is to use your phone as a getto blaster. Nokia has a lot of this market, their phones put out an impressive sound for their volume. I have even seen phones with integrated stereo speakers. Note that the second series of the iPod touch has an integrated speaker now, apparently Apple also has got the idea that people do not always like to use phones (Apple is generally not present in third world countries, however. Check were the iTunes store is available.).



A very new use for portable devices that is emerging is Internet browsing and e-mail. This is the result of the iPhone. Today, I see iPhones everywhere. I also see kids with iPods touch. And I see those people near free wifi stations. I also people with symbian phones near these wifi stations, which was not the case a year ago.

So apparently, since the iPhone, a large number of people have started to realise the use of free wifi access points. And this is exactly the market that the N800 was chasing a year ago, and largely failed. I don't know why.

Another important aspect is that the iPhone is changing the mobile Internet. Youtube has a special iPhone site and Youtube is a major player. How does that impact the future of maemo devices? Why can't we access this mobile site, which would be much better for our needs? I uses open standards (h.264), but avoids connection of unapproved devices. OTOH, the N810 connects to Youtube using flash, which is a proprietary standard, but open to unapproved devices. Suddenly, the age long discussion open versus proprietary standards takes a new, unexpected turn.


So these are the questions I ponder:
-what space is there for a wifi tablet device in this changed landscape? Before you answer, please realise that Apple (yes, again) has a wifi-only tablet in the form of the iPod touch, and that they sell it in large enough number for me to see some used, while I never see any other N810 than the ones I bought.
-what space is there for software development in a market changed by the iTunes store? There aren't that many developers and a relatively large number are attracted to the iTunes business model and ease of use of Apple development tools. I think that this will mostly impact windows mobile and symbian however.
-how is the new mobile Internet changing the game? On the one hand, we have google which developed a business-like suite which required to be always online (and is scrambling to change that), on the other hand we have a wealth of new iPhone only sites. This target is moving, and it is moving fast. And this is exactly the opposite that the N800 and similar devices were aiming: they tried to cram a web experience designed for the desktop into an underpowered handheld device. Apple took the problem by the other end and tried to design a web adapted to their underpowered handheld devices... and they leave the competition out.

You can't answer any of those questions just by yourself. I am not asking your opinion as technical geeks. The only way to form an idea is to go out, observe what the masses are doing, talk with people around you, find out what they like and do not like, etc... In the end, the market is a number game.