Actually, given the history of technology - all of the missed opportunities for truly useful tech and the stupid crap pushed on the public (camera phones - why?)

Funny thing that. One day while waiting in a cafe for my breakfast to arrive I whipped out my 770 to check on something and my friend, a total technophobe, practically grabbed it out of my hands when I told him what it could do. He checked his email and surfed the web for ten minutes while his breakfast went cold. Then he says to me, "Hey man, that thing is so cool! I want one! Nokia could sell those things just by paying people to pull them out in cafes and start surfing the web." I was amazed, and my notion that the 770 is just a geek toy and could become a popular consumer device was shattered. So everybody: take your 770 to the nearest cafe or wifi space and just start using it. We could start a revolution!

John

Very good post, something I was asking for

Fixable problem, for example you could just make a tablet with a version of Windows. I hear Windows PDAs have difficulty editing the documents, but still...

I read that IP will be the most efficient medium for voice traffic in the next few years. Widespread adoption might take a bit longer I figure, say in 5-10 years VoIP devices might be the norm. But this wouldn't help with our scenario as the time frame is different.

True in the North Am, not true in parts of Europe, little clue about the rest of the world here. Even in Finland cell phones are paid by the employers for some people, getting the same financing for a tablet might not be that easy.

P.S. My biggest problem with the 770 is that now that I actually have a use for mobile-phone data transfer, I am running my bills up dangerously high. The rates the carriers charge are outrageous!

I don't think this is a valid comparison. The Zaurus was never officially sold outside Japan (where it is NOT dead). It was never actively supported by Sharp as a Linux hacker's device. And (apart from the very confidential 6000) it does not have BT and/or Wifi connectivity builtin. I still love my 760, it's a good PDa and portable workhorse, but it's not a good Internet tablet. The 770 is.

I would not hire you as a marketeer. I also thought that camera phones were a stupid idea. Till I went on vacations and saw that all people used them.

Why isn't blackberry the killer app, and the thumboard the killer addition, like I said in my post above? I don't think there's any doubt about the blackberry's success.

People usually don't know what they really want, otherwise they would do what they really wanted to do without complaining about being tied down with multiple mobile devices. If you want less to carry, carry less. It's really that simple. Good luck finding an all-in-one mobile device that does all those things right.

I think people are too quick to forget what the world was like without the current mobile devices. Without cellphones, high speed networks, and wifi and bluetooth. We've become so dependant on our mobile and wireless tech, that we would panic at even the hint of loosing the ability to use them.

Yes, it's not easy to know what one really nees, this is one reason why people will opt for a single device - even a limited one - when offered with an overwhelming array of choices. I suppose that is one reason why the all-in-one holy grail of mobile devices will this year be communicators (and smart phones). If people don't know they really need a good PIM suite, they don't want to carry around a PDA. If people don't know they really need a mobile web browser, they don't want to carry around an internet tablet. There is the cost aspect too - a decent device with usable functionality costs a bit, and multiple devices tend to cost even more. (Oddly enough 770 + simple GPRS phone would provide a nice price point in comparison to communicators, the only catch is increased bulk.) If what people need on the move is just checking bus schedules, making a quick note or storing a meeting in a calendar for a later alarm, they will be just happy with a communicator.

On dependence on all new technology - well there is a price on forgetting previous forms of life, but technology answers some real needs as well: broadband for better quality of viewable media, lagfree communication; internet tablets for the same information capacity on the move; wireless connections for integrating all the gadgets we have to use day to day. When technology is widespread you are expected to have it to be a functional member of the society/your subculture. If I am working I have to use the cell phone, because if I'm reachable I can be asked for advice, opinions, and information, making the tasks of others that much easier, and speeding up our corporate processes...