After reading Vidge’s comments on her UPC, a Sony U750P, I got to thinking about why I’m still using a PDA instead of a UPC. After all, my recent trials with DTG/WordSmith/Docs would be moot if I could just use Microsoft Word.
However, UPCs need a few fixes before they’ll take off.
1. They need to be cheaper. $2,000 is about five to ten times too much for a handheld.
2. They need to sync seemlessly with your “big” computer. Alternatively, they could sport big enough drives and fast enough processors (without sacrificing battery life) to serve as your sole PC, something they currently can’t do unless your needs are slight enough to make you barking mad for buying a $2k computer. And of course, increasing the specs will inevitably increase the price. See the Catch 22?
3. They need to have a solid and easy backup system. Given that they’re XP-based, PCs, a one-touch backup USB HD might do the trick, but now we’re adding another $200 to the pricetag.
4. Someone needs to come up with an XP skin that works well on a small screen. This is possible with something like WindowBlinds that can change the look and feel of the entire GUI, but the default Luna UI is a poor user experience at 800×600.
Let me know when these things get fixed. Until then, I’ll be getting work done with my Zodiac.
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