I’ve been reading a lot about the next version of Windows Mobile, and It’s gotten me thinking about what our digital lives are going to be like over the next few years.
In the past, there have been unique categories of devices. I believe that we’re moving toward a continuum. Already we’ve seen that the line between a tablet and a notebook is getting very thin. The Micro-tablet mock-up shown by Bill Gates at WinHEC shows that the line between Handhelds and Tablets is going to get very thin as well.
If tablet technology takes off, then you may have users calling for ink, and moving forward, touchscreens in the desktop environment. If people get used to interacting with their data in certain ways, then they’ll want those ways to be available wherever they connect with their data.
It’s going to be an interesting five or ten years, as the hardware manufacturers tear down the hurdles of power, miniaturization, and integration, and we come to a time where the form factor is a matter of design & function, versus engineering limitations.
One Man Shouting 