Sub PCs can’t omit features that might be used
That’s the premise of an interesting article by Michael Mace, a former VP at both Apple and Palm. Michael starts out with the Palm Foleo cancellation and shares his thoughts on why the sub PC market has brought failure after failure. Yes, you can build a limited-use mobile computer by including only the most used features he says, but that won’t guarantee success. Why not? You need to understand what features people are willing to completely live without and eventually, they’ll want a feature not available in a limited device.
It’s well worth the read and emphasizes one of the major challenges in this industry. Unfortunately, it’s a sad truth that every mobile device available requires a consumer compromise of some sort. We sacrifice battery life for performance and portability, for example. Add those sacrifices in with each individual’s computing needs and you can see the complexity of a "one size fits all" solution. It simply doesn’t exist and I doubt it ever will. Instead, we tend to buy the device that meets most of our needs while offering the least amount of compromises.
The problem with the Sub PCs is not that they can only do limited things.
The problem is that they can’t do those limited things great.
The limited function must be done by the sub pc rather spectacularly, the best, top of the line kind of thing.
Kind of like what blackberry did for messaging. There “was” no video or mp3 player, no WiFi not as many 3rd party application and yet they got it.
If there is a device a size of an NEC 900 or Jornada 728 on the market that does email/ms exchange, word processor and browser stunningly GREAT and then it can’t sell… the author might have a point until then it is like saying that people were not buying Ford Pintos not because they were crappy but because there was no need for a vehicle of that size.