Is it inevitable that technological tools feature creep. Mobile phones started as a tool to make a call, with a small facility to store numbers. Then SMS arrived and gradually phones have had more and more things added to them. So much so that the basic talking to people function is not the focus of the device anymore.
I have also been reading an article on the possible future of camera like devices and some thoughts struck me - is there a market for a simple phone or simple camera and what do I carry with me and what do I really need and use.
I have my camera, a Canon Powershot A70; my phone, a Sony Ericsson T68i and my PowerBook. Bluetooth connects them together via a D-Link USB Bluetooth Adapter DBT-120. I tend to carry my PowerBook, phone, camera and of course I bring my iPod (30GB, 15GB and 10GB) virtually everywhere with me. The new ones do look very nice, particularily the ability to use AA batteries with them.
My palm pilot sits forlorn and dormant at home, until I get moblogging ideas from time to time. It has been displaced by my phone and a sheet of paper.
I did use my palm quite a lot, but with a powerbook, there just isn't the call for it and it is just easier to use paper to keep my todo lists on. I've found that a folded bit of A4 in my jeans pocket is perfect for running my life, much faster to use than a pda. It affords use, there is virtually no user interface to it, the idea is almost funny. I can check it anywhere, to integrate with everything else, I manually transfer tasks from it to my laptop from time to time, usually when rewriting it. Most of the jobs on it are transient tasks, like call someone etc, so there need be no record.
My phone keeps my numbers and a snapshot of my calendar via iSync with my PowerBook which is the home for everything. With a digital camera I do take a lot more pictures than I did on film, but it is still quite in fits and starts.
I think that three to four devices is my limit, one to communicate with, one to listen to and one to capture pictures with. Plus my computer for writing, organising and storing all of this. Realistically I cannot see any of these devices disappearing.
I like taking pictures too much to loose the amount of control that camera phones represent. I need some manual control and a decent lens, this is present in the A70, but my film camera is still much more of a picture taking tool. I cannot imagine putting a bulky device like a combo pda phone in my pocket and carrying it around with me everywhere. I dislike the P800 or the new three phones for this reason, much too big.
The iPod is pretty perfect, even better now it is smaller and lighter. the design has been thought about clearly and it is just right for use as a music playback device. It would never work as a camera, though it could have a radio or video playback added without spoiling it too much.
So for me it is focused devices that do one job well and do not obscure it under a morasse of other functionaility. Certain features might be handy, GPS can give me location and then with internet access this can give me local information. However this is an add on, like word processors, phones have got to the point were they attempt to do everything badly.
This seems to be turning into an anti-pda and or smart phone rant and it sort of is I suppose, laptops are getting cheaper and better, so a phone, laptop and camera dispenses with the need for a pda smart phone type device. I can't see the point anymore, I'd rather have a decent screen to read and a large keyboard to type on. I know that my pda can offer me amazing things, but are they really just a glorified notebook for the laptopless. I don't want to have to carry another device around and keep it up todate with everything else. Technology is meant to solve problems, not create them. More on this and short reviews of some things I like in the next few days.
reviews: July 2003 Archives
Mobile burn review the SonyEricsson T610 and give it the thumbs down. The screen is poor, mobile reception is bad (at least in the US), audio quality is full of crackles and the camera has a low camera resolution (352x288). Other things are good, but these are sufficient to remove it from consideration. It is well built and has downloadable java games, plus a good bluetooth implementation, so it might work for some people.
However they like the Nokia 6600, so I might be moving back to a new Nokia in November, which might not be a bad thing, as long as Apple have sorted out iSync to work with it.
It is a hard market building mobile devices, they cost a lot to develop, build and then test for a often short market life. The t68 was quite incredible in this respect, as it was on sale for over 2 years. I'm sure that the landscape will have changed again in 4 months time, when I'm next replacing my phone.
On Friday, Lucy and I went to see "etre et avoir" (IMDB review). It is a delightful film telling the story of a school teacher in a small village school in the mountains near the Auvergne. The film was released last year in France and made a big impact, winning several awards.
The film is a documentary on the life of the pupils and the school. The classroom is filled with pupils from 4-11 and one teacher teaches them all at once. So in one corner you have pupils drawing, some learning maths and some learning geography.
The progress of time for the school is shown via the passing seasons, with beautiful photography showing the fields of crops, or snow on the trees, each shot held for several seconds giving a feeling of slow change and highlighting the impact of climate on this largely farming community.
What makes this film a joy is the natural reactions of the children, they barely seem to notice the camera and so you feel completely part of the scene. The editing of the footage is cleverly done, so that it gradually unfolds the scope of the school, introducing each character and age group slowly. Jojo, one of the youngest children steals the show, as he is seemingly in need of constant attention or amusement.
The story, such as it is, is a series of vignettes, a lesson, or some play or a fight. You start to know the children and then see some of them at home working on farms mainly. This aspect of their life is fascinating, as you see the whole family arguing over a boy's maths homework, then see him skillfully driving a tractor. You can see the different aspects in which the children as strong or weak, which changes your appreciation of each child. the interplay between the children gives you a picture of the society they live in. Over the course of the film you can watch the children growing up and some leaving for big school and new "little ones" arriving. Visually this is linked to the passage of the seasons and the cyclic nature of the life of the school is brought to the fore. The setting and cinematography give a timelessness to the story, which contributes to the warm satisfied feeling that it leaves you with.
A warm, lovely, carefully made film which simply relates life in a small village school, perfect for a rainy summers evening.
Buy Etre et avoir on DVD (VHS) from Amazon.co.uk.
