Issue #69
Last Update October 31, 2010
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Technology Convergence by Sten Grynir October 5, 2010 There are new kids on the block. In addition to the usual mp3 players, portable DVD players, and desktop and laptop computers (including netbooks) we now have to cope with smart phones, tablets and ereaders. How do these differ from what we are used to (cell phones, portable computers and portable media players), and how do they differ from each other. Most important: what can we expect in the future?
Let's start with ereaders, in some sense the simplest of the three new device classes. Amazon's Kindle, Barnes and Noble's Nook, and the Sony ereader are the best known of theses, although there are a dozen more out there. These gadgets were developed with a single objective in mind: to create a portable electronic “book” that is a close reproduction of the normal reading experience, while adding the convenience of electronic ordering and downloading, and the ability to alter font size. The Kindle also has a text to speech feature that allows the ereader to actually read to you. Ereaders with wifi and/or cellular modems also allow for limited web surfing. Some also allow the playing of music or podcasts from files downloaded onto the device. The e-ink screen, while excellent for reading, does not lend itself to video viewing, and is black and white. You can't make phone calls on an ereader.
Smart phones are, primarily, telephones. They also have the ability to run programs, called “apps”, that give them a functionality that approaches that of a small computer. You can download a Kindle app or a Nook app that allows you to access your ebook library and read on your cell phone anything you have bought for your ereader. The screen is very small, so reading a book on a smart phone is very much like reading it as a series of newspaper articles one column wide and three inches long. It's not totally annoying, but it falls far short of a real book-reading experience. The screen is also hard to see in bright sunlight. As for using the smart phone as a computer – it can be done, but not well. In addition to the small screen and the on-screen or very tiny pull out keyboard, the various apps (especially on the iPhone) mostly don't communicate with each other. That means that unlike a computer, where a file or document created by one program can b e viewed or altered by another, the files created by any app are in their own silo, and are mostly not accessible to other apps. In addition, many of the programs you have grown to depend upon may not be available as smart phone apps, nor are there smartphone equivalents. Internet access is usually available both through the cellular network and wifi, allowing web surfing and email reading and creating.
Finally, the tablets. These are, indeed, small, light, highly portable computers, specially engineered to go a long time before recharging compared to laptops or netbooks. They typically have relatively small screens (5”, 7” or 10”), and run either iOS, Apple's iPhone operating system, or Android, a Google-created Linux variant. The iPad has the same advantages and disadvantages we saw with the iPhone: on the plus side, if Apple lets something run on the iPad, it will work, and work smoothly; on the minus side, it is overpriced, and has the same siloing drawbacks as the iPhone. The Android tablets are still very new, and only have a relatively small number of apps as yet, and the apps store universe is fragmented. As ereaders, the tablets are way more successful than smart phones are. The screen size makes reading comfortable, and Kindle and Nook reader apps are available, or becoming so. Actually the tablets are superior to ereaders (except the large-format Kindle DX) in reading magazines and newspaper content. Of course, there is still the problem of use in bright sunlight. As a phone, the format is not designed for that, although as more and more of the tablets get cellular connectivity, use as a phone with a wired or bluetooth earpiece is certainly possible.
So, what of the future? As you can see, there is an enormous amount of functional overlap among these three gadget types. Eventually there will be convergence. With the release of the color Nook, we are seeing an ebook reader with tablet screen capabilities. Barnes and Noble is considering adding apps to its color reader. Ultimately, the only things standing in the way of the convergence of ereader and tablet are screen technology and price. Already, tablets have been released to the market that are competitive in price with ereaders. The screen problems (outdoor use and battery life) will surely be resolved in the near future. The dedicated reader will expand to be, or be replaced by, the tablet.
The small-format smart phone will probably survive on its own, although the larger ones (Droid X size, for example) will be indistinguishable from the small sized, 5 inch tablet. Ultimately, there will be two types of gadget where there are now four: small phones and tablets of various sizes will occupy the space now filled by small phones, large phones, tablets and ereaders. It's also possible that tablets will, cannibalize the netbook market as well.
New York Stringer is published by NYStringer.com. For all communications, contact David Katz, Editor and Publisher, at david@nystringer.com