Once upon a time, my telephone did one thing: make telephone calls.
Now, my telephone does many different things. It takes photos. It’s a GPS. It lets me play Doodle Jump. My cell phone is like a digital Swiss Army knife. Designers call this “convergence.” But does packing all that functionality into a single gadget make it better?
In the consumer electronics world, it seems we’re seeing two concurrent trends: one towards convergence, and another moving away from it. While smartphones and netbooks and tablet computers may pack more functions per square inch, there’s also a move towards “do one thing really well” devices such as Amazon’s Kindle or the Flip video camera.
This week, Nora will talk to two designers about this the relative merits of single-purpose and multi-function devices. Bill Buxton and Jared Spool will drop by the Spark studios to share their thoughts and experiences with designing these sorts of tools.
We’d love to include some of your thoughts and questions in the discussion. Do you have a single-purpose device that you can’t live without? Or do you love that your camera and your telephone are the same device? Leave your thought in the comments, or dial 1-877-347-7275 toll free in Canada.
[Original image by IK's World Trip]
I recently got an iPhone for work. Yes, an iPhone for work. My boss thought I should get a Blackberry but after doing some research I found both could do what I needed for my job and I was able to convince him on getting me the iPhone.
Where I see the potential is being able to take pictures out in potato fields and have them instantly on the web. My customers and potential customers can get real-time updates of issues in the field and what we are seeing by going to our Facebook page. The Facebook page is linked from our main website ( http://www.growerssupply.ca ). Growers can look at it without a Facebook account or for those in the younger generation (and some in the older) who have an account they can just check it when they are on Facebook or see it in their news feed.
Other things we have thought of are using the GPS feature to mark points we want to come back to look at, mark our where all our fields are so that a co-worker can go look at it, and even be able to use the GPS to track each other so if someone gets hurt and can't contact the others we will be able to find them quicker.
Scott.
I don't think it's so much about a device that has multifunctions on it as it is about how we choose to use the functions. I watch my students at college attempt to task several different functions at one time (i.e. msning, checking out images on facbook, maybe trying to do some research online, maybe talking on their phone or texting) and in my opinion they don't do any of them with any real depth. I think we need to pay attention to the type of function (cognitive or associative) and then we would make much better choices about how to use multifunctional devices. Where cognitive function is required in the task (tasks that require thinking or concentration), humans can only complete one task at a time. Where associative function is adequate (mutliple tasks happening simultaneously that require little concentration i.e. talking on the phone and unloading the dishwasher) multiple tasks can completed at one time. So where some depth/understanding/comprehension/thinking is required, regardless of how many functions our device allows, if we want any intellectual quality in the exchange, then only one thing can happen at a time.
Really interesting perspective, Val. What both you and Scott Gillespie, above, are suggesting is a more nuanced idea of the context that surrounds the device, which is something I hadn't really thought of.
Whether single-purpose or multi-purpose really does not matter; what matters is the ability to store and retrieve information – and for that – please – ensure open standards are followed. Two of many reasons:
1) Recently I was asked by someone at NASA to get some 3D models running on his Mac; these models were written in an old standard, probably the first real cross-platform graphics standard, VRML-1. I write an open-source 3D Viewer that renders the successors to VRML-1; it was actually quite easy to google for the VRML-1 standard, implement the required functionality, and voila! some NASA space station models came to life.
2) Years ago the historian for CP Rail (Omer Lavalee) was overheard saying "photographs get more valuable as they get older".
In the digital age; it is the data that is important and contains potential longevity; the actual device matters less.
Thanks;
John A. Stewart
Team Leader: Networked Virtual and Augmented Reality
alex.stewart@crc.ca
Network Systems and Technologies –
Systemes et technologies des reseaux
Communications Research Centre Canada |
Centre de recherches sur les communications Canada
I've always had the impression that multifunction [anythings] are the ultimate compromise for people who are happy to get merely 'ok' performance out of whatever had been magically combined for them. I think back to the joys of the high school 'cafetorium', which always smelled of french fry grease during assemblies. Our cafeteria tables converted to uncomfortable benches to sit on during presentations by the faculty, but it never really felt like an 'auditorium'.
Same with my iPhone. Yes, it takes photos. No, they're not good photos.
Same with my swiss army knife, similar to the one pictured in this blog post. It has a screwdriver, but I dare you to try to assemble an office chair with it.
The trick is that I think we lower our expectations when we see an all-in-one anything…be it shampoo, a phone, or a printer. And I think that's fine. Real photographers will buy real cameras, real carpenters will buy real screwdrivers, and real auditoriums won't have plastic tray racks next to the doors.
One of the things I want to talk to Bill and Jared about is whether we've reached a new stage in mobile design now that we have apps for cell phones…ie, if you can customize the tools you put on your phone with your preferred single-purpose apps, rather than just taking whatever the maker of the phone decided to stick on it.
If Jared's actually in studio with you, get him to do a card trick.
I would consider my laptop as an all-in-one device in the sense that I do most everything that you can do with a netbook or a smartphone, and then some. (Of course, having it run Ubuntu with QEMU, Wine and VirtualBox installed also helps as it combines the functionality of at least four PCs in one machine!
I have considered purchasing one of those Flip digital video cameras, but then I thought, what does that do that my Cybershot DSC-H10 cannot do? First, my Cybershot has a Zeiss lens, whereas the Flip camera does not. Also, the H10 can take movies suitable for uploading to YouTube.
Sometimes, all-in-ones are beneficial, especially when it comes to Hewlett-Packard's all-in-one devices. For the past three years, I have had a PSC2175 that performs well at scanning, copying and printing.
When it comes to cellular phones, I prefer to use cellular phones as phones with a built-in phone book. Yes, my phone has a camera, but the quality of the picture is quite minimal, I can transfer data between the phone and my laptop via a Bluetooth connection using utilities supplied with the GNOME desktop. Here, I can supply my own wallpapers.
Of course, I have no interest in an iPhone as I already have a iPod Nano (2nd Generation), and there is nothing on an iTouch or an iPhone that I cannot do with my Ubuntu-powered laptop and my cellular phone.
(If I wanted a smart phone, I would purchase one that runs Android, as I have a software developers kit for Android. Also, Linux is required for Android development as Android was built on Linux, as was the Palm Pre, the Palm Pixi, and several other smartphones.)
This is e-x-a-c-t-l-y the concept that has been driving me nuts the past 2 months.
I have 5 tools that I use every day (phone, digital camera, tape recorder, thumb drive, mp3 player). It is a hassle to load up and move each one every morning.
Yet . . . they all do their specific jobs very well.
Every attempt to combine them into one thing (Palm Pre, iPhone) has not worked well for me because of the design.
I can use each of these tools almost by feel alone. In a *swiss army version* I have to actually look each time I want to use one, and can only use one at a time.
Yes, there is nothing quite as thrilling as driving along using the tape recorder while snapping a shot of my usb while listening to my music. (Joking, of course!)
I agree with you – I still have a "real" camera with me so that I can take higher quality images for use later on. However, when I can take a picture and have it uploaded right away rather than later on (and not having to hook up the camera and get the images off), that's valuable to me.
Actually that's one of the reasons I wanted the iPhone – so many more apps than Blackberry. I know my iPhone could do a 1000 other things but I really only need it to do a few.
Heh! Actually, he'll be in an NPR studio in the US.
One reason to prefer some separation of devices at the moment is battery life. I'd feel awfully silly not being able to make an important phone call because I killed my battery playing video games on my phone. Until the point where I never have to worry about running out of battery life, I prefer a distinct device for *essential* functionality.
No multi-purpose tool will usurp the place of a specialized tool that does one or a few related items very well. One uses a swiss army knife while engaged in pursuits where it's not possible to carry a toolbox, not to complete a bathroom renovation. In the same manner, using my iPhone is ideal for quick tasks where I may not have my digital SLR, my Flip, or my notebook – tools which would absolutely do the job better, but doom me to being a sherpa if I was carrying them all.
Where tools become indispensable is when you use them at work and in your personal life. My iPhone is increasingly important to me as a tool, a social device, and an extension of my brain.
I use it all day at work – constantly using the phone, contacts, email, and calendar. I also use the camera for photos on the go – perhaps of problems I see in the field for my work where I need to pass this info on to others to resolve them. A picture is worth a thousand words, here. I also use TomTom and Google Maps to find my way around to client sites.
In my personal life, I use the camera for taking pictures of a new restaurant I don't want to forget or of a book a friend might like, and I save it to Evernote. I use the ipod for music, free audiobooks, podcasts, and sometimes to rent movies from iTunes when I travel. I use Wunderadio to hear radio from around the world wherever I may be. I use SplashID to track over 100 logins and passwords. I update my ziplist when I return movies to zip.ca. I tweet, read and search Twitter using Tweetie, I check IMDB to figure out what movie River Phoenix was in with Harrison Ford when I can't remember it. I show friends that stupid Youtube video at lunch that only they haven't seen. I use Flixster to find out what movies are on at the local theatre. I use Remote to Control my iTunes at home connected to my stereo. I read books in Stanza when I end up waiting for someone unexpectedly.
Add to these uses the fact that my phone is automatically recognized by my car, can play music through the stereo and pass my phone book to my car. It connects to my home pc to play music as a remote, and it connects to my work and home notebooks to tether me to the internet.
Believe it or not. I could go on. I was going to say my iPhone's not that important to me, but looking back through this post, I'm somewhat surprised how much I use it. These things are insidious!
I love that my new Blackberry phone has a camera – my Facebook friends are now inundated with mediocre pics of my non-mediocre children…
I'm a little odd in that I carry two devices with me at all times – my Blackberry and my iPod Touch. Their both 80/20 devices – the iPod is 80% entertainment and 20% "work" while the Blackberry is the inverse. There are only a few things I do on both: Twitter and Facebook among them. Aside from those few things, the BB is strictly a phone/txt/email/gps device. It's a workhorse that gets me through the day. The iPod makes my day more enjoyable – music and podcasts on the way to work, a game or two at lunch, and music/games with the kiddies in the evening followed by the inevitable "web browsing in front of the TV" later on.
I rather like not having a phone in the iPod (ie: an iPhone) because it means that I can let the kidlets play games on it without worrying that they'll call my boss. I would also feel odd listening to music on my phone/email device, though I can't articulate why.
I like device convergence, but there exists (at least for me) a clearly defined fault line between work and play.
I have a similar Touch/BB situation in my life, Colin. I find it very helpful to have 'bridging' tools like Google Sync, so that I can link BB calendar and iCal up with Google calendar.
I always liked the approach the Flight of the Conchords took to their camera phone: http://www.hbo.com/conchords/img/showyourlove/fun…
I *can* do most everything I need to with my iPhone, if I want to take a picture/video, I grab my Canon Powershot. If I want to take a *good* picture, I reach for my manual Pentax K1000, that I bought for 75 bucks at a consignment store in downtown Edmonton.
The irony is that the iPhone, the latest do-all-be-all gadget, has been soundly criticized for only being able to do one thing at a time. Now not only do we expect to be able to do a bazillion different things with one device, we expect to be able to do all of them AT ONCE.
That said, the real value of multifunction devices is not only in doing many things, but in doing many related things in succession to form a whole greater than the sum of its devices. For example, if I have a digital camera and a digital cell phone in my pockets, I can take pictures OR get on the internet, but I still have to go home in order to put the pictures I took on the internet. With a camera phone, I can upload the pictures right away. They may be lousy quality, but that's often an acceptable trade-off.
It's easy to condemn multifunction devices for being masters of none, but we don't always need mastery. Sometimes what we need lies not in the individual functions, but in the way in which those can be put together. And that's something that can't be replaced, no matter how many specialized devices you buy.
honestly i used to have a palm pilot. then it reset. then i flipped out. then i bought another one. same problem. then i bought an upgrade that i thought i would be soo much better. wrong, it started registering touchs 1/8" higher then where it was being touched. oh and there was a dead spot smack dab in the middle where i stabbed with the stylus out of frustration. now. at one point the palm pilots i had contained all the phone numbers, schedules and written notes and best of all on the fly notes i thought i ever needed. now i rely on good ol paper. paper dayplanner. phone numbers are logged in my lg shine that will most likely never reset. so though i do appreciate multi use devices, i appreciate and utilize devices capable of a few or 1 thing.
though mu cell phone does play mp3 the navigation is horrendous compared to an ipod. other than play music the only other thing i use my ipod for is breif text files. thats it. why would ii want to look at photos or watch movies on a screen the size of a postage stamp? when i have a 15" laptop.
by the way i do have a swiss army knife and i love it, iit has helped me out in numerous jams whether that is being out and about in the city doin the 9–5 thing or during the summer when i camp and travel around from small town to small town doing henna tattoos for festival folk.my only regret is that i did have one sooner! that reminds me: last summer at the morden corn and apple festival a guy whose gf was getting a henna tattoo saw my swiss army knife hanging off my belt loop and asked "what kind of swiss is that"? to which i replied "huh"? after him clarifying i said i dont know…the $30 one!“. i suppose it has its own culture!
My guess is that everyone replying here is using their main multi-functional device to do it. The extra functionality derived initially from the hardware, but almost every modern system already has all the required components: interactive display, connectivity, microphone, speaker and camera. While the quality of those components is often minimal compared to a dedicated device, it’s improving the quality of the applications (the interactivity) that will drive even more acceptance and even better hardware. My laptop has always been a better voip phone than a dedicated set
On the other hand, the crazy patent regime is probably a bigger inhibitor of multi-funtionality than low-end hardware.
It is not just the devices that are converging, the content is converging as well: I love being able to geo-tag the photos I take with my iPhone and save them directly to facebook. I am using loseit, a food journal app for iPhone; it will send a reminder text message if I miss journalling a meal time and saves my journal entries to my online loseit account where I can share them with a nutrition advisor or print them on a regular printer.
Also, I try out a lot more technology because I have it on my iPhone: To use a flip-camerea, I first have to plan to take photos. To take photos with my iPhone, I only have to plan to be present. I also found Epocrates, an iPhone app that allows me to check interactions between prescription drugs an over-the-counter drugs – a growing consideration now that my wife and I are over 50.
Have you noticed the news stories of people getting into dangerous systems when trying to use a dedicated GPS device, but never with GPS on their phone? Yes, the phone GPS is technically inferior to the dedicated device. However, since it always with you, you use it enough to know how it works before you have to depend on it.
I own a HP Jornada 728 (google it) that does NOT make phone calls but it has woken me up in my travels for over 8 years. Decent keyboard size, touch screen, PC Card wi-fi card, 4 gig Compact flash card that holds LOTS of music, windows CE, 640×240 color screen, very good battery life, windows ce office (synchs w/ my Outlook) – calendaring, tasks, contacts.