We need a real handheld computer, who will build one? Apple of course

It’s a great time to be a handheld PC enthusiast, not because there are so many good devices to choose from, because I don’t think there are, but because public awareness of handheld PCs are at an all-time high. Consumers have to be aware of the genre, understand the utility of it, and actually want one before the handheld will ever take off like I think it could.  Just yesterday I was using the HTC Advantage in a coffee shop and the waitress came over to the table and asked me if it was one of those "OQO computers".  The fact that it wasn’t doesn’t matter, it’s that a "regular" person knew what an OQO was and felt that it would be useful for her.  What would be really cool is if there was a handheld computer that really worked the way it should.

What’s a handheld computer need to do?

I should clarify my earlier statement that I don’t think there are a lot of good handheld PC devices to choose from.  There are in fact quite a few devices with more being released all the time. It’s just that I don’t think they are as good as they need to be to do their intended job.  Most all of them being sold today are based on Windows, and that’s a dead-end road.  Not just Vista, which is the pits for mobile devices, but XP too.  Why?  A number of reasons.  Windows is too big and too resource-intensive.  Mobile computers will never do well with a bunch of things running in the background.  It hits performance and battery life too much and handheld devices need all day batteries, or at least most of the day.  They will never take off en masse until consumers feel comfortable that they can use them all day without charging.  Let’s face it, devices used in the hands are not very usable if they have to be plugged in a lot.  Another reason why Windows is not a good platform for handheld devices is that security concerns means Windows needs to be updated regularly.  That just doesn’t work with handhelds that need to come out of the box ready to go and keep working that way indefinitely.  Wouldn’t you be so much happier if your device never needed updating?  OK, not never but seldom.  You bet you would and you’d get your work done without unnecessary delays like system updates, especially those updates that break something.

Performance needs to be adequate too, no matter what the user is doing.  The core usage scenario for handheld mobile PCs is pretty simple.  Users want to check email, surf the web, and work with documents.  This isn’t all that comprehensive a scenario but it is essential that handheld computers do this and do it flawlessly.  That means without errors, without system slow-downs (or stoppages), and without killing the battery too fast.  These particular uses are what people are doing maybe 90% of the time they are mobile.  Sure they do other things too and these devices need to do those things too but if you don’t get the core usage down properly then you are just spinning your wheels.  One thing is certain- you have to do these core things without compromise or you fail to meet customer expectations.

How can handhelds meet customer needs?

So we’ve looked at the core usage requirements, what’s the best way to do them with a handheld device?  This may raise a few eyebrows but the best way to do the core functions is with an embedded operating system.  Yep, you heard me.  Windows isn’t working well on mobile PCs so that’s out.  We have Linux gaining ground, especially with Intel pushing their Mobile Internet Device (MID) based on Linux. There’s a false sense of accomplishment when people discuss Linux-based devices because we invariably think that open source= good.  It does but it’s not much different than Windows in this scenario.  While variants of Linux can be created to run "softer" than Windows, a version of Linux for mainstream handheld PC usage must be airtight simple for the end-user.  I haven’t seen a version of Linux yet that didn’t require a good amount of tweaking to get simple things done, and that will not work on these types of devices.  If you don’t believe me then you haven’t been watching the handheld space like I have.  We’ve had Linux-based PDAs and Internet appliances for years but they don’t catch on because most users can’t figure out how to make them do what they want.  For Linux to be a good handheld PC platform like the Intel MID, they must be airtight out of the box.

So maybe Intel will do this, right?  They can’t because they do not make the hardware.  This has been Microsoft’s problem forever with both Windows and Windows Mobile and it will be Intel’s problem too.  They can build the OS kernel as good as they can but since most of the hardware will be built, installed and sold by someone else we’ll have the same mish-mash of hardware support and driver instability and all of the other bad things we’ve become all too familiar with.  Handheld computers must be rock-solid stable through the work day and the only way for a company to produce such a device is to control all parts of the design, including hardware, operating system, applications and specifications.  That’s a pretty big limiting factor.

Why am I so sure that the OS needs to be embedded?  That’s because a real handheld PC needs to be instant-on in the field.  Standby and resume schemes that are used currently are just not good enough to provide the usage experience that is needed in a handheld PC. It is imperative that there be no waiting for the device to wake up and get started and an embedded OS is the best way to do so.  Put the OS kernel in ROM so that the working system is always there when needed and using ROM has security benefits as malware cannot change it with bad intent.  Operating systems in ROM run faster on lower capable hardware and this is exactly what is needed for a good handheld PC. Having the OS in ROM would also allow the handheld to start reaching the critical all-day battery life.

The solid state disk (SSD) can play a role here too for data storage but not for the OS itself.  We need the OS to be a part of the device as it would be embedded, and not installed on what appears to be a hard drive.  Sure SSDs are memory and not hard drives but systems today see them as drives and they can be erased or compromised by mal intent.  No, I am convinced that embedded is the way to go. 

So who will make the first "real" handheld computer?

Apple.  There are very few companies who can design and produce the handheld PC like I’ve indicated in this article, in fact there are only two.  Microsoft is one and I believe that if the Redmond giant ever took on this task they would produce a killer handheld PC.  Let’s face it, they are operating system experts and they control the office document space with Office so they could integrate this into a handheld in a dynamite way.  I’m talking embedded Office to go with the embedded OS on our super handheld.  That opens so many exciting possibilities that it makes my pulse race when I think of all of that potential. Unfortunately Microsoft doesn’t make hardware more complicated than a mouse or keyboard and they’re not going to make any type of "WinHand" device.  They have too many anti-trust worries whenever they take on something like this and I don’t think they’d do it.

That’s why it has to be Apple.  Cupertino now has the hardware design, communications experience, OS kernel expertise to produce an awesome handheld computer.  I am talking about a current-day Newton handheld, but one that is a full computer.  The form is not that important as long as it’s small enough to be used in the hands.  Apple can leverage its technologies from the MacBook, iPod, iPhone and iTunes to build a fantastic handheld PC.  It would work out of the box like Apple’s other products because they control every aspect of the device from design to production.  Apple could also bring virtualization to the table, so even if they developed an embedded OS that is based on Mac OS X they could leverage the ability to run other OSes if the consumer wished.  No other company can produce a product like this and that’s why Apple gets my vote for the producer of the first "real" handheld computer.  Let’s hope Steve Jobs reads jkOnTheRun because I challenge him and Apple to do one.