Now it’s time to keep going, learn from the past and keep up the great work Kevin. You are doing a terrific work here.

Carlos

“Is the Nokia 770 the best mobile device since sliced bread? Of course not, and neither is the Samsung Q1 UPMC that I use all day, every day.”

Your pretend ideas of comparing sliced-bread with the iPod are flawed in so many ways that it isn’t funny! If your “iPod / slice bread” analogy is such that they are both at an “evolutionary state of perfection”, why has Apple applied for pattens that has people salivating for the touch-screen video iPod? Why are people hoping and going without food for the “iPod bread-crumb news” coming from S. Jobs at the WWDC? Reason why, the iPod isn’t perfect. There are many ways that the portable media market can be taken to the “next-level” (e.g. HD Video @720p or higher)

The thing is that people believe that only S. Jobs can provide an alternative to make the iPod better. Anyone else who does the same thing would be seen as unimportant and not “cool”.

One thing I do notice is that the standard “reviews” from columnists are usually not very useful, except for the occassional mugshots they offer.

I find real-user reviews more useful, especially when the user has used it in an intended scenario as I want to for a few weeks.

I won’t have to point out the many flaws in your original post, but if you have that much time on your hands to report on something like this, you could be using your time much more wisely doing a review, helping inform readers, rather than telling other people the flaws in their reviews.

Clearly, I failed. For those that supported my expression of opinion, I do appreciate it. For those that are keeping me honest with constructive criticism: I appreciate that as well. There are plenty of good and valid points in this discussion and in the end, I’m glad there was lively discussion and passion.

If I could undo this post, I probably would so that it’s toned down. I’m not planning to do that however as this is a nice lesson learned for me.

One point to touch upon: there are some valid comments about the WSJ audience and our “niche” audience. They’re accurate comments. My thought is that the Tablet / UMPC / handheld space will continue to be a niche market if the public continues to get information from folks without heavy experience with these devices. My hope is to change that so that these markets are not considered “niche” in the near future. If my passion for that comes across too strong, well…it’s just something I’ll need to work on.

Lastly, this post and discussion has weighed heavy on my mind since the very first comment. If you have any doubts, you’ll hear it in my voice on the next MoTR show as we recorded it last night about two hours after this post. I definitely wasn’t myself and I think it’s evident in the show. I only mention this so that folks don’t think I took their comments lightly; I definitely took ‘em to heart. Thank you!

In short: it would be bad if all computer reviews in this world were done by people fresh out of MIT. It would be bad if all hi-fi devices were only reviewed by people writing for Audio magazine (insert local brand name of hi-fi magazine with religious attitude). Most people can’t really relate to the perspective of these experts/zealots, and if a certain technology is supposed to move out of a niche market at some point, we desperately need more normal people to take a look at it and let us know their opinion.

Mossberg is rare as he is a tech guy who is anti-geek. His audience is business people who want practicality, not “look at this cool toy.”
Truth is Kev, UMPCs arent appealing to his core audience…..yet. Walt is absolutely correct.

His audience doesnt care that you can buy VGA smartphone in Norway, England, and Japan, or some bozo on Ebay for a grand.
Technically he is incorrect you are right, but if you go to a typical US store the Treo is likely the highest rez smartphone. Thats all that matters to his audience

You say “he doesn’t understand”
That my freind is the point.

As a final point, even ubber tiny gadget freak James wont buy a current UMPC.
And he has been screaming for that form Factor.
While James expressed similar disappointment with Mossbergs comments on UMPCs I find it funny that when push comes to shove, dude aint got one.
As much complaining as there was on the “no keyboard” comment Walt made guess what?
Slate warrior, James wont get a slate without an attachable keyboard.

Think about it Kevin, if something like that affects enthusiast geek Kendrick, choices, don’t you think your average WSJ reader will be even more inclined to more familiar import methods?

Notice Mossberg concludes his take on UMPCs with a line that implied hopefulness that maybe next time they’ll get it right.
Not so much a flawed concept period, just not ready for prime time is the take I get.
It aint all bad.

Taking into account his audience, his take on UMPCs The Nokia tablet and most mobile devices are on target in my view.

David Pogue another WS] guy, geek bloggers hate.
Do you think its a coincidence that the tech guys there tend to have the same take?
We aren’t their audience.
Understanding the needs of the WSJ audience its easy to “get” why they have the viewpoints they have.

If you have followed Walt’s work, you know that he’s been using mobile devices for a long time (and writing about them), so I don’t know how to interpret your comparsion of him writing about mobile devices is like you writing about mainframes.

I’ve been visiting this site for a while now and generally enjoyed the posts. I hope this one is an exception and we can look forward to more interesting topics instead of bashing people for their opinions.

As for Mossberg the reviews I have read suck.

A vote for Kevin is a vote for mobile tech sense.

I agree with Walt on just about every issue with the 770. I would add that the software selection is very weak. He seemed to give the device a fair shakedown.

It seems that as bright as Walt is Kevin and most people who come to this site know quite a bit more about mobile devices.