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Jean-Louis Gassée Column

Sub-PC vs. Appliances August 16, 2000 We look at the Internet today through the eye of the PC. That is, the vast majority of devices connected to the Web are personal computers running Microsoft Explorer in the Windows or MacOS version. There are other good browsers, including Opera's, which we like so much we use it for BeOS and BeIA. For todays Internet browsing, though, it's pretty much a Microsoft world. This de facto monopoly influences the way we think. There is a tendency to equate IP-enabled appliances with a subset of the PC life form -- sub-PCs. This is not a new argument but it acquires more substance when we look at a genre of appliances loosely called "PDAs" or "organizers" and particularly, connected organizers. The most successful ones are based on the Palm platform, with Handspring (from the creators of the Palm Pilot) and Palm Inc., recently spun off by 3Com. (This, by the way, removes an earlier conflict of interest: while I'm still associated with 3Com, I no longer have a Palm connection -- other than my happy use of a Palm VII.) In contrast to their Windows CE-powered competition, Pocket PCs honestly deserve the name. In the CE device -- such as the Cassiopeia E115 I just purchased -- the sub-PC view from Seattle is very much in evidence. It is a powerful device, priced around $600, with a great color screen and a better battery than the previous model. It offers a Compact Flash II slot with a sweet detail: the machine comes with two little stickers you can affix to your CF II cards, which makes them much easier to extract for klutzes like yours truly. I could go on with various "buts," such as handwriting recognition and synchronization, but one big "but" overrides them all: Microsoft tried to cram the features and UI of a PC inside a PDA. Making a virtue out of a vice, or preempting comment, MS marketers call this kind of connected organizer a Pocket PC, informing us what to expect in terms of manageability, ease of use, and roach-motel tactics with other MS products such as Outlook. I won't dwell too much on the contrast with Palm because the difference is well known. Palm's success is built on the fact that it was designed as an organizer, not as a sub-PC, hence the simplicity and the agility -- now with an antenna and lower prices. There are other worthy examples of connected devices without the shackles of PC-ness. We see IP-enabled cell phones emerge in this country and in Europe, with arguments around the performance of WAP (Wireless Access Protocol) riding on an aging cellular circuit-switching technology. In Japan there are the more modern DoCoMo packet-switched I-mode phones, successful beyond NTT's dreams. Closer to home and to PDAs we have the newest Blackberry devices. Initially, these were seen as fancy text pagers but, one software revision led to another, and they now synchronize addresses and appointments with your desktop PC, send and receive e-mail using the BellSouth wireless network, and get more Web information through third parties such as Oracle Mobile. In the past few months, I've seen them pop up around conference rooms like Palm Pilots used to, and Compaq just announced that it will brand and distribute a Blackberry device. Score another success for an independent, legacy-free approach to the Internet and connected devices. As hard as it might be to drop the PC model when addressing the opportunities of the Web Appliance space, more and more players are looking at the Internet through new eyes.

Past Columns: March 7, 2001 Intemperance Makes the Suit Look Bad February 7, 2001 The Web Device of Choice at Home January 17, 2001 Transfer of Power December 6, 2000 One Step Closer November 15, 2000 Thoughts on Comdex 2000 November 1, 2000 Watching the Pendulum October 4, 2000 Plus çà change... September 6, 2000 Connected Appliances: A Field Report August 16, 2000 Sub-PC vs. Appliances July 12, 2000 The Victim Microsoft June 7, 2000 The Power of Words May 31, 2000 The First Be Shareholders Meeting May 24, 2000 Intellectual Property and Internet Appliances May 17, 2000 Spreading the Virus May 10, 2000 Numbers and Feedback May 3, 2000 Manufacturing Consent

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