Fellas, I get where you’re coming from. And I’ll acquiesce on the HWR as a part of this pie-in-the-sky PDA because it would be neat to have my class notes transformed into something legible, but I still don’t think its a priority. And my view of this PDA is as an extension of the desktop, not a replacement. That’s why I’m promoting basic functions adhering to standards instead of opting for watered down versions of desktop apps.

I’ll agree that typing while trying to relax is counterintuitive, but in order to really replace pen and pad the PDA has to be almost the size of a tablet, and that’s not a PDA. I see no real easy way to input text, so I’m opting for the most efficient thinking that it would provide the least interference while writing. I could be wrong here, but I don’t think so.

Beyond that I think we are saying basically the same thing, except I’m emphasizing simplicity to the point where I’m omitting HWR.

My philosophy here is to replace a notebook and pen. It has to have all of the basic features of a notebook and pen and be just as reliable (then we enhance it to make the new technology better and worth having. Think word processor over typewriter.). A 98% accuracy rate on HWR is not reliable enough. I need to either be able to decipher my own scratchings or the computer needs to be 100%. To that end, Graffitti is better suited because it does its converion by the character. I want to be able to write on the screen, this is goodness, but HWR really does need to be rethought.

On 2001-08-22 21:53, someToast wrote:
Now if we went with a larger form-factor, and the screen was sensitive enough, durable enough (and wipeable enough), how about an on-screen keyboard with audible feedback that could be optionally displayed? Wazoo! Shades of the Okudagrams in Star Trek! (or at the very least, shades of my first computer, an Atari 400 )

You had an Atari? So did I! Great computers. I had the 800. Remember Star Raiders? That was the game that made me buy Atari in the first place.

Back in the days when I worked for IBM, our R&D demoed a tablet running OS/2 that had a touch senitive keyboard that you could call up whenever you needed it. Obviously there was no tactile feedback but there was audion feedback and it worked surprisingly well. Touch typists had problems with it because they depend on tactile feedback. In this case though, I think you’re right. This is a PDA we’re talking about, so a screen keyboard would prolly be ok. I’d buy on. (Especially if I could play Star Raiders on it)

Okay, at first I thought I was imagining stuff, but now I’m sure someone’s changing the thread title.

As for me, I’d be perfectly delighted with any PDA that handles GSM mobile and uses i-Mode Internet (instead of WAP) standard, not with some add-on modem or needing to carry an IR-capable handset, and not like the Nokia Communicator with its dinky chiclet keyboard and its brick factor.  I like the Palm OS.  I’ve been using TealScript on my Palm to replace a lot of Graffiti strokes with my own handwriting, so I’m getting darn good at pen input.

i-Mode rocks.  Rather than only being able to comfortably view sites that have an optimisation for handhelds or a WML-coded area, it interprets standard HTML. Naturally, most European carriers (and the US) picked WAP, not i-Mode, so I guess it’s not going to happen that way.