The New York Times‘ “Bits” blog today posed a question whose premise, I believe, bodes well for smartbooks. That is, why can’t computers work more like smartphones?
The blog specifically compared the simplicity of the iPhone to the complexity of Windows and, yes, even the Mac OS. “Both operating systems are still pretty geeky and difficult for many computer users to navigate,” the blog notes. “The iPhone…is the epitome of simplicity. You control it by touching the screen – an intuitive interface that even a toddler can figure out.”
As a Mac, Windows and iPod Touch user and mother to a four-year old, I will not argue any of those points. But why stop at the iPhone comparison? I test drove an Android-based Motorola Droid and found it just as easy to use as the iPhone, the interface as appealing and simple to navigate.
With smartbooks, companies like Qualcomm are trying to emulate the best of the smartphone experience: instant on, always connected, easy navigation. HP’s Android-based AirLife smartbook has received positive early reviews for these attributes. One ding against the AirLife, which will not initially be sold in the U.S., is that it does not support Google’s Android app marketplace but rather relies on the app store of its wireless carrier partner Telefonica.
My hunch is that HP will change its tune if it decides to sell the AirLife in the U.S., as no stateside wireless carrier has had any real success with its own app marketplace.
It’s abundantly clear that computer makers are migrating consumer-oriented systems toward more smartphone-like OS’s. Apple’s iPad, which is more of a computer than anything else, won’t run the MacOS but the iPhone OS; several computer makers are considering Chrome OS or Android for next generation netbooks. Why? Because these OS’s are lightweight, much easier to use, faster than desktop OS’s, and are built to support Web apps.
There are few companies more invested in the concept of merging the best of smartphones and the best of mobile computing than Qualcomm.
So when the Times asks why computers can’t work more like phones, the answer is they can and they will.
Lisa
