Well after a few conversations with people at the MEDC I suddenly realised that although I don't own a MS Smartphone and never have, I probably never will go out and buy one... It is not as though they don't look smart and stylish but I just can't get to grips with their interface. For me it is just not usable. I don't like the input methods, I hate browsing the web on them, and configuring them for vpn access to collect e-mail... need I say more...
Anyway... I am now awaiting the day that a Smartphone turns up and tries to entice me to play with it. I did happen to see a rather nice, small for PPC device that I liked... but it's not even in production yet. :( Why is it that I always want what I can't have... The device that is cute, small, sexy, smart and does everything from gps to wifi as well as phone, good quality camera and 3g.... oh wait a minute... that would kill the competition and be a very cool device that would be expensive to manufacture... that would be it, and where could the manufacturers go from there? (OS updates, softwares... hmm... battery research :) )
So is it possible to convert me from a simple very basic Symbian phone which I use solely for phone calls and txt's to something to browse the web, collect e-mails etc? Possibly... firstly it should not cost me any more than my current contract of £20/month inc 100sms and 500mins free off peak... (I rarely use my phone in the day) Since I don't use data transfer I don't want to pay for it... so why would I get a phone that uses it ;) I am looking for a solid business case for the general user to access the net and their personal e-mail... not company stuff...
I challenge the phone manufacturers, the network providers and the OS vendors to create me a phone that costs me nothing more than my current monthly bill but makes me need it for all sorts of different things other than just a phone... the question is do they dare to take up the challenge. ;)
Think of me as the most critical of users... I am the nightmare customer... I want it all and want to pay little for it... how would you satisfy my needs... (the never ending battle of the mobile markets ;) )