Stephen Manes of PCWorld.com wants more keyboards.
Many people have written about it and I too, strongly believe that UMPC’s need keyboards. Take the Psion 5 and Sharp S-CL3200 designs as examples.
However, unlike Stephen Manes, Stephen Paine wants keyboards, touch-screen input, speech input, configurable buttons and a mouse pointer on his UMPC. A device that allows freedom from a desk, should also allow freedom of choice for input mechanisms.
Regards
Steve / Chippy
Ladies and Gentlemen, clicking the link above will take you to proof positive of the biggest issue facing the computing industry today: morons who write articles for major computing publications. These brain-dead authors somehow manage to convince people they have some kind of knowledge of the industry, despite having no practical experience whatsoever. Then, when they don’t “get it”, they complain about how something is “boneheaded”. Look in the mirror, Stevie-boy, to see the real bonehead.
Here’s a clue: portable devices are supposed to be PORTABLE! That means sacrificing some functionality in order to allow mobility. Entering information into them should be rare and brief. They are not there for you to write one of your mind-bogglingly stupid articles on. Schlep a regular laptop if that’s what you want to do.
Following that dictum, keyboards then become a waste of weight and increase in uneccessary functionality. For those of us who prefer their portable devices to not have uneccessary bits, getting rid of the keyboard is usually the first step. As you pointed out in your article, you are not completely exempt from attaching one at a later date. Carrry around one of those tiny little roll-up keyboards and then just SHUT UP!
These guys will be first up against the wall when the revolution comes.
Sorry to be so harse, but ever since Dvorak first put useless misinformation to paper, every cockroach who can type thinks they’re a computer article writer.