I don't use my iPhone as a computer | Hacker News Reader

I don't use my iPhone as a computer

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50 pointsbdfh4230 comments

The big point for me is that although eee Pc is small, it doesn't fit in a pocket, so I wouldn't take it everywhere I go.

Because of this, phones still represent the future of ubiquitous computing.

No, the future of ubiquitous computing is represented by bigger pockets.

...But seriously, folks--I can squeeze the eee PC into a large cargo pocket, and walk with a Joker-ish hitch to my stride, but that doesn't even technically represent ubiquitous computing. It takes longer than 10 seconds to boot, and it's awkward to use while standing up, so if I've got 'em both on me I'll always default to the iPhone unless I need to type more than a paragraph, or do something the iPhone can't.

It depends on your usage pattern. I take the train to work and always get a seat, so by carrying my Eee I recover an 40-60 minutes a day.

If I had to stand up on the train, an Android phone or an E71 (or at last resort, an iPod) would be a much better choice.

Here's my take.

In your case, I would say the train with it's seats & 1 hr time period is more similar to an office scenario. Just like laptops extended the office to planes, long train rides & coffee shops Eee-like laptops extend the office further. The iphone is computing away from the office: The lift, the taxi, the meeting, the queue.

So to restate common wisdom: Whether or not you'll be able to work a spreadsheet or create a powerpoint on one is not as important as what new things you can/will do on one.

This guy implies using the Eee for calls, texts, music etc. I don't buy it.

They're the future of ubiquitous web surfing, not computing. There's still lots that you can do on a laptop that you cannot on a phone (and will be for quite some time) and much, much more than you maybe could do on a phone but it would be so uncomfortable that you'd rather stick a fork in your eye.

Seems to me that the issue here is input method. If someone comes up with an input method better than a keyboard, then the form-factor large enough for a keyboard looks far less attractive.

And the screen. Editing XLS files on a phone is brutal. I've done it. There are a lot of websites that I like being much larger than on an iPhone too.

There are already goggles that give you a virtual 30" screen. If they can figure out why some people get a headache and solve that, then "big enough for a keyboard" goes out the window.

How about a one-handed, wearable chording keyboard?

http://www.handykey.com

Actually, I believe wearables represent the future of ubiquitous computing, but I think phones will be a keystone of this story for a long time.

This is an interesting blog article that supports my hypothesis of how to fail in the AppStore. I think a lot of people forget the concept and purpose of a mobile device, and how closely it's tied to being PORTABLE, EASY TO USE, and/or relevant to the basic fundamentals of the phone.

Games/media tend to be the exception.

I do want to use my iPhone (or any mobile device) as a computer!

I was impressed with Dave's strong endorsement of the ASUS. However, the iPhone has raised the bar to a mindblowing level. This device is causing major shifts - high speed wireless is once again becoming hot; USA is finally catching up to the far east in terms of high speed 3G networks - all of which is further accelerating internet innovation.

Had it not been for the iPhone, we would still be messing around with boring devices like Blackberry and shitty laptops. This does not excuse their stupid decision to ban Alex Sokirynsky's cool podcasting app. But without them, our collective games would be much weaker.

USA is finally catching up to the far east in terms of high speed 3G networks - all of which is further accelerating internet innovation.

AT&Ts 3G network was pretty much the same before the iPhone came out. I was using 3G with a Windows Mobile phone long before the iPhone existed.

I use my iPhone primarily as a phone. You know, when I want to still be able to communicate with other people while I'm away from my computer. Do you really want to be that attached and dependent on computers?

Looks like society is really turning in the direction of science fiction novels.

That there is the point. A phone is something you have anyway. Everyone has one. You get it on a monthly plan. You use it to communicate. Even if an Eee does all your computing, you'd still have a phone in your pocket.

If your phone does all your computing, the Eee stays home. If your Eee does all your computing, the phone still comes. Unless, your Eee starts making calls, it's a extra.

People were carrying around big uncomfortable phones @ ridiculous call prices. Once they got one, it went everywhere. Laptops, even 1kg ones, are a sometimes food

Weird, I use my iPhone for everything but a phone, because, frankly, it sucks as a phone. Which is good, because I let it disrupt me less and am less likely to disrupt other people because I don't want to wait for it to unfreeze and then another 30 seconds it takes me to scroll through my contacts list and then thumb the fucking thing and then click on call.

And, shit, I don't even use it for email because it sucks for that too. I can't search. I have 5 email accounts for various things and I have to click 15 times to check them all, instead of a single view like the blackberry. Oh and I can't search. I mentioned that. Did I mention that? Yeah, I can't search. And when I click on a message I have to wait for the fucking webkit view to load before I can read it. I can't copy and paste addresses, I can't forward emails as sms's, I can't save attachments. SO awesome.

So yeah I use it for everything but email and the phone. And maybe SMS messaging too I do a lot less of because it's another slow cumbersome process that zaps the joy out of semi-realtime conversation. I love it when it craps out, and how it can't send in the background and those wonderfully stupid chat bubbles. I am not 12 years old.

So I don't really use it for anything other than browsing the web, tracking poker stats and playing Wurdle. I love Wurdle. I can play it until my thumbs cramp. I hope those guys make millions.

It seems to me like with any mobile device, once the "Oh this thing is cool, and I'm going to play with it" phase wears off. Most people are just content using any mobile device in a way that benefits them, easily, and conveniently.

Music is an obvious avenue for mobile success - there's still lots of tedium to our everyday lives, and there are many places where music can fill in those gaps (car, gym, park, DMV, etc) I work as a Systems Engineer, and I don't carry a blackberry or Treo - I refuse to, I don't WANT the temptation to write and respond to emails while I'm eating my breakfast before work. That's a different topic, but the device needs to substantially make my life better in a way bringing my laptop with me can't - and I just don't see the benefit yet.

I've been racking my brain for a while about mobile computing.

I am one of the people who thing that's the next big thing, but I just can't see what will be the dominant device.

Will it be something like a smart phone/iPhone, or a just tiny yet powerful laptop. I think its mostly a UI conundrum.

I think there will be more than one dominant device. Someone will want big phone, someone will prefer small laptop. Or maybe something completely different will come, something like rollable ebook reader?

if you are US-based, get out of the country to learn more about mobile computing.

phones are getting smarter, and now their OS are now a lot more accessible, laptops on the other hand aren't getting much smarter, but rather smaller.

if you go to Korea, Japan, India, several South American & African countries, you will understand why mobile is a heckuva lot more important than laptop.

it's not a UI conundrum -- a mobile phone (with the exception of the iPhone)'s primary purpose is communication -- voice, sms, mms and now even photo & video.

not so with a laptop.

of course it will be a locked device like the iphone. the mouth-breathers don't care, they just like shiny. they'll gladly impoverish themselves for what passes as a jewelery fad in 2008.

Everyone sees everything in black and white these days. Smartphones are not replacements for computers, at least, as most people use computers. People will always still have both. They might carry computers less, but they'll still have them for when they want to get things done.

nonsense you will realize, once you compare the size of the two devices and that the iPhone is also a phone since Skype is in no way a replacement for a GSM phone.

p.s. also I've an Asus EEE, but I did the reverse, I rarely use the eee now that I've almost-a-computer around, the iPhone.

Has anyone used the Asus Laptop? How does it perform?

How does it perform?

When connected to a monitor/keyboard/mouse, I don't really notice a difference between that machine and my real laptop. Obviously compiling the Linux kernel is faster on a real dual-core processor, but using emacs and firefox is just fine on the Eeepc. Even without the keyboard and monitor, the Eee is quite nice to use. The screen is actually brighter than my Thinkpad, and it's certainly higher resolution.

Anyway, I find his use of the term "the Asus" interesting. Asus doesn't even brand the eeepcs as "Asus" anymore. The only part on the laptop that says "Asus" is the serial number label on the back; everywhere else it says "Eeepc".

I had the 1st generation EEE. It was great for checking email, web browsing, and skype. Amazing for travel - it fit into a jacket pocket.

The downsides were - the small SSD made it useless for storing photos. I find I use my laptop a lot for offloading photos from my camera when I'm traveling. The screen was too small. The keyboard was small but I eventually got used to it.

I got a new macbook and never used the EEE again. However, I do miss the portability, and the new versions of the EEE solve many of the problems I had with the machine. Slightly bigger screen, more storage, etc.

My wife bought an Asus EEE PC 701 (1st gen). She didn't like the fact that the apps were different (she's not technical but uses Linux) so I installed EEEBuntu as her main system runs Ubuntu but it was a little too slow for day to day use and the screen resolution was a little too small.

She now uses it with XP and has a much better experience (for her) - We have a 20Gb USB hard disk that she can stick to the lid with velcro patches. Her only problem is with having to mount the drive via truecrypt from suspend but she wanted encryption on the drive.

Yes, I am writing this on my Asus EEE 1000H. It is a good device, basically a small size laptop with 1.5kg weight, only without DVD. Performance is perfectly ok for office work, email, browsing, video playing.

I suppose the guy is writing about Asus 901...which is a bit different device..only 1kg weight, but with smaller keyboard and smaller disk space. AFAIK, performance is similar to 1000H.

Whiner whining about Apple again?

Did he get ass-raped by Jobs when he was a kid?

Oh wait, nobody reads his lame blog so he is trying to get attention bashing Apple, how clever!

Get a Freerunner, Dave. Its a great podcast device.

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