Bicycling and a Reason for the iPad

For some reason, I am enjoying the iPad a lot more and a lot less than I thought that I would. No, it’s not a holy Grail, but it is interesting.

Of course, I’m having all kinds of issues with debating about content on it. Yes, I am keeping myself within the browser, but there’s a chance to push even that further. For MMM, this is one of my thoughts.

Until that point, I’ll have sites like this to make me think.

There’s a lot more that can be done with content that doesn’t even need an app.

Google TV, Yea I’m There Too

So some of the big news today is that Google has unveiled it’s Google TV project. In effect, it’s a means and a platform that merges the tv and web world. And you know something, I’ve been doing this with my mobile phone for some time now. This isn’t all that new.

Of course, I do have that issue of Flash limitations with my mobile. Some content just can’t be seen with my N97’s version of Flash. And that’s not totally bad, but it is a limitation.

So why can’t all tv just go digital and anywhere? Why do I need to care about the delivery container? Why doesn’t it just work?

Maybe the answer is as simple as I’m once again too early. Oh well, guess I better push something else forward, maybe that too will become new and normal 😉

A Smarter Smartphone

This can almost be considered something of an aside to the previous piece about my early impressions with the iPad. But, I’ve already noticed something about my N97 since moving to working with MMM full-time, I underestimated just how smart my N97 really can be.

That isn’t to say that its a perfect device – for example, Mobbler just shut off when I opened MoPress to write this – but I’m feeling quite enabled with this device. And can argue that I’m starting to see even more this idea that Nokia used to push harder with in terms of mobiles being real mobile computers.

Already this morning, I’ve added several contacts, edited a few others, connected my mobile to the TV to play Mobbler (while reading a book and glancing at email/messages from a distance), and using my Zeemote remote controller to do these actions.

I’ve communicated via email with Nokia Messaging, looked up an appointment’s location via Ovi Maps, and then appended contacts, tasks, and calendars – while getting additional messages via SMS/MMS.

I’ve reviewed a Google Doc (can’t edit it), and had a Skype IM session with a friend on the other side of the world.

And right now am getting ready for a conference call, where I’ll use another mobile to speak on, but the N97 will be playing the Wi-Fi hub for that mobile and the iPad.

Done right, using a mobile today can make you very smart. And at the same time, it can be totally overwhelming. You have to find the simple, relevant, and targeted uses of a device/service for it to really shine in its value. And for my N97, I’m starting to see this more and more. And honestly, I think the iPad will help here too.

The iPad allows me the mental space to deal with some of my “bigger pane” content on there, and I can keep the smaller-scoped actions to my N97. That’s not to say that the N97 won’t get used as much, but I’m using it less for passive communication, such as RSS reading, and relegating it for the more active variety of content.

I think that in this kind of usage is where the “smart” of a smartphone can really shine. Yes, a good user interface, and the right availability to apps and services counts. This is a part of that good and solid experience. But, its also in the ability for a device that has been designed for your kind of living to just slide in, perform well, and then move out of the way.

This kind of smart mobility I’m more convinced than ever will drive what real innovation will look like in mobile in the coming years. I look forward to taking a more active part in that now – and maybe so do my devices.