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The Next Big Thing
August 2, 2005 | 6:49 pm
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By Roger Sperberg, New York Editor for TeleRead
More rationale for the Next Big Thing is supplied by Russell Beattie, who initially questioned the premise of the Nokia 770. He has become a fervent convert to the web-tablet niche.
His change of heart comes from using a WiFi-enabled Sony PlayStation Portable as a web browser. “I couldn’t figure out why anyone would want the [Internet Table] — it’s not a PDA or a phone or a computer. But that’s all changed now,” he says. “using my PSP as an instant-on Web Tablet has completely opened my eyes.” Here’s a photo (modified) from his website of his PSP displaying the Yahoo website.
This type of device has certain salient qualities that make the experience, clear now to him as a user, different from using a PDA or a notebook. For the PSP, Beattie names them as:
- instant on
- instant connect
- good web browser
- great screen
- multimedia support
- price point
Beattie adds: “I envision that Web Tablets are going to replace the ‘laptop on the lap on the couch’ and the morning newspaper quickly. It’s just a REALLY convenient way to read the web without the bulk of even a Tablet PC – it’s so light and convenient and quick to pick up and start using. This is soooo key.” In a comment added later, in response to a skeptical reader, he puts it this way: “I think they’re going to be big. BIG! 
”
So do I. While the PSP’s screen is 480 x 270, its price is only $250 and it has a huge gaming audience as a base. While I personally favor the Nokia 770′s 800 x 480 screen for surfing, this is somewhat theoretical since I don’t have a device yet. Beattie is writing from experience.
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Comments:
>>>While the PSP’s screen is 480 x 270, its price is only $250 and it has a huge gaming audience as a base. While I personally favor the Nokia 770’s 800 x 480 screen for surfing, this is somewhat theoretical since I don’t have a device yet. Beattie is writing from experience.
480×270? Big deal. The Palm Tungsten T5 and the LifeDrive have 320×480 screens. And someone asked Beattie, What about the Zodiac [which Beattie claimed to have used for WiFi] isn’t “instant-on”? No reply.
And: No Plucker on that PSP, baby! Or PDF, for that matter.
Ah, come on, Mike.
480×270 (Ok–so I changed the screen orientation)
480×320
Will the typical user notie 50 pixels’ worth of res?
I won’t get into the other issues, but give the Sony its due in the screen area.
Let’s hope that Sony will add e-book software–and I don’t just mean something to do proprietary dreck from Sony itself.
David
>>>Will the typical user notie 50 pixels’ worth of res?
OK, you made your point.
I think what’s more significant is how Russell Beattie can gush over the web browsing with this small a screen. Imagine how larger screens, Nokia 770 among them, will feel to people!
Oh, and just in case anyone misunderstood this title — “The Next Big Thing” is not the Sony PSP but the whole category of device being created and its uses becoming clearer.