The Adventures of AlisterComputeron

The world of mobility has taken a giant leap forward in recent months.  In May of 2006 I bought the just-released Motorola Q.  There wasn’t much available on the smartphone, and its mainly selling point was being able to sync with Exchange for email, calendar, and tasks.  The mobile web was nearly non-existant in 2006.  News sites were about the only web sites that were neatly formatted for the mobile web browser.

I was disappointed with the Q, because I wanted it to do more than be just a communications device.  I wanted a tiny, palm-sized computer, but the Q, and other smartphones at the time weren’t up to the task.  They still aren’t really up the task today, but the technology has emerged to make them more useful.  I dumped the Q in favor of a flip phone.

A couple of weeks ago, though, I got out the ol’ Q, dusted it off, and reactivated it.  See, I have two teenage kids, and since teens use their phones more for sending text messages than talking, I’m getting sucked into texting.  Initially, I was like, why don’t you just call; it’s easier than typing out a text message on that little phone keypad.  However, I’m realizing that sending text messages can be more convenient at times, than making a call.  I also wanted to try out Twitter to see what all the buzz was about.  Have you ever tried typing on the regular phone keypad?  My kids can do just fine, but I wanted something a little easier to use.

Well, I discovered – happily – that the mobile world moved on without me.  Mobile search, which had just emerged as a really useful tool when I dumped my Q, is getting better.  I was out pillow shopping this week, and was planning to pick up some wings for dinner after shopping.  I thought I had the number for Buffalo Wild Wings in my contacts list, but it was actually in on my flip phone.  No worries.  I fired up Google, did a local search for BWW, and was able to dial the number right from the search results – very cool stuff.  My wings were ready for pick up as I arrived.

But there’s so much more.  I can create notes on a site called, Evernote, and access those notes from a desktop application, from their web app, or from my phone.  I can blog from my smartphone.  I can go to Twitter’s mobile site and send tweets and see what my Twitter buddies are doing.  I can set tasks and get reminders from Remember The Milk.  I can listen to streaming audio from DI.fm, my favorite Electronic/Techno/Trance station.  I can even check my bank account balance through the bank’s mobile interface.

I probably jumped into mobility a little too soon, and I definitely had unrealistic expectations from my smartphone.  But now there’s so much that can be done with web-enabled mobile devices.  It is so cool to have all this information available without being tethered to a computer.  Sites and mobile apps are getting better, and the offerings are becoming more plentiful.  Devices are getting better and easier to use, too.  I don’t know if there will ever be a tiny, palm-sized computer.  But then again, as rich as the mobile web is becoming, I may not even need it.