Size matters

Calls, IM, internet, e-mail, games, music, file transfer, information search, photo and camera function, shopping, banking, payment, discounts, fun- those are the requirements of the majority of the electronics consumer of today. Luckily they are all available on both PCs and mobile phones.

What is stopping the consumer from using a hand-held device and forgetting the heavy-duty computer can be summarized in one word- size. Screen size, keyboard size, memory size, and the speed and alacrity of the device..

It is one thing to browse the web on a screen made in accordance with the human dimensions and another to be forced to strain one’s eyes to read miniature letters and scroll constantly up and down, left and right in order to keep the information flowing.

A picture with little visual content providing fleeting fun or quick data is easy to view on a mobile screen but it is not the case with a full-length video clip or graphically complex video-game.

Whatever the skills mobile phones’ keyboard can never offer the speed and easy use of a computer keyboard. Typing something longer than an sms or a memo on keys as big as baby’s fingernails is a daunting task for even the most experienced Japanese teenager. Memory-wise phones are still a far cry from the storage capacities of modern PCs.

The argument goes vice versa as well. Toting a computer around, however light and slim is not the same as being able to put one’s internet and music in the back pocket and hop on a merry-go-round to take pictures of the surroundings while eating cotton candy.

Size is what everybody is concerned with. Big enough for physical comfort, small enough for unrestrained mobility.

Mobility is a key concept nowadays and Smartphones and netbooks are trying to provide the missing link between computers and cell phones.

Yet, even they are not “smart” enough to look big while being small.

Size still matters as proven by the strong tendency to get as small as possible mp3 players and video cameras while investing in the multi-inch television sets and huge computer game screens.

It can be argued that the debate of PCs versus mobile phones is in its essence actually a debate of the generations.

The “in”-generations preferring to relax, work or play in the comfort of their home or office versus the “out”-generations which would rather be constantly on the move and in synch with everything happening around them.

Researches show the obvious- the youngs are those who play with their hand-helds all the time while the 35+, even though using actively all the available portable technology, take pride in their home theatres.

Flexibility versus comfort, availability versus utility, speed versus breadth, teenagers versus grown-ups.

Even though mobile phones are more and more used for work and pleasure outside of home it is highly unlikely that in a few years time they will replace the HD wide-screen and high capabilities home- and office-used devices.

Portable phones provide easy access to various electronic services on the go but such is the human construction that ergonomic devices are considered those which match up the human frame and provide maximum physical comfort.

Therefore, until the techno gods come up with a foldable computer, the debate seems to be resolved in terms of separating the two technologies rather than trying to merge them.

They both have their advantages and disadvantages thus the argument suggests that they both will have place in people’s life in the future, serving different people in different environments according to their needs and priorities.