CUSTOM COMPUTERS HAWAII: The Changing Roles of Desktops, Laptops, Tablet Computers and Smartphones – Part 2 Observations from the Professionals at MobileREMEDIES®

Summary: Our concept of what computers are and how we may use them in our daily lives has evolved significantly in the last few decades, especially in the new millennium.  Not long ago our mental image of a “computer” was a large box with a noisy fan sitting on our desktop attached with wires to a monitor, a keyboard and a printer.  Innovative technologies and creative lifestyles have changed our definition of computers to include not only laptops but also tablet computers and smartphones. This article from Custom Computers Hawaii is about the evolution of those trends and where we might be heading in the years to come.

In Part 1, we looked at the historical background of each of these devices and now in Part 2 we will look at their traditional roles and the factors that initiated some of the current trends.

(Click here to read Part 1)

The Traditional Roles for our Computers

Desktop Computers:

            Since personal computing began with the desktop computer, it was the device that embodied our popular definition.  Prior to the 1980’s most people thought computers were room-sized machines used only by the military and by large universities and corporations with no accessibility and no practical use for the consumer.  We used typewriters to create our documents, erasers, Liquid Paper or Ko-Rec-Type for our mistakes and went to the library or used our dictionary or encyclopedia to look things up! The desktop computer would change that, first by offering what was called “word processing” where we could easily preview and correct our documents before printing them and then by giving us access to the Internet with its exponentially growing database. The desktop allowed us to discover needs we never even knew we had!

Traditionally, our desktop computer was our “home base”.  It had a fixed and “comfortable” location associated with it and was always there waiting for us. It couldn’t be easily lost or stolen and we didn’t usually have to worry about keeping it charged or safe from impact.  We often had a plethora of peripheral devices attached to it with no concern for how much they weighed or how much power they drew.We typically kept up with all the latest storage devices and as the prices came down, bought extra drives to back up our data. One of the most salient features of our desktop computer setup was the potential for expansion as new peripherals became available.

Graphics cards and hard drives with increasingly larger capacities came out on a monthly basis (though we always tried to “hold out” for awhile thinking that if we could just wait another month we could get the breakthrough device that wouldn’t become immediately outdated!). Our printers traditionally required heavy and sophisticated hardware to produce reasonable quality documents and until recently couldn’t function independently without being attached to a computer. 

Our desktop was the logical place for them.Best of all, we could choose as large a monitor as we wanted (or could afford!) or even use multiple monitors to view several images or pages simultaneously. As our home base, it was the logical safe place to keep all of our data. In short, our desktop computer classically was found in the quiet and privacy of our home and “felt like home”!

Laptop Computers:

         

The lure of portability was irresistible but until recently always came with a high price both in the cost of the device and the sacrifices that we were required to make in screen size, image quality, storage space and initially, even the available software.  Since we had our comfortable and secure desktop at our home base, the laptop was traditionally viewed as more of a temporary or conditional work space that allowed us to get away from home for brief periods and still do some work on some of our projects.  Since all of our devices were still dependent on wires (with our Internet connections done through modems and the phone lines), “docking stations” were popular so that we could easily get our data back where it belonged when we came home by plugging our laptop into a custom base that had the same configuration of connectors but was linked to our desktop computer. Traditionally, there was no competition between our laptop and our desktop computers. They had distinctly different roles with the laptop being only a portable extension of the desktop.

Our laptops rapidly took on a “traditional” look which was the “clamshell’ design with the screen on top and the full keyboard on the bottom protecting each other when the device was closed and giving access to what felt like a portable desktop when open. There was no question initially however that the laptop could ever replace the desktop because it simply did not have the computing power and storage space to even compete. That would change, first as high capacity hard drives got smaller, lighter and more impact resistant and then as flash memory became smaller and more affordable (see: Data Recovery Hawaii: Some Basics from the Professionals at MobileREMEDIES® for more information about how data is stored) Advances in miniaturization and in display technologies would change the “balance of power” between our devices and open up new horizons!

Tablet Computers:

            

As we saw in Part 1, our concept of the tablet computer changed very drastically with the development of capacitive multi-touch screen technology and the creative uses that it afforded when the first iPad was released. To speak of a traditional role for the tablet computer one must divide the comments into “pre” and “post” iPaderas.

Pre-iPad Tablets:  The early tablets were principally used as organizers and schedulers based on their calendars and world clocks.  The Palm series (beginning with the PalmPilot – see Part 1) was probably the best known and most popular example of this type of device. While it could display primitive gray scale images, it was not the way people showed their photos to each other. It dealt mainly with text-based data but did have some simple games with a graphic interface. It traditionally allowed people to carry a large database of contacts and phone numbers with them in a small format that they could easily edit. It replaced the physical address book and the agenda that many businessmen and women carried with them. 

They typically had to use a small stylus that could be easily lost. Some of the later Palm tablets did have resistive touch screens that could be activated with your finger but they were imprecise and became rapidly under powered when the capacitive multi-touch screen became available.

Interestingly, it was not the modern tablets that were the first to compete and eventuallyrender the Palm devices obsolete but rather the smartphones with their ever-increasing versatility. It was the small hand-held, pocket or belt clip format and the capacity to manipulate our contact data even more efficiently that allowed the smartphones to “cannibalize” the Palm devices.

Post-iPad Tablets:The “traditional” role of the post-iPad tablets was a brand-new niche that was previously technically impossible and thus fully undeveloped. It was not text-based but entirely image-based exploiting the new GUI of the iPhone but in a larger format perfect for sharing photos and playing games. Even its text entry was image-based with a “virtual” QWERTY keyboard bringing some of the functionality of the laptop!Built-in wireless Internet access came very rapidly and built-in still and video cameras followed almost immediately. It had greater portability than a laptop but less than a smartphone or Palm device and with new applications being written for it every day, its versatility skyrocketed. The post-iPad tablets were the masters of social media!

Smartphones:

            One could arguably put the discussion of smartphones before the discussion of the tablet computers. Apple would again be the first to popularize (not invent) the next major innovation in the GUI (Graphical User Interface) first with the iPhone in 2007 and then with the larger friendlier surface of the iPad in 2010 and already at that point there was some overlap in the function of the two devices. Just as with the iPad, the role of the smartphone changed with the advent of capacitive multi-touch screen technology so again to discuss the traditional roles of the smartphone, one must divide the comments into pre and post-iPhone eras.

Pre-iPhone Smartphones:        The term “Smart Phone” (now “smartphone”) was first used commercially to describe the Ericsson GS 88 in 1997 but could not be trademarked because it was deemed to be a descriptive term already in usage and has thus remained in the public domain. In any case, as noted above,the traditional role of the early tablet computers was taken over by the early smartphones.

 That is, an organizer for contact data and an agenda to keep track of appointments and events but now attaining a whole new level of convenience by allowing us to make phone calls with the same device! These were also the first devices that allowed us to send and receive E-mails without using our desktop or laptop computer. The development of cellular technology allowed for access to the web through the cell towers (if you would like to learn more about the development of cellular technology see: From Telephone to Smartphone: A long way in a short time! Part 5, also from Custom Computers Hawaii: MobileREMEDIES®) rather than through modems and landlines making the cellular phone the logical choice to become the next portable computer.It only had to wait for the miniaturization and touchscreen technology to catch up to the idea!

Post-iPhone Smartphones: That next step occurred with the introduction of the iPhone. With the new responsive touchscreen and the intuitive graphical user interface it would create a new role for the smartphone that could be described as that of a true personal digital assistant. [The term “personal digital assistant” – PDA was first used in 1992 by Apple CEO John Scully to describe the Apple Newton and would be widely used to describe the pen computing devices long after the Newton was discontinued. None of those devices however, could ever really fill that role the way a modern smartphone can butit’s association has precluded it from being widely applied to the “smartphones” even though it would be a much better descriptive term!]Other manufacturers immediately realized the value of the new device and it took off exponentially, enticing millions of people to incorporate it into their daily lives. The modern tablet computer would then fall into an intermediate role borrowing from both the smartphone and the laptop. The modern era and the new relationships of desktops, laptops, tablets and smartphones had begun! 

The Professionals at Custom Computers Hawaii: MobileREMEDIES® are particularly interested in the changing roles of our desktops, laptops, tablet computers and smartphones because they know that they must anticipate the needs of their clients now and in the years to come. Their job is to stay ahead of the game not only in keeping up-to-date with new technologies as they evolve but also in understanding how these devices interface with each other.

In addition to building custom computers in Hawaii and repairing laptop and desktop computers, MobileREMEDIES® Cellphone/Electronic Repair with locations on Maui and Oahu also fixes all types of portable electronic devices including cell phones, iPads and other tablet PC’s, iPods/MP3 players, game systems (such as Xbox, PlayStations, Wii etc.), and they know your devices inside and out.  They are also experts in data recovery and they pride themselves on being problem solvers. They can often suggest several potential solutions and you can choose the one that suits your needs best. They always give you a 1-year warranty on parts and service for any repaired device and honor it without you having to produce a receipt. In addition to electronic repair they provide web services for individuals and small businesses, buy broken devices for cash or in-store credit and sell refurbished devices with a 1-year warranty, similar to a manufacturer’s warranty on a new device. If they can’t fix your device, you pay nothing for the attempt. You can also find them at cell phone repair Hawaii, data recovery Hawaii, iPhone repair Hawaii, iPad repair Hawaii, iPod repair Hawaii and Xbox repair Hawaii or at www.mobileremedies.com. Call 1-800-867-5048 to speak with a professional.

In Part 1, we discussed the historical background of our desktop and laptop computers as well as tablets and smartphones. Part 2 looked at the traditional roles for these devices and the factors that initiated some of the current trends.Finally, in Part 3 we will discuss the relationships between these devices in today’s world and make some projections about how they may evolve and interact in the years to come.

(Click here to read Part 1)