Look Ma! PDAs using only one hand!

We’ve come across an editorial in Brighthand predicting a sea change in how we use our PDAs, smartphones, Pocket PCs, and similar handheld or “palmtop” devices. Ready to use them with only one hand?

Nothing new to those owners of smartphones designed for use with only one hand: Been there. Done that. Often (the editorial notes, possibly with humor) while driving. Those models substitute the familiar stylus for the equally familiar, but conceptually and practically different – d-pad.

And that concept’s getting around. Both Palm and Windows mobile OS’s now have both stylus and d-pad control option, although the second option’s rather clumsy with an OS traditionally designed for stylus control. “It’s a bit like steering a car with a set of reins,” the editorial editorializes: “it’s possible but hardly ideal.” There’s a qualitative difference between drag-tapping and scroll-button-mashing.

But that’s just a transition, and transitions end when you transition to something else, right? The author of the editorial got a sneak peek at Microsoft’s demo of its next generation of mobile OS (codenamed “Photon“) and while he’s not allowed to reveal anything (darn confidentiality agreements!), he can say that the OS is designed with those one-handed smartphones in mind. And it will also be used in PocketPCs as well. He’s also had a more limited look at Palm’s next OS, but it follows the same philosophy, ease of use with one hand.

Now there’s one transition left once that’s done with, and that’s the consumer market. How will PocketPC and Palm users react to such a sea change in the way they interact with their devices? Will they be able to transition to the new setup? (Or, more likely, will the new OS’s allow dual control, to swap between stylus or d-pad as the user sees fit, and not have to throw a fit due to switching?)

In any case, this next generation of mobile OS is still a good distance away. Microsoft projects Photon being licensed in late 2007, while Palm is still working on its OS.

We’ve come across an editorial in Brighthand predicting a sea change in how we use our PDAs, smartphones, Pocket PCs, and similar handheld or “palmtop” devices. Ready to use them with only one hand?

Nothing new to those owners of smartphones designed for use with only one hand: Been there. Done that. Often (the editorial notes, possibly with humor) while driving. Those models substitute the familiar stylus for the equally familiar, but conceptually and practically different – d-pad.

And that concept’s getting around. Both Palm and Windows mobile OS’s now have both stylus and d-pad control option, although the second option’s rather clumsy with an OS traditionally designed for stylus control. “It’s a bit like steering a car with a set of reins,” the editorial editorializes: “it’s possible but hardly ideal.” There’s a qualitative difference between drag-tapping and scroll-button-mashing.

But that’s just a transition, and transitions end when you transition to something else, right? The author of the editorial got a sneak peek at Microsoft’s demo of its next generation of mobile OS (codenamed “Photon“) and while he’s not allowed to reveal anything (darn confidentiality agreements!), he can say that the OS is designed with those one-handed smartphones in mind. And it will also be used in PocketPCs as well. He’s also had a more limited look at Palm’s next OS, but it follows the same philosophy, ease of use with one hand.

Now there’s one transition left once that’s done with, and that’s the consumer market. How will PocketPC and Palm users react to such a sea change in the way they interact with their devices? Will they be able to transition to the new setup? (Or, more likely, will the new OS’s allow dual control, to swap between stylus or d-pad as the user sees fit, and not have to throw a fit due to switching?)

In any case, this next generation of mobile OS is still a good distance away. Microsoft projects Photon being licensed in late 2007, while Palm is still working on its OS.