Children treat Blue's Clues, Sesame Street, etc. as entertainment, but they also learn from these shows. Likewise, people who buy the iPod touch for its iPod will find that they also get a PDA as part of the deal — contacts and calendar — plus Safari, a real Web browser.
Safari is the star attraction, especially since the calendar application is crippled (you can add/remove/edit contacts on the iPod touch, but not appointments). A number of Web services already exist with iPhone-optimized interfaces. For example, you can create Word documents with gOffice, manage your tasks with Ta-da Lists, and check your email via Yahoo mobile.
Palm tried to attract people interested in personal productivity — not a mass market as it turned out. Maybe Apple has found the key to mass market success with a PDA — attract people looking for entertainment and slip them some personal productivity in the process.
I declared the PDA dead because why buy a PDA when you can get that same functionality in a phone? I personally wouldn't trade my iPhone for an iPod touch, but a lot of people already carry an iPod and a phone and don't seem to mind. Plus, the iPod touch has no camera so you can bring it to any courthouse.
Is the iPod touch a suitable PDA for lawyers? No, though many lawyers will buy one primarily for the iPod and Web browser. But the iPod touch has a lot of blank space for applications on its home screen. Make no mistake about it — Apple has created a new platform that could someday become the ultimate personal productivity tool — with or without a phone. I suggest you watch the iPod touch (and iPhone) closely. Perhaps the device that's truly in danger of becoming irrelevant ten years from now is the laptop.
See also: Is the iPhone Ready for Business?
Photo by Josh Mobley.
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A TechnoEditorial is the vehicle through which we opine and provide tips of interest to managing partners, law firm administrators, and others in the legal profession. TechnoEditorials appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.
