>>>It really is naughty of you to convert "less and less relevant" to "death knell" especially after I've said that mobile doesn't need to displace PC to succeed. Oh, well. As long as everybody stays productive, we can review in a year and see what's happening.
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>>Fair enough, but I got confused in that your original statement was in reply to something where I wasn't talking about mobile apps at all. But I understand you are passionate about this technology and it would seem with good reason so if nothing else you've stimulated me to look into it further.
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>>Meanwhile I am working on my own invention - a telephone big enough to hold easily in the hand and hard to lose or break even if thrown (I'm thinking of two piece with and independant hand set employing the durability of black Bakelite ) with a simplified interface ( I'm leanng toward single purpose, numbered buttons ) that overcomes the problem of always losing the damn thing or the battery going dead ( having a lot of success with a wire tethering it to a wall ) Software requirements are minimal and a big safety issue addressed as it is unlikely to be used frequently while driving ( I call this the "cord length safety feature" )
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>>I'll keep you posted.
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>>( oh, and stay tuned for my "pad" that has a clamshell screen cover with a built in keyboard ! )
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>Many business apps have had to provide pocket pc lightweight and limited front-ends for years. Now the move to provide android lightweight (and limited) front-ends has exploded as a supplement to the main product.

As I said, I think the skillset we need to consider is interop between our existing business app infrastructure and the mobile devices that will ( on a somewhat limited basis ) need to interact with them. To whatever degree I can design my LOB apps to make that easier, I certainly will, but I think it is fair to say it is also a design issue on the mobile side to create apps that can access the "big" data on a basis that is appropriate to the limitations of the mobile device. i.e. disconnected, small subsets of data, sync mechanism, mobile devices that incorporate input methods ( Voice, barscan, camera, etc ) that are often needed "in the field".

But all that can be done with small notebooks and laptops right now. How much data gathering do you really want to do walking down the street with your phone or in a meeting where you can't use voice on your pad or typing with your thumbs? If you are sitting down someplace and your netbook can 4g through the smartphone your are carrying anyway seems you have the best of both worlds. Pads seem to me to have limited utility. They are touchscreens crippled by limited input devices and connectivity. If you can get them in your pocket - ie. Kindle graphite size - great, but their main utility is for receiving and displaying content. A smartphone makes a lot of sense - especially to give greater wireless range to a laptop or netbook device.

A light powerful laptop/netbook (especially with a keyboard the will fold *behind* the screen) with a 10" screen that can hook to a smartphone and its connectivity seems to eliminate any serious need for a pad. ( Dell has some kind of flip that does pretty much that in terms of getting the keyboard out of the way for pad-like use.) A "pad' with a keyboard that can prop the screen at laptop angle on demand and get they keyboard gone when you want a pad will be the winner. i.e. - a better netbook ( with touchscreen for the "cool" factor <g> )