The right MID for the right tour

My first day of the MID Moves tour has officially come to an end, and I’m glad Tuesday is a new day. I learned a lot from the OQO Model 2+ at Magic Mountain, but the biggest lesson I’m taking away from the day’s experience is the importance of having the right device not for the right task, but for the right situation.

When I planned my amusement park itinerary, the devices that would be a part of the project were still undetermined. Without knowing exactly what I’d be getting, I decided to focus on one of the elements associated with a Mobile Internet Device by playing up “the fun.”

If I had known that I would be getting the Model 2+, however, I would’ve reconsidered my tour plans. A computer running Windows Vista, regardless of its size, doesn’t “belong” at Magic Mountain. Not to me, anyway. I don’t think it was strange that I didn’t see any laptops at the park or that I was probably the only visitor using Firefox to check Google Reader while everyone else was playing games, ordering food, and shopping. Amusement parks are about amusement. People go there when they’re on vacation; they don’t bring their laptops to get some work done while waiting in line for a rollercoaster.

The fact that the Model 2+ is as capable as a laptop is really beside the point when you’re at a theme park. Because yes, you could do just about everything you do at the office right there at the park . . . but would you? For me, having a full-blown desktop operating system at my disposal while at Magic Mountain was overkill. It made me feel like I had to use it just because I could. I changed my work style to fit the device when it should’ve been the other way around.

That’s why for Day 2 of my tour, which I’ll be spending at Knott’s Berry Farm, I’m taking a MID that’s more well suited to the environment: the BenQ S6. The finger-friendly UI, “lighter” Midinux operating system, and form factor seem like a much better fit for a theme park.