Since this is a tour about Intel MIDs, I’ve decided to use nothing but an Intel MID on my theme park tour today. Yesterday I used the Atom-based OQO Model 2+ with two feature/smartphones, the iPhone 3G and the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1.
MIDs weren’t designed to replace smartphones, so I didn’t think there was anything “wrong” with using the latter to supplement the former when it was more convenient. The problem–and the reason I’m leaving my iPhone at the hotel and only using the Xperia as a phone (and camera)–was that yesterday I relied on the phones too much.
If you follow me on Twitter or read my post about cameras on MIDs, then you saw how I threw a little tantrum when both of my phones let me down pretty much at the same time. Suddenly not being able to use them not only put me in a bad mood (my husband can attest to this), but it also ruined my plans and crippled the way I wanted to work.
So today I’m eliminating the possibility of a smartphone failure by removing the handsets from the equation completely. Everything I would normally have done on the Xperia X1 (Twitter, quick emails, mobile blogging with Flickr), I will be doing on the BenQ S6. I’ll use the on-screen keyboard whenever possible and sit down with a portable Bluetooth keyboard for longer writing sessions.
I don’t know if it’s possible to take cutting-edge technology back to basics, but that’s what I’m going to try to do. When I want to include a photo with my posts, for example, I will take a photo with the X1 (the only “camera” we have with us that uses microSD cards), insert the memory card into the S6’s microSD card slot, and manually upload it to Flickr or MID Moves.
It won’t be particularly quick or convenient, but it will be true to the experience of someone who wants to use a MID to its fullest extent. And isn’t that part of the point of this tour?
I think it also has the point of that most people only get themselves one gadget (also due to the prices).
So if they are stuck with this like you are now, the experience becomes a different one.
> I will take a photo with the X1 (the only “camera†we have with us that uses microSD cards)
You could use a real camera with SD(HC) Cards using a microSD->SD Adapter as well as a camera. That said, the MID+DSLR combo is a viable one, too.
What’s lacking in MIDs is the telephone ability. Is there any MID that you can use as a GSM phone? Or may they only do VOIP?
As for your porblem, Jenn:
This ought to be “just” software. Imagine having e.g. a MID as primary device for getting things done AND being able to use the storage of a second device (e.g. your X1) as a virtual drive. Each time you shoot a photo on the phone, it pops up on the drive on your MID. This should be achievable by bluetooth… right?
PS: I love your site pocketables.net!