Alan's Assessments?

via Flickr ( by ecerverab)As we move to a more mobile and digital world, the value of cellular minutes will be coming to an end. Just think about your plan 10 years ago vs this past year. I know for me, I got the lowest number of minutes with the highest data plan this year. In the past it was all about the minutes.

With services such as Skype and the new Apple FaceTime, where your call is just 1's and 0's, the need for a minute begins to lose it's value. It's all about the data. Ars Technica had an article regarding data usage on Skype vs minutes. Yes using Skype saves minutes, but it eats your data. But you can see where this is going. 

Another example of this is the rumor that Apple will give FaceTime to the iPod Touch. This is a Wi-Fi only unit, so it's all about the data not the minutes. So seeing this in a phone with just 3G or 4G for just data handling is not that hard to believe (see the iPad 3G). 

How do you select your plan, are you going low minutes and high data. I'm willing to bet you are. I'm also sure you are sucking down the data bytes as fast as you can. Do you think in a few years, that your minutes will continue to drop and your data usage goes up. I'm betting yes.

If you don't think the carriers aren't aware of this, just look at the pricing tiers. They are already beginning to use the subsets of data usage. They also are not promoting the 1000 Minutes or unlimited minutes. Because they know, people don't use the phone for a minutes phone. Another reason in that is almost all carrier to same carrier calls don't count against minutes. So the fact that they allow this goes to show, that they know they are not going to make their money off of minutes anymore. 

What are your thoughts, I would love to hear them. 

For those that don't have touch devices, this may not ring true on your mind, but please read on.

For touch device, I'm talking about a computer or device that is just a screen. No keyboard attached, no mouse, just a screen.

Why do I say touch is the now, well if you have seen the iPhone/itouch or iPad, you have seen the latest in touch. For years others have had touch devices, but they never hit mainstream. For whatever reason, this time it took. Apple has put this touch technology in the hands of millions and it's rubbing off to other devices.

Just last night, my wife was using her netbook, the kids had her iPad, to show me some iPhone cases. The first thing she did was to reach up to the screen to make it scroll, followed by a tap to select. This didn't work, so we were back at the keyboard.

So with this touch technology already taking hold in the way we want to operate with our computers, can it be said that in the near future your laptop or desktop may have touch screens. I sure can see it.

Now, to be honest, I don't think the desktop will see the screen touch anytime soon. Many have that 24 inch or larger screen. So it's just not practical to touch it. Could it have a touch/virtual keyboard that implies touch, yes.

As for laptops, this is a no brainer. You could have a touch screen and a touch keyboard. The keyboard would have to have feedback or else the mainstream may not take to it. I know it took me a while to get use to the touch keypad, but now I can fly through typing. This is especially true on my iPad.

So when can we expect these new touch devices. I would say not now. The cost is too much, but within just a year or two, expect to see models coming out. The key will be the interface. It will have to be smooth and fast. Has to be zero learning curve or a rather small learning curve. And it has to be the full time computer. Today the Apple touch devices can not be used without a computer at some point during the day. Although the apps are there for all day use, sometimes it's nice to go back to the real computer. This new device has to be that real computer is power and function.

So, what do you think. Also let me know if you have ever reached up to your laptop or desktop to select something on-screen with your finger.