Pocket Rendezvous, Not Desktop Rendezvous
A couple of days ago I posted a quick announcement regarding Simedia's soon -to-be announced product, Pocket Rendezvous. This entry proved to be quite popular and was viewed and trackbacked quite a bit over the past few days. Out of them all, Sandy McMurray's trackback particularly struck a chord with me.
Sandy makes two observations that are worth taking note of. First and foremost, he deals with the issue from a Mac-centric point of view. Sandy goes each of my use cases (Conference Management, Classroom Coordination, Business Networking, and Location-based Services) and identifies existing technologies that cater to these different audiences - all using the Apple-centric implementation of Rendezvous.
Unfortunately, I think Sandy has it wrong and is comparing apples and oranges (no pun intended). I'd have to make the case that the most important aspect of Pocket Rendezvous is the "pocket" one. Consider the unique traits of pocket/mobile devices.
Portable - Pocket devices are, as their name implies, designed to be toted around. These small devices are quickly morphing from single-purpose devices to extensible, "smart" devices that consolidate the tasks of previously disparate systems.
Accessible - Since pocket devices are so small and multi-functional, they are quickly becoming a staple of the modern consumer lifestyle. We're increasingly dependent on these devices and appreciably notice their absence (take away someone's Blackberry and notice the twitch if you don't believe me).
Instant-On - The operating systems for portable devices are designed or otherwise optimized to provide "Instant On" functionality. Individuals are not asked to way for their cell phone, PDA, or tablet to "boot up". Considering that desktop operating systems tout improvements in startup time as a "feature" is a strong indicator how important this is to consumers.
Always-On - Another key characteristic is their growing optimization for network connectivity. As more and more devices enter the marketplace, we are seeing the implementation of multiple communication technologies (InfaRed, Bluetooth, WiFi, Cellular) within the same device. Faced with this demand, the manufacturers have also invested significant time and money to insure that the device can operate as long as possible while using these hooks.
Efficient - For many, the relatively small screens found on pocket devices is a limiting factor. It should be noted that display resolutions are pushing upwards constantly, chipping away at this bottleneck. However, this simplicity can be viewed as an asset as well. Developers and users focused to work in a confined area are required not only to be efficient, but innovative.
Economical - Portable devices with the this level of functionality are affordable in ways desktop and laptop machines cannot compare. Entry level devices start as low as $199, still at least 50% cheaper than the most basic "traditional" system.
Considering all these factors, let's compare them to the closest relative in the traditional hardware space, the laptop:
Laptops are portable, but even the lightest of notebook computers weighs in at 3 pounds, as opposed to the sub-pound weights of every known pocket device.
Laptops are hardly accessible when compared to pocket devices. People don't take their laptops everywhere with them (though the hardcore geeks are sure to have one nearby). Laptops can be both conspicuous and unwieldy. People don't pull out laptops to sync up.
There are significant start-up and shut-down times associated with laptop devices. This ranges anywhere from 30 seconds upwards to minutes depending on processor, configuration, etc.
Laptops, generally speaking, must be powered on fully to maintain network connectivity. This requires not only a longer battery life for the device, but also the appropriate level of ventilation to prevent long-term damage.
Desktop software can get very bloated. Developers have access to more powerful hardware infrastructures and design to utilize those resources. Additionally, we've all encountered the output of scope creep and feature bloat in everything from our browser to our word processor.
Lastly, let's consider the Apple factor. Sandy makes it clear that the Mac provides a significant advantage in these types of applications. Unfortunately, the Mac lacks entrenchment. Latest estimates show the Mac having approximately 5% of the global marketplace. Consider Reed's Law: "Reed's law is the assertion of David P. Reed that the utility of large networks, particularly social networks, can scale exponentially with the size of the network." (from Wikipedia). If the network alienates the world of Palm and PocketPC based applications, how can there be any significant growth or value?
It is worth clarifying why the Rendezvous networking aspect is not considered the most important trait of Pocket Rendezvous. Although Rendezvous is a specific case, there are numerous other network communication protocols that could be employed in the exact same or similar methods that provide the same benefit to the nodes.
The security and privacy issues raised by Sandy will be addressed in a future installment.