Over at Slashdot, there is an interesting discussion taking place on Why Have PDAs Failed In The iPod Era?. Although it is very long, there are some interesting points made throughout the 595+ posts.
Personally, I really do not think something fails just because it does not have the response that iPod has had. However, I think the PDA could be more successful. Here were some of the things that I would like to highlight that would help the PDA:
- Better marketing
- Better media applications
- Simplified user interface
- Easier to use
- More storage space
- More reliable
- Better battery life
- Better out-of-the-box experience
Of course, there are many others, but I think these cover the big items that PDA manufacturers need to consider. They need to focus on a few things, and they need to do them well. In addition, I really think PDA manufacturers need to educate the public. For example, I saw a lot of comments made about a PDA losing its data when the batteries die. This has been addressed by the latest Windows Mobile devices and Palm devices.