Six Feet Under

Digital Diary

Yes,there was a time when mobile phones could only make hugely expensive calls and send truly short messages. That was the time when mobile phone users,the kind who now use smartphones (that can save telephone book-size contact lists) used to carry along digital diaries. No,the digital diary was not for “Dear Diary” entries before retiring for the night,but it was a business accessory with space enough to save up to 2,000 contacts,keep tab of appointments and,of course,wake you up in the morning. But then someone thought of adding all these features to the mobile phone,and this little gadget became a diary entry.

The TV Combo

Staring at a saturated market,some television manufacturers hit upon the wonderful idea of giving the idiot box some brain with an in-built VCR. Well,the idea did not work. When the VCD and DVD came along,they decided to substitute the old VHS player with the new tech on the block. That idea did not work either. And,frankly,I don’t know why.

Portable DVD player

When the wonderful TV combo idea did not work,manufacturers realised they had been doing it wrong all along. Thus was born the DVD/VCD combo,where the screen was the addition to the playback device. Well,this innovation did find some takers,especially among those who found themselves travelling on long distance trains most of the time. But the rest preferred to stick to their separate DVD players and TV sets.

The portable media player

The manufacturers were not done yet. They knew there was something in their idea,maybe the execution was wrong. The portable media player story started in 1998 with the Rio PMP300,somewhat like a Stone Age iPod in hindsight. By 2001,we had the iPod,which soon became the benevolent despot of the space,even while it mostly played MP3. Others saw their big opportunity in the fact that the iPod was not so good at playing video. So around 2007,we had a flood of media players,between 4 and 10 inches,which wanted to playback video for you,along with music and maybe showcase some document files. But just as the companies started creating a niche for themselves,the world was exposed to the first tablets,which could do all this and more for almost the same price. I guess,the last portable media player was launched in early 2010,that was the last I heard of them,except for,of course,the iPod Touch.

Pocket browser

The world was getting used to the wonder of the internet and some people could not understand why we had to sit in front of a PC to access the World Wide Web. So we had the pocket browser,especially manufactured by a company called Datawind. The gadget found takers from those who had realised early that being connected all the time would soon be the fad. But then they hadn’t realised that phone makers also had big plans for the internet. Not to be outdone,Datawind is now focusing its energy on the Ubisurfer,a netbook with 3G connectivity. We have heard that one before.

Android Netbook

I must have been among the few to have laid hands on an Android-powered netbook. Yes,I said netbook. Android is on everything from phones to tablets,but netbook? I am sure you haven’t heard of this one,unless,of course,you read reviews of Acer Aspire D250 with the dual OS sometime in late 2009. I thought this was going to be the first of a long list of Android computers. Nah,I was wrong. But it was a neat device.

TwitterPeek

2008: Twitter had taken the world by storm,with just 140 characters. But again you had to go to the PC and log on to tweet. So the innovators just had to do something. Voila,we had the TwitterPeek — a smart mobile phone-like device which allowed you tweet,even without a computer. And you could check your mail too,just in case you thought the Rs 6,000-plus price tag was too much. But then the inevitable happened. Someone made a Twitter app for mobile phones. How could they? These guys had such a good idea going.

Mobile phone +

Making a straight forward call seems to be the last thing mobile phones are being made for these days. Of late,we have seen phones with projectors,speakers that could shatter the glass in your neighbour’s house,cameras that have telescopic zoom lenses,etc.. While it’s fun to play with these phones,we haven’t seen any of these gimmicks last either in the manufacturer’s catalogue or in the buyers pocket for more than a couple of months. While many such phones have died prematurely,more such handsets continue to be made and bought. The latest ones to hit the market are phones that can take up to four SIMs. Only a confused person will end up with such a phone. Here is an R.I.P. in advance.