Game Changing, Web Style

Mike Egan’s piece from April 1stgives me pause. First, of course, it’s hard not to think it was an April Fool’s joke: “Why Netbooks Will Run Cell Phone Software” indeed. I was expecting something rather silly. However, it’s actually insightful and right. The cell OS has the potential to truly change the make-up of the web. I don’t think many of the current web heavies (like myself) would rush out for one of these devices. Someone who can afford a laptop and supplement it with a Blackberry will hardly be compelled to drop even a few dollars for a netbook. There are a good many people still priced out of the web experience, though. These are the people that would benefit from such devices. And, especially if they were integrated with a sim card, those in the global south would be given a better connection to the net. Allow it to swap the card with my phone? Wow! Perhaps the Palm Foleo wasn’t such a turkey afterall. It’s becoming clear to me that the thing was actually quite revolutionary.

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