Casual Computers?
Nintendo started it all really with the idea of casual gaming, giving a gaming gaming experience to those outside the general gaming stereotype. It worked. Really well with Amazon sell 17 Wii’s every second. When they had them in stock.
So what’s casual computing? For me it’s about doing information related tasks such as catching up with friends, getting directions, etc that can be done through a web browser and eventually will do small transactional tasks such as pay for travel passes, get your coffee, etc. These devices won’t be super powered, they’ll be cheap, have a great screen, good data connections, almost instant startup times, possibly incorporate GPS and very focussed on their intended tasks. Devices like that kind of exist, most notably the iPhone and the Nokia N800.
After a month with the iPhone I see it as an evolutionary step in the field of Casual Computing. I’m using it more as a easy way to get information. I’m catching up with my Twitter feeds through the browser, viewing Google Reader on it and checking out Facebook through my iPhone rather than firing up my laptop. It’s quicker and a lot more convenient.
None of the websites that I’m viewing carry any ads, the screen and experience has been streamlined to be a quick and easy download. I’m enjoying that but I know it’s a matter of time before the ads are going to be creeping in. It’ll be interesting to see how Google will use location based services to deliver ads based on what I’m looking at and where I am. So if I’m searching for a good pen (which I have been) then it will deliver an ad for a pen company that is in my geographical area rather than just being a company that’s based through the Internet.
It’s not got to the point where I can buy my pen using the iPhone but it’ll happen. It’ll be so easy to use that my Gran will want one.the blockers that I see are that the devices will be too tricky to use, that there will be a hundred standards that block these devices talking to each other and data coverage will be patchy.
Seems that casual computing will be a talking point in 2008 with Apple leading the charge. Buzz is going around for a new type of laptop to be launched next year and the always insightful John Dowell talks about Apple wanting to help you get a coffee quicker.
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