driving the ultra-mobile enterprise

Productivity for mobile workers revolves around more than simply getting your notebook and hitting the road. In 2009, there are a few things that I would like to see happen in mobile computing to make working on the road easier and more productive.

One of the most important parts of the mobile productivity puzzle is Internet access. I’d like to see more notebooks and netbooks (especially netbooks) come with 3G and 4G internet connectivity integrated. The integration of 3G service (which is a necessity for many mobile workers) could result in more subsidized computers along the lines of the $99 Acer Aspire One that went on sale at Radio Shack recently. The netbook isn’t ideal for some mobile workers, and there’s probably a larger market for full notebooks that offer integrated 3G (along with a subsidized price tag) than the currently low number of such offerings would indicate.

I’d like to see faster 4G service become more commonplace, but Sprint’s WiMAX has a long road to go and may not amount to anything more than a footnote in the road to LTE 4G service. Many don’t foresee WiMAX becoming a strong competitor in the market due to Sprint’s inability to launch the service outside of a very limited number of markets. Verizon has announced that it hopes to roll its 4G LTE service out at the end of 2009, so 4G service is on its way. The key to making mobile Internet access more appealing is for the ISPs to eliminate the often ridiculous monthly download limits on mobile Internet service. Some service plans limit downloads to the point where one driver update blows the usage for an entire month.

One of the biggest things on my wish list for mobile computing for 2009 is the combination of several battery technologies into a better battery for notebook and netbook systems. HP is the first company that will offer the new Boston-Power Sonata battery technology starting in 2009. This battery technology promises to change the way mobile workers are able to use their notebook and netbook systems. The ability to charge the Sonata battery to 80% of its full capacity in only minutes will extend the average workers productivity time significantly.

At the same time, notebook makers should bring the fast charge time of the Sonata battery to a smaller, thinner form factor like the new technology that Energizer will debut at CES 2009 called Zinc Air. These batteries promise to deliver impressive run time on par with today’s performance lithium ion batteries in a much thinner and lighter package. By making the form factor of the average battery smaller, the run time can be extended in the same amount of physical space. Combining a thinner, longer-running battery with a design that can charge very rapidly will revolutionize the mobile workforce.

Touchscreens have been available for a while now and in 2009 we will see the touchscreen interface become more common in different classes of computers. One place the touchscreen will become increasingly common is in the netbook market. These small systems are particularly appealing for touchscreen technology because the smaller keyboard design offers less of a trade off compared to a touchscreen than is found on larger notebook systems.

The biggest challenge in adding touchscreens to the netbook is that the Windows XP Home OS used on the majority of netbooks isn’t touch enabled by default. Each netbook maker will have to provide software to enable touch capability and as with any software, each implementation will vary in ease of use and capability.