quiller
03-11-2003, 09:32 PM
Sony is the king of innovation, right? Well, I'm not going to say I know they're style, nor the next "big thing" they are planning-- because you know they are planning something-- but this is my idea.
The next modification to the original clamshell design:
As I look at both the NX and NZ series design, I see something ironic. Sony decided to transform the "wasted" silkscreen space into more pixels, yet has more "wasted" space throughout the design of the lower 'slab' of the device. Why not lower the keyboard a tad, not too much, tighten up the buttons above the keyboard and-- get this-- remove the Virtual Graffiti from the main panel and move it right below the hinge.
Now, the kicker: keep it as Virtual Graffiti. Meaning, it is hidable and skinnable. I'm thinking this extra area could be shorter than the traditional Graffiti area but be primarily used as a task-menu-esque area. That is, have the time, battery, date, and shortcuts to Home, Datebook, et cetera. This also eliminates the need for hardware buttons, as well as allowing the buttons to be customizable beyond just four.
I know, it's out there. The battery would only get worse because of another LCD panel, but would it not be nice? It wouldn't really require much more change in software as the main screen would remain at 320x480. The trick would be implementing this into the PalmOS without too much tricky business-- and still leaving open the option of third-party customization apps.
The next modification to the original clamshell design:
As I look at both the NX and NZ series design, I see something ironic. Sony decided to transform the "wasted" silkscreen space into more pixels, yet has more "wasted" space throughout the design of the lower 'slab' of the device. Why not lower the keyboard a tad, not too much, tighten up the buttons above the keyboard and-- get this-- remove the Virtual Graffiti from the main panel and move it right below the hinge.
Now, the kicker: keep it as Virtual Graffiti. Meaning, it is hidable and skinnable. I'm thinking this extra area could be shorter than the traditional Graffiti area but be primarily used as a task-menu-esque area. That is, have the time, battery, date, and shortcuts to Home, Datebook, et cetera. This also eliminates the need for hardware buttons, as well as allowing the buttons to be customizable beyond just four.
I know, it's out there. The battery would only get worse because of another LCD panel, but would it not be nice? It wouldn't really require much more change in software as the main screen would remain at 320x480. The trick would be implementing this into the PalmOS without too much tricky business-- and still leaving open the option of third-party customization apps.