Limit Electronic Devices on Airlines to 300 mm and 200 g?

The US and UK have banned electronic devices larger than a cellphone from aircraft cabins on flights from some countries. But what is “larger than a cellphone”?

Perhaps airline check-in counters need a gauge, like the one for carry-on luggage, or weight alone would be sufficient.

It is not clear what the threat from laptops and tablets is. There could be good reasons for authorities are not wanting to make this clear, but I don't know what they are.

The Guardian article mentions the risk of bombs and of lithium batteries. The bigger and heavier the device is, the bigger the bomb or battery it can hold. So it would make sense to limit the size of devices, but to do that an actual size needs to be specified, not just “larger than a cellphone”.

Large phones ("phablets"):

• iPhone 7 Plus, with a 5.5 in screen is 158.2 mm x 77.9 mm x 7.3 mm and weighs 188 g.
• Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge with a 5.5 in screen is 150.9 mm x 72.6 mm x 7.7 mm and weighs 177 g.

Are not that much smaller than a small tablet:

• Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 with a 7.0 in display is 190.09 mm x 120.45 mm x 11.98 mm and weighs 380 g.

A reasonable limit for devices might be: height, width and depth added (the way baggage sizes are set), must be no more than 300 mm and the weight no more than 200 g. That would allow the phablets, but not tablets.

Just to check, my chunky old Lenovo A588T Android Flip Phone is 120.6 mm + 62.5mm + 16.8mm = 199.9 mm at 178.4 g,. That would pass, provided I don't open the flip, which makes the phone 115 mm longer. ;-)

Hybrid Tablet/laptop Computer

The HP Pavilion x360 hybrid tablet/laptop looks an interesting combination. This is a relatively low cost (less than $700) laptop with a 11.6 in screen. The screen is touch sensitive and the keyboard hinges 360 degrees, so the unit will convert to a tablet computer. The 11.6 inch screen is my favourite size as the computer is then small enough to fit in a bag designed for a pad of A4 paper.

I tried out the unit briefly and it worked okay as a laptop, but made a cumbersome tablet. The 360 degree hinge works, but the process of bending the keyboard all the way around is a difficult process. When folded the keyboard does not fit neatly under the screen, with one edge sticking out. The unit is hard to hold when in tablet mode.

HP's designers appear to have placed an emphasis on the laptop look of the HP Pavilion x360, making it look conventional in that mode. They could have given the unit a bulkier hinge and the keyboard a rubber coating, to provide a better grip in tablet mode.

Tablet Computer from Pakistan Military

The PAC PAD 1 Tablet Computer is being offered by the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex. Despite being offered by a state owned military company (which normally makes fighter aircraft), the PAC-PAD 1 appears to be a civilian specification tablet computer.

This differs from the SATHI (Situation Awareness and Tactical Handheld Information), a ruggedised military computer for the Indian Army.

Rugged Linux Military Tablet Computer

According to "Ruff n Tuff Linux Tablet for Military" (SiliconIndia, 7 February 2012). the Trimble Yuma rugged tablet computer is avialable with Ubuntu Linux installed. The unit normally comes with Windows 7, but it has only a low power Intel Atom 1.6 GHz processor, Linux might be a better option. The unit is IP67 rated for water resistance and has a 7" sunlight readable touchscreen. These types of units are used for surveying, field repair, emergency management and military applications.

There are other rugged tablet computers and cases available, but these do not necessarily meet military standards.

Renault Android Car Tablet Computer

Renault are reported to be integrating an Android computer in their cars. This will display ancillary information, such as fuel consumption and be used for entertainment. This is the approach most car makers are taking with an ancillary display in the center console, separate from the driver's display of speed and engine warnings. Ford have integrated their system into the vehicle, which provides for lower cost and a neater look, but using a separate tablet computer allows for more rapid upgrade of the computer. Numerous after-market suppliers are fitting Apple iPads to cars. iRoc appear to have adopted the approach of building an iPhone cradle into a car radio.

Indian $50 Aakash Tablet Computer

The Indian Minister for Human Resources Development, Shri Kapil Sibal, launched the ‘Aakash’ (आकाश), low cost tablet computer on 5 October 2011. The device is intended for educational use, first by university students, at an estimated cost of $50 per unit in bulk to government. The largest cost saving feature is that the device has a resistive, rather than capacitive, touch screen. While described as being developed for Indian educational use, this appears to be Datawind Ltd's Ubislate device. It has a 7 inch 800 x 480 pixel colour LCD screen, Google Android 2.2 operating system, 256 Mb RAM, 2 GB flash memory.

Laptop still a better option for students

Media reports concentrated on the low cost and the poor sensitivity of the touch screen of the Aakash. In my view a laptop with a screen of around 12 inches, such as the Kogan Agora, would be more useful for university students. This is large enough for daily work, but small enough to fit in a school bag (being about the size of an A4 pad of paper). The lowest cost model of the Kogan Agora was sold for $349, but this was with 30GB of flash, 1GB Ram and an Intel SU2700 Pentium Processor. A lower capacity device could be procured in bulk for around $100.

Content Creation and Connectivity

The Indian government plans to trial 100,000 tablet computers. What was not mentioned in most media reports was that the Indian government is also connecting 416 Universities and 20,000 colleges with fiber optics under the "National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology Project: (NME-ICT).

As well as connectivity there are plans for e-content creation. E-learning materials are available for peer review in the categories of Advertising and Sales Promotion, Botany, Computer Science, Digital Library and Information Services, Fine Arts, History, Mass Communication & Journalism, Physics and Zoology. While the materials are being prepared by various institutions, the Indian government will retain ownership, to allow wide distribution. Open-source software is being used.

2011: A Tablet Computer Odyssey

According to the FOSS Patents Blog, "Samsung cites Stanley Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey' movie as prior art against iPad design patent". In their motion Samsung are said to have included a still image from Exhibit D is a true and correct copy of a clip taken from Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey", showing two astronauts using tablet computers. It is argued this covers what is in the Patent. Arthur C. Clarke wrote a novel of the same name at the same time as working on the film, and it would be interesting to see if the computers are described there, as Clarke is noted for his descriptions of technology.

Of course 2001 is not the only science fiction to feature tablet computers. In 1996 I gave a talk to the Australian Computer Society in which I suggested that by 2005, the Personal Access Display Devices (PADDs) of Star Trek Next Generation would become commonplace:

"... the dimensions of a B5 sheet of paper, by 1 cm thick). PADDs usually have a touch sensitive screen covering the whole upper surface, which is also a high resolution (2000 x 2000 pixel by 16 million colour) screen. All PADDs have video and audio built in and can operate as what a 1996 person would know as a mobile phone, radio, TV and video cam-corder. ...
Variations on pen based writing and voice input were tried for PADDs, but it was found that just a finger pressing buttons displayed on a touch sensitive screen were enough. Most people's writing wasn't good enough for pen input (and they usually just need to select from a few menu options anyway). Voice input works well, but was disruptive in a group and people were too self conscious to talk to a lump of plastic on their own. The QWERTY keyboard, in its virtual form is still in use for data entry. ..."
From: "Australia: The Networked Nation",Tom Worthington, Draft of: 4 February 1996, delivered, 7 February 1996 in the Audio/visual room of the Townsville Grammar School. Republished as the chapter "The Networked Nation", in the book "Net Traveller", 21 July 1999

Senator Helen Coonan, Australian Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, refereed to this talk in the speech "Developing a National ICT Capability" in 2007.

Cisco Cius Business Tablet Telephone

Cisco have announced a 7 inch Android tablet computer aimed at business. The Cisco Cius docks with a desktop IP phone, making a device reminiscent of 1990s computer/phone and video phone units, which did not prove to be popular. But the Cius can be removed and used as a wireless tablet computer. It will be interesting to see if this catches on.

Other tablet computers come with a docking station and could be placed alongside an IP phone. Also these tablet computers have IP phone functionality built in and could be used as a very functional desktop phone, with the addition of a low cost handset.

One flaw in the Cius design is that it appears to have no physical keyboard on the phone handset. The intention appears to be that the tablet touch screen is used as the dialing pad. This is a poor design choice, as phone keypads can be dialed quickly without the operator looking at it and receive heavy use which is likely to wear out the touch screen.

Interactive Whiteboard As A Large Tablet Computer

Last week I attended a workshop on using Using interactive whiteboards, iPads of University Teaching. To an IT professional, the Interactive Whiteboard and iPad need little explanation. An interactive whiteboard is a computer with a large touch screen and applications adapted for touch, rather than keyboard/mouse input. An iPad is a hand held tablet computer from Apple, with a touch screen and applications for gesture input.

The interactive whiteboard and iPad have much in common, as they both have a touch sensitive screen. The interactive whiteboard could be thought of as a very large iPad. Given that iPads are becoming familiar to the general population, which includes educators, it may be useful to explain interactive whiteboards to them in this way.

It may be feasible to go further and build an interactive whiteboard which uses the hardware and software of a tablet computer. This would allow the growing range of applications for tablet computers to be used on the interactive whiteboard. It would also allow the same educational applications to be used by students and staff individually on their tablet computer and as a group on the i-board. The same applications could use both the tablet computers and large scared board simultaneously. Using the same software for both types of units would also make maintenance of the equipment and the training of staff and students in its use easier.

It would be difficult to modify an Apple iPad to drive an i-board, as the Apple software and hardware is closely controlled by the Apple company. However, the rival Google Android operating system is more open to change and is used on a range of hardware from different manufacturers. There are small, low cost computers available running Google Android. These have the same interface ports as used to drive third party i-board hardware. An example of such a device is the $200 Agora Internet TV Portal. It should therefore be feasible to program one of these to work with existing i-board hardware and build an interactive whiteboard which is essentially an Android tablet computer with a very large screen.

The Android i-Board would have limitations, in that it could not run Microsoft Windows applications, in particular Microsoft Office, Word and PowerPoint (at least not easily, some Windows applications run in emulation under Linux). However, there are applications available which can read and write the file formats of MS-Windows which can run on Android. There are also third party Android "Apps", similar to those for the Apple iPad (but not as extensive in number).

More important than emulating Windows applications might be the ability to work with web based applications. This would allow many web based educational applications and resources to be used with the i-broad.

Using the Android hardware and software would have advantages for an i-board. These devices are expensive, large, unreliable and cumbersome to use. Interactive Whiteboards consist of a desktop personal computer running Microsoft Windows or the Apple Mac operating system, interfaced to the touch surface of the screen. To accommodate the PC requires a large device. As a large and complex operating system and application software is being used, the unit takes considerable time to boot, is at risk of viruses and needs frequent software upgrades.

A Google Android computer can be about the size of a matchbox. This need have no hard disk, relying on flash memory and a network connection. Such a unit can be booted quickly as it has a relatively small and simple suite of software. As most of the applications will be running remotely over the network, a powerful process is not needed, nor are frequent software upgrades.

It should be noted that there are other Linux based operating systems available which could be used in place of Google Android, for driving an interactive whiteboard. Android is suggested as it is the most widely known and widely deployed, with more Android devices in use than Apple iPad/iPhones.

Multi-touch Monitors For Presentations

Interactive whiteboards have become popular for use in classrooms. However, these are expensive, limited to use by a small number of people. They have proved less popular in university teaching spaces. An interesting alternative is a touch sensitive LCD monitor, such as the HP 2310t, 23 Inch Monitor. This looks like an ordinary wide screen monitor, but has a multi-touch interface surface, like a large tablet computer. At about $550 this is less than an interactive whiteboard. It could be placed out the front of a tutorial room or lecture theatre, in place of a conventional monitor and used with a mouse and keyboard. When the touch interface was needed the screen could be tilted almost horizontal and used by one or two people, with the display relayed to a large projection screen for the class to see.

Agora 7" Tablet PC

Kogan have announced a "Agora 7" Tablet PC" for $189. The main feature is that it has a Capacitive Touchscreen.

Specifications
Model Number:	KATBL07ANDAA
CPU Model:	Samsung Cortex A8
CPU Speed:	1.0 Ghz
Memory:	512MB DDR2
Storage:	4GB NAND
External Storage:	microSD card expansion up to 32GB
Operating System:	Android 2.2
Bluetooth:	Built-in
Touchscreen:	7" Capacitive Touchscreen
Screen Resolution:	1024 x 600
Wi-Fi Support:	Wireless built-in (b/g Support)
G-Sensor:	Internal G-Sensor
Camera:	1.3M - Front Facing
Battery:	3600mAh
Inputs
microSD:	1
USB:	1
Outputs
Headphone Out:	1
HDMI®:	1
Dimensions:	W:19.2cm x D:12.1cm x H:1.24cm
Weight:	390g
What's In The Box:
	Kogan Agora 7" Tablet
	Power Cable
	USB Cable
	Headphones
	Link to User Manual

Electric motorcycle with tablet computer dashboard

T3 Motion's R3 prototype electric car/motorcycle is reported to have a Galaxy Tab Android tablet computer docked in the dashboard for navigation and entertainment. The R3 has four wheels and two side by side bucket seats like a car, but T3 Motion claim that the rear wheels are so close together that it handles like a motorcycle and can be registered as one. This would be a lot more comfortable than the Piaggio MP3 three wheel motor scooter.

This is not the first electric car prototype to have a tablet computer in the dashboard. The 2005 Reva NXG had an Indian made tablet computer in the dashboard. Unlike the T3 which has a conventional speedometer, the NXG used the computer screen for all car displays. The T3 seems a more practical idea, with the car not depending on the tablet computer.

A 7 inch screen will just fit in a "Double DIN" dashboard slot (twice the height of a regular car radio). There is an large market in double DIN retrofitted entertainment units for cars. No doubt that there will some of these devices including an android tablet computer function, or a docking station.

Largest screen for a pocketable tablet computer is 6 inches

In "Largest screen for a smart phone" I suggested

a 4 inch screen was the largest which could be used for a easily hand held device: the size of a credit card: 85.60 × 53.98 mm (standardised as the ID-1 format). Following this approach the size for a larger, but still pocket size tablet computer would be the B7 size used for passports (ID-3 125 × 88 mm or 4.921 × 3.465 in).This would provide a 6 inch diagonal screen, assuming the screen went to the edge of the device.

It should be noted that B7 is approximately 4:3 ratio, which is squarer than the format used by many of the smart phones and tablet computers. The wider screens are useful for watching HDTV (16:9 format), but 4:3 is better for most information displays.

This suggests that the numerious 7 inch tablet computers are too large. But also devices such as the Dell Streak 5 smartphone/tablet PC with a 5 inch screen (5:3 aspect ratio) with a case (case: 152.9 × 79.1 mm or 6.02 x 3.11 inches) are not quite right either.

Optus ZTE 7 Inch Tablet Computer Looks Okay

Optus are offering a 7 Inch tablet computer in Australia. This appears to be the ZTE Blade. The unit is priced higher than the Huawei Ideos Tablet S7 (sold by Tesltra as the T-Touch Tab), but much lower than the Samsung Galaxy Tab. The ZTE unit does not have a capacitive touch screen and is a lot less responsive to finger input than the Samsung, but seems faster than the Telstra unit. It gets a reasonable review from CNET.

Samsung Galaxy Tab

Tesltra shops have the Samsung Galaxy Tab alongside the T-Touch Tab (a Tesltra branded Huawei Ideos Tablet S7). As befitting its much higher price than the Huawei, the Galaxy Tab feels much better made and is much faster in operation than the T-Touch. Its only fault is that it is a little heavy to hold in one hand and could benefit from a rubber case to make it easier to grip.

Using the tablet to look at my blog entry on pictograms for a fish and chip shop, I noticed that the icons were the right size for using as touch screen buttons. Using CSS I had made these 4 em square. The images were as high as four lines of text, making them about the same size as a 12.5mm standard finger.

Using CSS buttons which automatically resize for web pages in proportion with the text size would seem to be a way to get around different smartphone and tablet screen sizes and resolutions. Someone who has poorer eyesight and so uses a larger text is likely to also appreciate having larger buttons to press.

Look to the clouds not the slates

According to media reports, Microsoft is to show Windows based slate (tablet) computers at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. I suggest not getting too excited by this. Microsoft have a long way to go to catch up to Apple with mobile devices. The Apple iPhone dominates the upper end of the smart phone market and Google Android the budget end. I expect the same will happen with tablets. Google are maturing their Android system for tablets.

In corporate terms what is happening with "Cloud" computing is perhaps more interesting than tablet computers. If you are using web based cloud hosted applications, be they from Google, Microsoft, Amazon.com, or someone else, then you don't need much more than a web browser in your desktop computers or tablets. It does not matter much what operating system is used on the client device as long as it has a web browser to access the corporate application in the cloud. You can then use the same corporate applications on smart phones, tablet computers, netbooks, laptops and desktop computers. You need not worry about the compatibility of your corporate applications running on all these devices nor arranging long term retention of data on them.

There are some news reports of the SA government considering cloud computing, after the success of some of the SA education sector's success with using a Microsoft hosted service.

Ian Foster from Argonne National Laboratory talked at ANU on using software as a service for large scale scientific computing recently.

In my view using cloud computing for corporate services is a very high risk strategy, as it can result in loss of control of data. APRA has warned the banks about this.

A better approach is that suggested by Yusuf J. Mansuri, First Assistant Secretary, ICT Strategic & Corporate Services Division, Department of Human Services at "Cloud Computing Conference and Expo 2010" in Sydney in September, where he hinted at an Australian Government Cloud Computing Centre. The idea would be to have a shared facility on Australian territory, so it is subject to Australian law and shared by organisations with compatible procedures and aims.

Universities would similarly be a group with common aims who could use a joint facility. We have more than enough technology to allow secure sharing of such facilities. The issue is if we have governance and financial structures up to the challenge. Previous attempts at shared IT services between universities have mostly failed as they depended on sharing development of new bespoke software. Sharing a data centre and hardware is much simpler. One obvious way would be to contract the service out to the private sector. But another would be to use a non-profit organisation like the National Computational Infrastructure and AARnet.

Apart from saving organisations a lot of money (and CIOs a lot of worry), this central service approach will also save a lot of electrical energy and therefore carbon emissions.

However there are a lot of corporate issues to resolve in sharing a hosted computer system. One easy approach is to outsource the provision of a specific service which is hosted remotely. An example of this is when a educational institution changes to a new Learning Management System (LMS). Because the LMS provides a relatively self-contained set of services and uses a web interface, it can be easily provided by an external hosting service. The university just needs to provide a network for desktop and mobile web clients to access the remote service. They do not need to run a a money and energy hungry server, or maintain educational software on the clients. Both ANU and University of Canberra converted from an internal Web CT to externally hosted Moodle service. There are companies which specialise in providing LMS hosting. This allows the company to optimise their computer system to run just one type of software for multiple clients. The same is done for accounting, CRM and other software services.

Electronic Document and Records Management

Here is my attempted buzzword enriched rewrite of the description of the course COMP7420 Electronic Data Management.

Some proposed changes:

1. Course title: change to "Electronic Document and Records Management": the rationale for this is that "Electronic Data Management" is associated with the more techical aspects of the use of database systems. The EDRM term is more broadly applicable and of wide interest.
2. Course Description: Remove mention of e-libraries, as librarians have not shown interest in the course.
3. De-emphasise the technical: XML, XHTML HTML stuff: the students will still be doing it, but I will ease them into it gradually.
4. Learning Outcomes: Remove all but one of the "describe" objectives and add an "evaluate" learning objective to make it higher order.
5. Indicative Assessment: Replace the online quizzes and examination with a second assignment. Increase the Online Discussion from 20 to 24%. I am proposing to change the assessment method as it suits the material and also because I am confident in using the same assessment methods as for the Green ICT course. The forums and work based assignments worked particularly well with public servant students.

Some remaining questions:

1. Recommended Courses: At present it says: "Ability to use a computer. Experience in document use in the workplace.". That is a bit vague. Are there any formal definitions for these used by educators? For example for computer skills, I could specify the equivalent of International Computer Driving Licence (ICDL) Certification, but would anyone know what that is?
2. Are there standard descriptions of workplace related study?

Also I have been invited along to meet the people doing Government 2.0 in the Commonwealth Government. I will see what suggestions they have.

Electronic Document and Records Management COMP7420 - Details

Offered By:	School of Computer Science
Academic Career:	Graduate Coursework
Course Subject:	Computer Science
Offered in:	Summer Session, 2011
Unit Value:	3 units
Course Description:	Government 2.0/Web 2.0, open access and social networking have created a demand for rapid access to information and greater involvement in the decision making of government, commercial and not-for-profit organisations. Smart phones and tablet computers using wireless networks allow mobile access to cloud computing resources world wide. This poses a challenge for organisations to provide access and input, while maintaining the security and integrity of records, the privacy of personal information. This course investigates how traditional records management techniques and document formats have been adapted to the Internet era. The use of web technology for practical e-commerce and e-publishing applications is emphasised using case studies, standards and guidelines of real organisations . Emphasis is placed on the information needs of the Australian Public Service, but is also applicable to the private sector. Identifying steps that can be taken to accelerate the uptake of electronic documents by government, in conjunction with small and medium-sized enterprises, this course enables the participant to learn practical skills for incorporating e-commerce into their organisation. The focus is on document representation, knowledge discovery, storage and retrieval. The areas covered include requirements, XML, XHTML, HTML metadata, data management. More information is on the course web page: http://cs.anu.edu.au/courses/COMP7420/. This course is offered subject to sufficient enrolments .
Learning Outcomes:	Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to do the following: Describe the use of electronic documents, the recordkeeping framework, processes and systems in an organisation (SFIA Level 3). Evaluate options and make recommendations for the use of electronic documents, recordkeeping frameworks, processes and systems in an organisation (SFIA Level 5).
Indicative Assessment:	24% Contributions to the 6 weekly discussion forums 76% Two assignments, due in weeks three and six, 38% each.
Course Classification(s):	Transitional courses are designed for students from a broad range of backgrounds and learning achievements, which provide for the acquisition of generic skills; or an informed understanding of contemporary issues; or fundamental knowledge for transition to Advanced or Specialist courses.
Areas of Interest:	Business Information Systems, Computer Science, and Information Technology
Eligibility: An undergraduate degree
Recommended Courses:	Ability to use a computer. Experience in document use in the workplace.
Consent Required:	Consent is required prior to enrolling in this course.
Technology Requirements:	Access to computer and Internet
Academic Contact:	tom.worthington(a)anu.edu.au

Tablet Computers Prescribed for Business

Gartner Inc. forecasts 54.8 million tablet computers sold in 2011, due to the popularity of the Apple iPad. Gartner recommends least "concierge" support for executive iPad users in organisations and widespread support by mid-2011.

Helping executives with their iPads is a good idea for IT staff of organisations. Staff are going to buy iPads and use them regardless of the official procurement policy of the organisation. Junior staff can be disciplined for use of unauthorised equipment, but executives cannot, so IT support should put in place a "harm minimisation" scheme. This will reduce the risk of the iPads to the security of the organisation's IT system.

iPad support could include executive information systems, similar to those provided in the late 1990s. These provided essentially prepared slide shows on computer to senior executives. A similar service for the iPad would minimise the need for access to critical and sensitive corporate systems.

Rather than a policy of widespread iPad support, I suggest organisations should look at how mobile computing can be used. This should include smart phones, tablet computers and net books. Unless there is a compelling case, "Apps" which run on only one platform (such as the iPad) should be avoided. Instead web based software, including elements of HTML5, can be used to provide applications on a wide range of mobile platforms as well as conventional desktop web browsers.

If tight vertical integration is required, organisations should look beyond the iPad. As an example, U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) is porting its "Tactical Situational Awareness Application Suite" (TactSA) to Google Android.

Paperback book the optimal size for tablet computer

There are numerous tablet computers now being rushed to market for Christmas, in response to the success of the Apple iPad. Mostly these devices will be running the same Google Android operating system. But they will have a wide range of screen sizes, between the 3.6 inch screen of the Apple iPod Touch (which could now be seen as the iPad mini) and the 9.7 inch screen of the iPad. The most common sizes are 7 Inch (as 7 inch screens are readily avialable) and 9 Inch (but in a wider screen format than the iPad's 4:3 screen). But the Dell Streak has a 5 inch screen.

The market will ultimately determine which size is "best", but are there any fundamentals to this, or is it a matter of consumer taste? Some years ago I started teaching web design students at the ANU how to design for a credit card sized mobile device. I argued that this was the lagest practical size for a hand held device, as it was as large as would fit in a pocket (the size of pockets being determined by the size of the average human hand). This has now happened with smart phone, such as the Apple iPhone, converging on a size about that of a credit card.

The same approach could be applied to predict the optimal size for a tablet computer: what is a reasonable size to hold in the hand and how large are typical hand held objects? Two commonly hand held objects are bricks and paper back books. Bricks are between 203 × 102 mm and 250 × 120 mm (average 227 x 111 mm) . Paperback books between 178 x 110mm and 216 x 135 mm (average 197 x 123 mm). The width of these is determined by the human hand span needed to grip the object. This suggests a device which could have a screen of 8 to 9 inches. Given this is the size of the page of a typical paperback book, it suggests this is a workable display size.

The difference between a 7, 8 or 9 inch screen may not sound much, but the screen area increases with the square of the length and so each estra inch makes for much more viewing area. Also if a virtual (or real) keyboard is to be used, then the larger the device the better.

iPad preoccupy corporate ICT Planners

Greetings from the IQPC IT Financial management conference in Sydney. In the question times for several speakers at the conference the issue of how to deal with Apple iPads has come up. The consensus seems to be that there is no identified business use for the iPad, but it is so popular that CIOs will have to plan for its use, otherwise there will be clandestine use, resulting in unplanned expenditure and security problems. What stuck me was that the CIOs were not thinking strategically. Even if they put in place procedures for handling iPads, this strategy will be obsolete by December 2010. By then there will be a flood of Google Android tablet computers. These devices will rapidly overtake the iPad, just as Google Android phones are overtaking the Apple iPhone.