...Would you really need that laptop?  As more applications go to the web browser, this question isn’t so crazy anymore, especially since we await the Apple iPhone and now Microsoft’s—well, not answer but suggestion—called Deepfish. (Before you moan, it’s much better than “everything.NET” and “WPF/E”). Both Apple and Microsoft’s approach aim to put a web browser that displays complete web pages on a mobile device instead of the crippled, downsized offerings presently available. Both rely on zooming on parts of the web page, while Apple’s forthcoming iPhone allows widescreen viewing and a high resolution screen.

E-mail is the original killer app for mobile devices. With advances in screen and sensing technologies, can the web browser be that far behind? It greatly expands the information available while mobile in a much smaller package. Research information, directions, e-commerce (making travel reservations, anyone) and more becomes easier from a handheld device. The downside is that a full-featured browser, if it lives up to the potential, only adds to the mobile addiction some of us are trying to break.