The Original Smartphone
Technology seems to change every month these days, but that was not always the case. Before the age of technological innovation that society is seeing now, inventions were sparing and took years to fund, create, and test. But it is these innovative ideas that have shaped the systems that people see now and sparked inspiration for future development. Although there are many technological devices that can be profiled and critiqued to see how they shaped current inventions, one of the earlier ones, and more influential, was the Xerox PARCTab.
The Xerox PARCTab was created in 1991 and was the preliminary testbed for ubiquitous computing. Ubiquitous computing was a philosophy that its parent company Xerox was functioning on, aiming to enhance society’s computing environment through interaction, arrangement and sensitivity to computers. The PARCTab was meant to be a personal digital assistant (PDA) that communicated with a network to receive and send information. They were meant to serve as a sort of “identity badge,” that could double as a planner, calendar, diary, or anything that the user wanted. The original prototype had a touchscreen, three buttons, and about two weeks of battery life. There were several initial design goals of the PARCTab. It was meant to be…
- a handheld device that was physically attractive to users
- compatible with all networks
- capable of modifying its behavior (to be interactive)
The PARCTab was a huge step for technological advancement, people went from having huge, blocky computers to having a device that was handheld and able to be transported with little to no effort. The PARCTab system was meant to be integrated as a palm-sized mobile computer, mainly for the office and professional setting. The initial end goal was for everyone in an office setting to have a PARCTab and use it to ensure easier office communication. Usability on every scale was a driving force behind the design of the PARCTab, Xerox wanted to create the first vision of a true ubiquitous computing system and tried to incorporate as many features as possible in order to make that dream plausible. Although there were definitely critiques of the system, as there are with every new invention, even when doing a direct photo comparison, one can see the immediate advancements and advantages the PARCTab had.
The PARCTab had the ability to do a lot, all within a tiny screen. When the application would power on, an initial setup screen would launch with 12 icons. People could then use the buttons and click on whatever icon they needed to accomplish the task they were working on. The PARCTab was also able to convert from right to left handed use, a feature that was not as well known within that time period and also allowed users to execute a setup command to rotate the display and touch screens to fit their need. The screen had handwriting recognition, meaning users could write simple notes of ideas on the screen and they could be saved to the application. To put it simply, PARCTabs were interfaces that generated events and reactions based on user input and actions. A 1990s version of the iPad.
While the PARCTab was a huge step in the right direction for graphical user interfaces and ubiquitous computing, as there is with every system, there were compromises the PARC team had to make which resulted in general criticism of the PARCTab. Screen resolution and the device size was a major trade off of the PARCTab. To make the end vision of the PARCTab possible, it must be an affordable alternative to the computers that current offices were using. A created system is only beneficial if it is actually used by the people that were targeted. Because of that, and the fact no one would pay for a $1000 tablet, screen resolution suffered greatly when it came to the creation of the PARCTab.
There were also the classic disadvantages when it came to the PARCTab design. Power management and resource allocation is a flaw that most smaller electrical devices have; the PARCTab was no exception. Assuming a person only used the device ten minutes every hour within an eight hour work day, the device can last for two weeks before a charge is needed. But that is solely relying on the fact that someone must follow this assumption. Should anyone use their PARCTab more often, like should be expected if they were being used in an office environment, the PARCTab would be lucky to last for two days.
Another major critique was the limitations of the communication between the PARCTabs. Because of the limited space and power of the device, further capabilities like methods of communication and storage within the actual PARCTab suffered. While there is an argument that every device will run into this critique as there is no such thing as the “perfect system,” it must be noted as a limitation within that time period as the PARCTab could not handle large volumes of mail. But that consists of the noted limitations surrounding the PARCTab, and while there are other smaller things that specific people when using might not have liked, the general consensus of the PARCTab was that it was an effective first step when creating a functioning and efficient ubiquitous computing system.
While that PARCTab did come with its limitations and was not necessarily deemed as successful as it could have been, the philosophy behind the PARCTab had long lasting impacts. It was able to take the concept of having a single, “block” computer and integrate the technology behind that device in a way that had not been commonly seen before. The PARCTab was an influential design that sparked inspiration for future advancements when the technology could finally catch up with the idea. The iPad and Samsung Tablet are modern day examples of the Xerox PARCTab, as well as more simpler ideas like touchscreen in cars and touchscreen ATMs. While they might not look the same as the PARCTab, these devices were heavily influenced by the research and advancements that the PARC Lab accomplished back in the 1990s.
It was on a tour of the PARC facility where Steve Jobs discovered the mouse, windows, and icons as well as other features that PARC had developed, further influencing the designs of Apple’s early iPads and MacBooks. The development of nearly every modern iPad and GUI interface was arguably influenced by the PARCTab as it was the PARCTab and PARC Labs that developed some of the most important technological breakthroughs in history like the graphical user interface. While the PARCTab and Xerox is not necessarily a brand name that is known in every household, it had an astounding impact on the continuous development of technology for the future.
While the PARCTab might not have stood the test of time, its overall goal was deemed successful. It set the groundwork for innovations based on ubiquitous computing and enabled the PARC lab to develop some of the most important technological breakthroughs of our time, Ethernet, Graphical User Interfaces, and computer animations.
The past always tends to influence the present. From the Xerox PARC to the iPad, Samsung Tablet, and every other company’s version, ubiquitous computing systems continue to evolve over time to meet the technological standards and expectations of today’s society.
