Microsoft’s Fight Against Fat Fingers

Stuart Isett for The New York Times Mike Seltzer of Microsoft Research demonstrates technology that allows drivers to interact with devices using speech and touch.

At Microsoft, they call it “the fat finger problem.”

Chubby digits make it tough to work the screens on computing devices, which seem to get smaller every year. Your finger bumbles about, often covering up the very information that you’re trying to see.

Researchers at Microsoft think they’ve come up with a way to solve the fat-finger issue by letting people manipulate the back of a device with their finger while still looking at the front screen. It’s a project called Nanotouch and was one of many that Microsoft had on display this week at its headquarters in Redmond, Wash., during the TechFest event.

An early incarnation of the nanotouch technology could have people shuffling through songs on their cellphone or selecting contacts while touching the back of the device, where sensors follow the fingers’ movements. Patrick Baudisch, a Microsoft researcher, said this could be especially useful with games where you want to shuffle a character or object around the screen without your hands getting in the way of the action.

But the real motivation behind the technology is to pave the way for smaller and smaller devices that remain functional. Mr. Baudisch envisions women pinning electronic baubles onto their clothes to handle things like appointments instead of carrying along a proper calendar or phone.

“In my vision, you move away from always having something in your pocket,” Mr. Baudisch said. “You want things that allow for fashionable outfits and that blend into the clothes.”

Microsoft can make 8mm screens that are still functional with this technology, and the company expects unpredictable uses for its wares.

“We feel the cellphone is not the end-all, be-all of miniaturization,” Mr. Baudisch said.

A number of Microsoft’s researchers have work under way exploring new interfaces between man and machine.

For a while now, Microsoft has demonstrated its Surface computer, which allows people to manipulate objects on a tabletop computer. Such a product could be used in a restaurant to let people shuffle through menus and even place their credit cards on the screen to make their payments. At home, you could use a Surface computer for games or to flick through music and movies.

Now, Microsoft is looking to extend the Surface concept by pulling objects off the screen through a project called Second Light.

Stuart Isett for The New York Times Steve Hodges explains research on Second Light technology at Microsoft.

The technology behind Second Light is a bit tricky, but Microsoft is essentially sending two different sets of images from a projector up through the Surface display. The display on the device is configured to pick up one image. Then you can hold something as simple as a piece of paper in the air over the device to gather the second image.

According to Steve Hodges, another Microsoft researcher, doctors could use this type of technology for cancer detection. They could, for example, display a 3-D image of a breast scan on the tabletop display and then pull out parts of the scan via the secondary display, changing the angles of the image to look for tough-to-spot tumors.

“This is bringing the user interface into the real world,” Mr. Hodges said.

Again, the mind boggles at possible gaming applications for the technology where people could be doing one thing on their own screens while also having a shared vision of the game on the central, tabletop display.

One technology that’s probably closer to reaching consumers is the Commute UX software.

Microsoft has already worked with Ford on in-car software for handling some communications and media tasks, but the company says it can spice up this type of software by adding new layers of sophistication.

The prototype software has, for example, added more smarts to its voice recognition. If you say, ‘Play Bruce Springsteen,’ the software can ascertain that you’re probably talking about an artist rather than a song. The upshot is that you don’t have to remember the name of every song stored inside your car to play it via voice. The software will help you with some of the dirty work.

In addition, the software can pick up incoming messages sent to your cellphone, read them aloud and fire back a response. Microsoft has studied the most common responses to messages sent while people are driving -– usually stuff like, ‘I’m running late’ or ‘Be there in five minutes’ — and will present you with common, easy replies, so that you can stay focused on driving.

Microsoft has moved to create a digital copy of car manuals as well, which people can again navigate by voice. If you ask about how to install a car seat, the display will present a how-to video.

One last demonstration showed off technology that could add some smarts to cellphones.

People could point their phone camera at, say, a restaurant and receive its menu or aim it at a bus stop and receive an interactive route planner.

Despite the recession, Microsoft intends to keep investing billions into research and development efforts. The company is part of an ever-shrinking number of technology titans willing to finance a wide array of projects that may or may not pan out.

Facebook Tries to Become a Democracy

A week after its community erupted in protest over changes to its terms of service that appeared to give it control over its users’ information, Facebook announced Thursday that all significant policy changes on the site would be subject to comments from members and, if they prove controversial, a popular vote.

Most immediately, Facebook will open a dialogue with users over a set of principles, or “foundational elements for how we want to govern the site,” said Mark Zuckerberg, the company’s founder and chief executive. Users will have the opportunity over the next 30 days to comment and vote on these principles, which are posted in a document that tries to harness some of the verbal eloquence of a governing constitution.

“If we are trying to move the world to being more open and transparent and to get people to share more information, having an open process around this is ultimately the only way to do that,” Mr. Zuckerberg said in a conference call with journalists.

In making this change, Facebook is conceding again that it goofed with its new terms of service and needs to play closer attention to users.

“I think we really underestimated the sense of ownership Facebook users feel over the site,” said Elliot J. Schrage, Facebook’s vice president of communications and public policy. “Because of the information they post and share, the personal nature of that information, they want to feel a real strong sense of ownership over what happens.”

Significantly, the company is reserving the right to roll out new features without consulting its members, so it is not clear just how meaningful all this is. But here are two of the more interesting principles Facebook is proposing to its users:

Ownership and Control of Information: “People should own their information. They should have the freedom to share it with anyone they want and take it with them anywhere they want, including removing it from the Facebook Service. People should have the freedom to decide with whom they will share their information, and to set privacy controls to protect those choices. Those controls, however, are not capable of limiting how those who have received information may use it, particularly outside the Facebook Service.”

Transparent Process: “Facebook should publicly make available information about its purpose, plans, policies, and operations. Facebook should have a town hall process of notice and comment and a system of voting to encourage input and discourse on amendments to these Principles or to the Rights and Responsibilities.”

Hyundai Mobile at Mobile World Congress 2009

Hyundai Mobile MB-105 Chico

With a smaller footprint than a credit card and a diminutive price tag of just €20, the Hyundai MB-105 Chico is certainly one of the smallest and cheapest phones to come to market.

Hyundai MB-105 Chico You wouldn't expect much for this sort of money, but the MB-105 can support SMS messaging, has up to 500 phonebook entries, enough memory for 50 SMS messages, a built-in alarm and an optional headset.

The display is a very small 1.2" monochrome panel, and underneath this is a simple 900 / 1800 MHz dualband GSM phone.

Hyundai are suggesting that the MB-105 might make a good second (or even third) phone, or perhaps it could be an interesting promotional item. Either way, the MB-105 looks interesting and is the sort of thing that we at Mobile Gazette enjoy having a play with.


The MB-105 should be available next month.
Hyundai MB-490i

Hyundai MB490i Dolphin The Hyundai MB-490i is a strange looking device, a strange combination of curves and ripples that look strangely familiar.

in concept to the Samsung D780 DuoS. Both Hyundai and Samsung seem to thing that there is a big growth area for handsets like this, and the MB-D650 midrange price and tidy design may make it appealing to some.

We don't know the exact specifications of the MB-D650, except that it does have a multimedia player, a 3.5 mm audio socket, microSD memory, Bluetooth and a 2 megapixel camera. The 2" display appears to be a 176 x 220 pixel panel. This is a dual-band GSM device with support for GPRS data only, and the handset weighs just 91 grams.

An extra set of keys on the front look like they are designed to swap easily between SIM cards. Other than that, you could carry on your secret double life with the MB-D650 with nobody being any the wiser.

Hyundai say that the MB-D650 should be available from March, but did not give any guidance on pricing.
Can Hyundai succeed?

Can these handsets succeed? Most manufacturers are expecting to see a decline in sales during 2009, so trying to launch the Hyundai Mobile brand in new territories may seem foolish. On the other hand, the Hyundai name is associated with good value for money, and it may be exactly what the market is looking for. One thing is for certain, these three new handsets and the rest of the Hyundai range are distinctive enough from most other products to make them interesting. We think that Hyundai have a good chance of succeeding.

LG KT770

The LG KT770 is a sliding Symbian phone, an unusual addition to LG's range which usually avoids smartphones like this.
The very low-key launch of the KT770 is frustrating - we have some specifications, one photo and not much more to go on. One of their previous Symbian phones, the KT610 was let down by a lack of commitment from LG, and we are concerned that this interesting phone might meet the same fate.

This is an "N95 class" device with a 2.8" 240 x 400 pixel display, GPS, WiFi, 3.5G support and a 5 megapixel digital camera, all wrapped up in an elegant looking slider format.

The 400 pixel wide display is useful for web browsing or navigating when the KT770 is turned on its side. Most Nokias can only manage 320 pixels, so the KT770 has the advantage here.

The 5 megapixel camera has facial recognition, smile shot and a panoramic function, it looks like it has a flash too and we are guessing that it has autofocus. The KT770 can geotag photos using the pre-installed locr application.
The GPS can be used with Ovi Maps, or there is a free 15 day trial of Navigon. Presumably, you can also use the KT770 with Google Maps.

Other included software includes a Facebook application, a Fring client for VOIP and instant messaging and a version of QuickOffice so that users can work with Office documents. There's a multimedia player, but no mention of an FM radio.

This is a dual-band UMTS device with HSDPA, plus quad-band GSM. Maximum download speed is 7.2Mbps, and there are two different versions of the handset with different RF band support. Internal memory is either 1GB or 2GB, expandable to 16GB using a microSD card. Battery life is unknown, but we think that the include 950 mAh battery will probably offer only a couple of hours talktime on 3G.

This is a pretty cool looking phone and a competent rival to the Nokia N96 and Samsung i8510. We can only hope that LG give this phone the attention it deserves.

Toshiba TG01

Toshiba first gave people a peep at the Toshiba TG01 a few days ago, and they have now announced the full details of this powerful Windows Mobile phone.

Unusually, the headlining feature in the TG01 is the processor. This is a 1GHz Qualcomm QSD8250 which Toshiba say is twice as fast as the processors usually found in Windows phones. The memory is larger than most too, at 256MB RAM. In a lot of ways, running Windows Mobile on a phone is like running Windows on a PC.. the more memory and processing power you can throw at it, the better.

The big 4.1" touch-sensitive display has a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels in 262,000 colours. This is ideal for web browsing or just about anything else you might want to do with the TG01. The display has been enhanced using Toshiba's REGZA technology lifted straight from Toshiba's well-regarded TVs.

Toshiba are very keen to tell you that the TG01 is incredibly slim for a phone of this type, coming in at just 9.9mm. What they don't tell you is that the rest of the phone is huge. Measuring 129 x 70 x 9.9mm, the Toshiba TG01 has a 25% bigger "footprint" than the Apple iPhone, and it is almost identical to what Windows phones looked like in 2003, although about half the thickness. Despite this large size, the TG01 weighs only 129 grams which is a shade lighter than its Apple rival, probably due in part to the magnesium alloy casing.

Toshiba TG01 We have lost count of how many custom interfaces that we have seen running on top of Windows Mobile 6.1 recently, but Toshiba have added yet another one. This uses "three stripes" on the menu and has animation going on as you navigate through the various options. Whether or not these custom interfaces will survive the new Windows Mobile 6.5 is an interesting question.
On the back of the TG01 is a 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus, which is nothing particularly special.

This is a GPS-enabled phone with support for A-GPS. It's not clear what personal navigation options are included, but there are a number of add-on applications available for Windows Mobile devices. The large touchscreen will also be idea for any kind of satellite navigation tasks.

Toshiba TG01 (white) The Toshiba TG01 is a quad-band GSM phone with support for 2100 MHz UMTS with HSDPA download speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps and HSUPA upload speeds of up to 2 Mbps. Alternatively, you can use the phone's built-in WiFi connectivity. Talktime is quoted as a maximum of 5 hours, although it is not clear if this is on 3G or GSM.

All the standard features are here: the TG01 has a web browser, multimedia player, supports push email, it comes with Bluetooth 2.0, microSD expandable memory and a micro USB connector.

There are an awful lot of good touchscreen phones due for release in 2009. What sets the Toshiba TG01 apart from the rest of the pack is the large, high-resolution screen. It also helps that this is a very attractive looking device that is significantly sexier than some older Toshiba smartphones.

Toshiba have not said exactly when the TG01 will become available, or how much it will cost. The two available colours at launch are "deep black" or "vivid white",and interested customers can preregister on the product website.

Planned obsolescence: cell phone models

The BlackBerry Curve 8900, one of RIM's newest and slickest smartphones, became available from T-Mobile just a few weeks ago. But even in the days leading up to its release, there already was Net buzz about the 8900's successor, the 9300, which is supposed to have an even bigger screen and other improvements — and is not due out until the end of this year.

It seems like cell phones have a market lifespan as long as the average American's attention span, especially for cell phoneaholics who dream in CDMA and GSM.

"The life cycle is definitely longer than the rumor cycle," said David Chamberlain, principal wireless analyst for In-Stat Research. "Lots of (the Net buzz) is wishful thinking."
Chamberlain says most phones have a market life cycle of nine to 12 months. Go into a phone store and look for a model, say, X-7543-a, and if you don't get it that day, chances are the next time you look, the phone is gone, but there's a similar one called the X-7553-c. It still looks like the original — kind of — but it has a few new features.
Or, try finding a battery for your mobile a year after you buy it and odds are you'll be hunting for one on the Web, and that your wireless carrier has long since moved on to newer models and doesn't carry a replacement battery in stock.

Kevin Burden, ABI Research's mobile devices director, says a particular model can be available for between 18 and 24 months. But because phones "take a beating," and also are "visible extensions of our personalities" for most users, it's an item that "easily justifiable to replace every couple of years."

In the United States, wireless carriers' policies of heavily subsidizing phones when customers sign up for one- or two-year contracts, reinforces the idea of change, even if you're perfectly happy with the phone you have been using.

"Operators do this where they can because they know if the subscriber has a better phone, he or she is more likely to use services, which more than pay for the difference in cost on the phone," said Allen Nogee, In-Stat's wireless infrastructure and technology analyst.

Different story elsewhere
Tina Teng, iSuppli Corp.'s senior analyst, wireless communications, notes that "North America has a shorter replacement cycle" of less than two years for cell phones when compared to other countries where "the replacement cycle can go up to four to five years," something that is "definitely difficult to imagine for us."

"In developing countries, with voice-centric phones and low incomes, people keep phones a long time," said Nogee.

"Up until recently in Japan, a country where the phone is status and technology, replacement frequency was often." However, phone subsidies in Japan "are being phased out, and phone sales have dropped like a rock," he said.

Phone sales may not drop like a rock in the United States, but there's no question they're being hurt, along with just about everything else, by the economy.

In 2008 worldwide, 1.8 billion phones were shipped, 3.5 percent more than in 2007, according to IDC's Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker. But the fourth quarter of 2008 saw a 12.6 percent decline in shipments.

The "one bright spot," IDC said: smartphones, which handle e-mail, Web surfing and video, as well as some word processing and spreadsheet programs.

In North America last year, the smartphone market grew 70 percent, and in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, it increased 25 percent, IDC said.

Smartphones: Less incentive to switch
Unlike their voice-centric counterparts, smartphones require more of a financial investment — with many subsidized models costing between $100 and $200 — and monthly voice and data plans starting at between $60 and $70.

There's also the learning curve investment. Using a smartphone is not as simple as a more traditional voice-oriented phone. Smartphones mean getting to know an operating system, something that takes time and patience, which along with money these days, many of us find to be in short supply.

It will be interesting to see how frequently smartphone users upgrade to new models or even change to phones with a different operating system, say going from an iPhone to a BlackBerry or vice-versa.

We're certainly seeing new models being cranked out that are variations on recent themes, not entirely new to learn but tweaked in the looks department. The handsome Samsung Behold, for example, is a startling look-alike of the Samsung Instinct, one of the company's flagship phones introduced in mid-2008.

Samsung also recently released an Instinct in pink, an alternative to the original black Instinct.

At the recent Mobile World Congress in Spain, "Nokia announced the 6700, which is absolutely based on the very successful 6200," said Chamberlain. Phone manufacturers update their models, adding new features and paying close attention to the "external styling," he said.

"It's not all that different from the 'planned obsolescence' brought to car styling in the mid-1950s," he said.

In the BlackBerry Curve's case, the new 8900 runs on a second-generation, or 2G wireless network, which can be slower for Web browsing than third-generation, or 3G. The next Curve iteration, the 9300, may come with 3G, a bigger screen and slightly different keyboard.

'Tweaks,' rather than changes
It can take up to two years to develop a phone, but most phones today are "not built from scratch," said Nogee. "Rather, tweaks are usually made to existing features," something that can be done in months, with the aim of having "new models come out several times a year," he said.

Phones that are especially "complicated with a totally new platform — hardware and software — can take more than two years" to develop, said Teng of iSuppli.

"The best example would be the Android-based handset," she said, referring to the first Google phone, or G1 as it's known, which was made by HTC and released last year.

Found: A GPS Device That’s a Parental Tool, Too

Not being able to find your keys is frustrating. Not being able to find a loved one can be frightening.

Related

All G.P.S. Coverage

Location Based Technologies’ PocketFinder is a GPS device that lets you locate the holder anywhere in the United States via the Internet. PocketFinder, about the size of an Oreo cookie, can fix its location within 30 feet. Users can track someone’s whereabouts through the Internet or a Web-enabled smartphone, or by text message or phone.

PocketFinder lets you designate safety zones and danger zones, and alerts you if the device enters or leaves such areas. It can also track how fast the device is moving and notify you if a preset speed limit is exceeded (parents of teenage drivers, take note).

You can also place the PocketFinder, which is waterproof, on your pet’s collar or your luggage. The device can run up to seven days on a charge and will text, call or e-mail you when it’s running low on juice.

The PocketFinder will be available in March for $130 and a monthly service fee.

Cycling Enters the Electronic Age With a New Gear-Shifting System

The bicycle, one of the world’s most resolutely human-powered machines, will join the long list of devices that have switched from the manual to the electronic when a new gear system makes its debut this weekend at the Tour of California.

Skip to next paragraph

Multimedia

Interactive Graphic

Changing Gears Electronically

Although the battery-powered derailleur by Shimano promises to bring ease and accuracy to changing gears by enabling riders to shift with a light touch to two electronic switches, traditionalists worry that it may erode the basic tenets of the sport.

“People choose bicycles precisely because a bicycle’s motion requires only human effort, and nothing could be more simple, independent and autonomous,” Raymond Henry, a cycling historian in St. Etienne, France, wrote in an e-mail message. “Any source of external energy, however weak, runs counter to this philosophy.”

Whether the gear system becomes the next iPod and redefines bicycle technology or ends up as the sport’s version of the eight-track tape will hinge on a number of factors, the most obvious being performance, reliability and cost.

Two earlier attempts at electronic gear changing by a French company, Mavic, often malfunctioned in rain. Another company, Campagnolo, has delayed bringing its version to market because of the economic downturn.

Shimano’s version, known as the Dura-Ace Di2 7970, is being used by three professional teams competing in California: Columbia High Road, Garmin Slipstream and Rabobank. About 10 riders will race with the system even though they have used it on only one or two training rides after receiving them late this week.

Bob Stapleton, the owner and general manager of Columbia, said many of his riders had doubts about using bicycles that could literally run out of power. The Di2 system has no manual override if its battery goes dead. That event can be an irritation or a disaster, depending on the terrain and what gear ratio the bike is stuck in. Shimano estimates the battery will last for about 1,000 miles per charge.

“Their careers can be made on the results from one race,” Stapleton said of his riders. “So they prize reliability over everything.”

Stapleton, an experienced amateur cyclist, has used the Di2 system extensively and is a convert.

“I think every high-end bike within three years will have this, maybe sooner,” he said, adding that the system also eliminates much of the maintenance required by mechanical systems.

A full set of components with electronic gears will cost about $1,250 more than the newest mechanical version, which sells for about $2,750. Upgrading an existing Shimano system is expected to cost about $2,200. The system will fit onto nearly all racing bicycles.

Later this year, Giant, the largest bicycle manufacturer in the world, will offer a bike designed to use only electronic parts for about $14,000, which includes the cost of Di2. If consumers fancy the device, it will likely follow the pattern of other new electronics and drop significantly in price over time.

Electronic gear-shifting technology has spent a long time in development. Prototypes of Mavic’s first system, the Zap, made a cameo appearance at the 1992 Tour de France and the company introduced its second attempt, the Mektronic, in 1999.

For much of this decade, both Shimano, which dominates bicycle parts the way Microsoft dominates computer software, and its venerable Italian competitor Campagnolo occasionally tested prototype systems on the bikes of pro riders. More often than not, the prototypes were devoid of trademarks, presumably to limit embarrassment if results proved as unfortunate as the Zap.

The Campagnolo and Shimano systems share the basic design of current mechanical derailleurs. That is, a parallelogram that moves the chain back and forth and, in the rear, two spring-loaded wheels to keep the chain taut.

Two paddle-shaped electronic switches that sit behind the brake lever allow riders to shift gears. Tapping either paddle lightly in Di2 sends an electronic signal through a wire to a small motor inside the derailleur, moving the body and thus the chain by turning a worm gear. Even Devin Walton, a spokesman for Shimano, acknowledges that when it comes to the rear derailleur, there is little or no difference in shifting between the electronic and comparable mechanical offerings from the company.

The gains are move obvious, however, with the front derailleur, which moves the chain between the two large, toothed rings on the bicycle’s crank।

That is partly because the electronic front derailleur is able to make constant readjustments to reflect changes in the chain’s position caused by shifting with the more frequently used rear derailleur. That allows the electronic front derailleur to use a more efficient shifting mechanism, one that would drive riders to the point of distraction with fiddly readjustments on a mechanical system.

Skip to next paragraph

Multimedia

Interactive Graphic

Changing Gears Electronically

Campagnolo has faith in its electronic system and is waiting for an upturn in the economy before launching. “We’ve got extremely positive feedbacks concerning shifting quickness, precision and user friendliness,” Lerrj Piazza, a spokesman for Campagnolo, said.

Because cycling teams rely on sponsorship from companies like Shimano for their financial survival, several riders were reluctant to discuss their concerns about the system, which range from the prospect of battery failures to difficulty shifting gears using the small and very sensitive paddles while wearing gloves. But after a couple of training rides, George Hincapie of Columbia said he agreed with his team owner, Stapleton, about its merits.

“The shifting is amazing,” he said. “I was very impressed as soon as I tried it.”

The action of the electronic system is so effortless that, compared with mechanical levers, it leaves users feeling almost disconnected from the bike.

After trying the system, Jonathan Vaughters, the chief executive of Garmin Slipstream, anticipates that initially it will be most widely used on special bicycles used for time trials, races against the stopwatch, and triathlons. Vaughters, a former professional rider, believes that most of the two-second margin by which Chris Boardman won the opening time trial of the 1997 Tour de France was owed to his electronic Mavic derailleur. The device, which worked for that race’s 7.3 kilometers, allowed Boardman to maintain his aerodynamic position even while shifting.

If Di2 does prove to be reliable and is a success in the market, do not expect an automatic transmission next. Walton says that such a system, at least for racing bikes, would need to analyze a rider’s physical state and well as read his mind.

“There’s no way for the system to know when you’re about to sprint,” Walton said. “When you’re in competition, you have to be in control.”

Laptop Has Rich Features and Price to Match

A recession leads some to live more modestly. Of course, the economical approach isn’t adopted by all.

Skip to next paragraph

Enlarge This Image

Related

All Computer Coverage

Take the new ThinkPad W700ds notebook from Lenovo. It comes with a 17-inch primary screen (1920-by-1200-pixel WUXGA resolution) and a second 10.6-inch retractable screen that can tilt up to 30 degrees.

The laptop’s options include an integrated color calibrator that adjusts the screen’s color, a built-in Wacom digitizer tablet, dual integrated hard drives, up to 960 gigabytes of total storage, a Blu-ray player, a seven-in-one multimedia reader and five U.S.B. ports.

The 700ds also features Wi-Fi as well as optional WiMax, dual fans for the central processing unit and the graphics processor, and an optional fingerprint reader.

The 11-pound ThinkPad W700ds is available now starting at $3,663. The company says it is aimed at oil and gas explorers, photographers, designers and other PC users who require high performance, but Lamborghini, Hummer and Harley-Davidson owners might also appreciate it.

A Wireless Carrier Offers a Different Inducement to Drop the Landline

The Hub home phone from Verizon Wireless has a 800-by-480-pixel screen that can display a menu of applications, among other uses.

Here’s news you won’t see too often from a wireless carrier: Last week Verizon unveiled a new phone that is not a mobile device। Rather, the Verizon Hub is a home phone system that the company claims is a giant leap forward from traditional landline phones.

The reality? The Hub is indeed a leap, and for Verizon subscribers who have important add-on services, lots of friends and family members using Verizon and $250 or so in disposable income, it will be a worthwhile upgrade. Whether it is enough of a leap forward for others is far less certain.

For starters, you can’t even use a Hub unless you already have an account with Verizon Wireless, which immediately knocks about 70 percent of the American population out of the running. Beyond that, the device is similar to a phone you might see on an executive’s desk. The device, measuring about 6 inches by 11 inches, has a wireless handset and a seven-inch LCD display with a readable 800-by-480-pixel resolution.

But the Hub is different in many ways from the typical phone/speakerphone/dock combination, and not just because it’s more expensive than most ($250 before a $50 mail-in rebate, plus $35 a month for the service, which includes unlimited calls in the United States and Canada).

First, calls are carried over the Internet, not the Verizon Wireless network. For many users, this means venturing for the first time into the world of voice over Internet protocol, or VoIP, calling. But in this case, it’s a mostly meaningless distinction, since Hub calls are as clear as landline calls. The only reason it’s worth mentioning is that Verizon won’t sell you a Hub unless you live in an Enhanced 911 service area, where 911 calls to emergency services from VoIP phones can be identified by address.

The bigger difference between this and other phones is what the Hub’s little screen can do. In Relay mode, it is a desktop SMS device, on which you can receive, compose and send text messages and picture messages. But you can do this only as long as you’re communicating with other Verizon users — which, again, limits the Hub’s utility.

The Hub is one of the first home phone systems with visual voice mail. It gives the phone number and sometimes the name of the person who left the message. That means you can skip to the important voice mail first. You can also quickly program the device to send an e-mail message when you have voice mail waiting or to only send messages marked urgent.

The Do Not Disturb function will send every incoming call directly to voice mail without ringing the phone — a nice feature if your children, like mine, try to flee the dinner table every time the phone rings. And you can program the service to ring three separate phone numbers — your cellphones, for instance, if you don’t want to miss an important call.

Other Hub features increase the usefulness of services that previously had been available only on the Web. Those who use Verizon’s Chaperone service, for instance, can use the Hub to quickly check a child’s location on a map, and change the settings so the service sends an alert when the child moves a certain distance from a location. The Hub can also be used to send directions to a Verizon phone, assuming the recipient subscribes to the carrier’s VZ Navigator service.

In some cases, the Hub comes close to getting it right, but doesn’t quite make it. Instead of using a laptop or the Yellow Pages, you can search the Hub’s directory for people or businesses, then type in a phone number and get directions. But the directory itself has a major flaw. You can’t simply type “pizza” and “10036” and get results, unless 10036 is your home ZIP code. Rather, you have to create a location for every ZIP code you intend to search outside your home area, then select that location and start your search.

Even the Hub’s vast video library, courtesy of Verizon’s V Cast service, included some puzzlers. Among more useful videos, like one on how to make a daiquiri and previews of scheduled cable TV shows, were those offering “Christmas Food and Fashion” tips.

Of the hundreds of videos available on V Cast, I didn’t find any that convinced me the service offers anything better than what is on the Web. If you’re not great at navigating the Web, this could be useful in much the same way that AOL was helpful to Internet newbies years ago. Otherwise, it probably won’t get much use on your Hub.

Much better — and, thankfully, more up to date — were the movie listings, which included trailers you can watch on the Hub. And it was easy enough, from the Web page dedicated to my Hub, to add photos and turn the device into a digital photo frame.

So much for what the Hub can do. What it can’t do is perhaps just as important. So far, you can’t surf the open Internet with this, nor can you check e-mail. Verizon says it may add these services later, along with software refinements that will correct some of the flaws I noted.

In the device’s current incarnation, though, is it worth it? If you’ve got a Verizon subscription with multiple lines and unlimited data service (for all your intrafamily texting) and if you use the Chaperone and VZ Navigator services often, it is indeed worth considering. If not, this device isn’t worth switching for — at least not yet.

QUICK CALLS Verizon said this week it was on the verge of cutting its “New Every Two” phone discounts for subscribers who renew their contracts. Those with monthly plans of $35 to $80 will receive a $30 discount instead of the old discount of $50. Those with monthly plans of $80 or more will receive a $50 credit, instead of $100. ... A new T-Mobile phone, the Samsung Memoir, is a photographic specialist, with an eight-megapixel camera and a 16X digital zoom. This touchscreen phone will be on sale soon, at a price to be determined. ... Bank of America recently introduced a mobile app for BlackBerry users to help its customers quickly track their bank balances and find A.T.M.’s. The company has similar apps for iPhones, iPod Touches and phones using Google’s Android operating system, like T-Mobile’s G1, with other devices to follow.