I know what you think – such a device would have a smaller and hardly usable keyboard. I dig the argument, but I don’t mind small keyboards. Sure enough, I’ll need some time to get used to it, but I think that’s manageable.

I remember trying out the HTC Shift (anyone remembers that gadget?). It was a 7-inch Windows XP (I think) tablet with a sliding QWERTY keyboard. At first I thought there’s no chance I’ll be able to type on this, but what do you know – I got used to it pretty quickly. In that sense, I believe I would adjust to a smaller keyboard a 7-inch Transformer Prime would sport in a snap. Of course that’s just me…

So I want to know – would you grab a smaller Transformer Prime? Or a 10.1-inch model is perfect for you?

Aside from the cool mini-laptop form factor, I would also like to have that screen detachable. However that’s not a must-have but a nice-to-have feature. Simply put – I need some easy to carry around device with full QWERTY keyboard for managing my email and writing. In that sense (considering the tasks use case), Sony shouldn’t ask too much for the Android-powered Vaio P. The steep price of the original model is probably one of the reasons it never took off — heck you can’t buy the Vaio P from sonystyle.com anymore.

Aside from Sony, this could also serve as a call to other tablet makers. I’m sure I’m not the only one craving for super small laptop which doesn’t even try to deliver all of the features of its “regular-sized” counterpart. That said I would also be interested in a 7-inch Asus Transformer Prime or the same-sized Asus Slider. Such product should come with a dual- or quad-core processor and other “standard for a modern Android tablet” features like Wi-Fi connectivity, optional 3G (not a must-have), Bluetooth, USB port and so on…

What do you think? Would you be willing to grab a small Android-powered laptop? And do you think it would make you (at least) slightly more productive?

Now before you go through the end of the (short) list, let me politely ask you to act decently when commenting.

On the other hand, if you think I’ve missed some reason, don’t hesitate to let me know. I love my smartphone and I’m always eager to learn about its “additional” plus sides. Let’s roll, shall we…

1. Smartphone is more entertaining

She’s (kinda) funny and I love the way she laughs, but I can’t slingshot her to pigs (or at least I haven’t tried that yet). Heck, I can choose between a number of games on my smartphone whenever I’m bored or read something cool, funny… whatever. She doesn’t have any apps.

2. Smartphone is always available

Unlock the screen and you’re good to go. Start apps, browse web, check email, chat with your friends, update your social networks… every action is instantly available (presuming you have a working Internet connection) with a tap of the button. Your smartphone is always with you, always available and ready to help you out.

3. Smartphone is more knowledgeable

Want to learn something new? Other people (girlfriend included) can tell you something interesting from time to time and you can (should) learn something from everyone. On the other hand, Wikipedia is always accessible with a single tap on the smartphone, offering great content on pretty much any topic imaginable. And that’s just one app…

4. Smartphone doesn’t bug that often

This one’s tricky. You know PMS and stuff, when “everyone” is too emotional. Smartphones can brick but not as nearly as often. And in most cases, all you have to do is restart the phone and you’re back to normal. Try that out with your girlfriend…

5. Smartphone helps you keep up with your friends

Rather than (from time to time) standing on your way, your smartphone is a tool that helps you keep up with your friends no matter where they are. You can instantly find out what they’re up to, chat or call them. On the other hand, your girlfriend may have an “agenda” that prevents you from hanging out with your buddies…

Now I know girlfriends have their plus sides; this piece comes from a (temporarily) frustrated blogger, remember. I (we) will be cool within an hour or so, and in the meantime don’t be too harsh on me. Please don’t write something like “10 reasons why monkey/pig/rock is better than Dusan.”

First of all – select your platform

There are 3 major platforms to choose from – iOS, Android and Windows Phone.

Personally, I own an Android smartphone (Samsung Galaxy S II) and I like it very much. However, I know Apple fans can’t stand owning any other device except the iPhone. There are good reasons why Apple is moving a record number of iPhone 4S units so I can’t say they don’t have a point.

Windows Phone is a tricky one though – the OS is rock solid and there’s a growing number of apps available for the platform. However, it’s still not where it should be, though Microsoft is working round the clock to make it better with the day.

Presuming money is not the issue, here are the best options

• Android – Samsung Galaxy Nexus or LG Optimus LTE – you can’t go wrong with any of the two. If you want the latest Android version right now, go for the Google phone (Galaxy Nexus); if you want the better camera and an awesome display, grab LG’s baby.
• iOS – iPhone 4S – it’s not like you have much of a choice here.
• Windows Phone – HTC Titan – it rocks a huge display, fast processor and you’ll love it.

My personal choice is – Samsung Galaxy Nexus, but then again – that’s just me.

The two reasons In mentioned in June were:

1. Amazon Appstore – there’s no good reason to offer Android apps only
2. HP could help Amazon make webOS-based Kindle

While the first reason is still valid, the second one needs rethinking. Perhaps HP could be willing to help Amazon some hardware-based effort, perhaps not. The fact that webOS is now open-source, however, opens new options for the online retailer – they could use an OEM they want without HP being involvement.

HP/Palm’s mobile OS is still pretty solid when compared to other platform and with Amazon committing its resources to make it even better, it may stand a chance in competing with Android, iOS and Windows Phone. Amazon could additionally offer better deals to big handset makers willing to make webOS products, eventually reaching the tipping point in the webOS adoption.

One more thing worth considering – although Kindle Fire runs Android, Amazon has a whole layer of customization running on top and that’s something they should be able to repeat with some webOS-based tablet.

Nevertheless I do agree webOS’ future is pretty blurry at the moment, but I’m also sure that if a company with big footprint in web services like Amazon doesn’t push it forward, no one will. What do you think?

If you’ve been using phones with physical keyboards, you probably noticed you type faster if the keys are narrower. It seems awkward but I guess that’s why BlackBerry users love their devices, while folks with side-sliders most often than not end-up typing using the virtual on-screen keyboard.

I haven’t spent that much time with Dell’s Windows Phone, though the short time I had with it made quite an impression on me. And I’m not talking about Windows Phone – that’s completely different story and something I don’t want to discuss in this article. I love the form factor – it gives you the great typing experience while at the same time leaving a ton of space for the actual content you’re typing/editing (no virtual keyboard on the screen).

The problem, however, is the phone’s thickness. If you have sliding keyboard, the phone itself can’t be too thin. Then again, when we know just how thin the Motorola RAZR is, one could easily imagine a version with a vertical keyboard, with the end result making for a decently-sized (not bulky device) that’s still easy to carry around in your pocket.

Now you could argue that sort of the phone is also the BlackBerry Torch or the Palm Pre 3, but that’s not exactly what I have in mind. Both of them come with let’s say “not that big” screens, whereas the Dell Venue Pro rocks both a large screen (measuring 4 inches) and the keyboard.

All said I suggest all of you who haven’t played with Dell’s baby to give it a try and let me know what they think about it. Similarly, if you already tried it out, I’m eager to hear your impressions. Do you like the idea or would rather keep the touchscreen part only?

In no particular order, here are the entrants for the infamous “Top failures of 2011″ list:

webOS

We’re sorry to see HP failing to meet expectations. They were super bullish when they acquired Palm, with the idea to mimic Apple’s iPhone success. At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona we had a chance to play with the Palm/HP Veer, Pre 3 and the TouchPad, none of which managed to capture customer’s hearts and minds. It seems to me HP failed to execute on its plans and we had to wait for too long for the official launch of the first webOS 3.0 device. What’s more, they also failed to attract major global operators on board, resulting in sluggish sales.

At the end, HP said it will continue to make the TouchPad tablets, presuming to provide support for potential developers, which may jump on board now that webOS is an open-source project.

Nokia

The Finnish giant went through quite a year. Its new CEO changed the course of the company, effectively dumping two platforms – Symbian and MeeGo, first of which was Nokia’s cash cow for the past few years. Instead, they adopted Windows Phone, getting some serious cash from Microsoft in exchange. As I’m writing this, stock holders aren’t seeing any benefits from the change but the hope is that once first Nokia Windows Phones hit the stores around the globe, the sales will return. And while the Lumia 800 is apparently selling like hot cupcakes on a cold winter day, we’re not sure that’s enough to satisfy the ever-greedy share owners. Next year may easily be crucial for the company…

MeeGo

The first and most-likely the only MeeGo-powered device was released this year – Nokia N9. However, the Finnish company doesn’t seem committed to drive this project forward, prompting Intel to react with the statement it will pursue MeeGo even without Nokia. And when we know Intel already tried that out with its Moblin platform, we can’t help but conclude that these may be MeeGo’s last days. Sure, the N9 rocks — it has an awesome UI and it’s pretty slick. However, without a major handset maker on board, there’s only so much Intel can do about it. And so far all other major players seem focused on other platforms, most notably Android and Windows Phone.

To make things even worse for the MeeGo’s prospects, the Nokia N9 is super expensive. It costs more than 600 EUR, which is a lot of money considering its hardware — the same cash get you a faster device equipped with a dual-core processor.

Sony Ericsson

Sony Ericsson was the only major handset maker that hasn’t launched smartphone with dual-core processor this year. We’ve seen that Xperia Duo and Xperia Arc HD from “in the wild” photos and as far as we know that could be the same device. However, it wasn’t announced yet and I’m afraid we’ll have to wait for early next year to see the first dual-core smartphone from Sony Ericsson officially announced. The company will most likely use the upcoming CES in Las Vegas or Mobile World Congress in Barcelona to unveil the new phone.

This failure to execute most likely made Sony buyout Ericsson and starting from the middle of 2012, new Android smartphones will only wear the Sony brand. Hopefully this will also mean that the new company will be faster to bring new products to the market. We’ll see…

BlackBerry PlayBook

Finally, RIM’s first tablet was at one point touted as the iPad killer. Needless to say they failed miserably having moved a symbolic number of units. Developers didn’t (and still don’t) like it, too, prompting the Canadian company to allow Android apps to run on the PlayBook. I won’t go in details here, Simon knows much better about “everything BlackBerry” and I’m sure those of you caring about the subject followed the demise of RIM’s tablet from his posts.

Now I’m eager to hear your thoughts. Have I missed some company or product? Do you think someone else deserved a place on the Top failures list?

Second, now that the DROID 4 is almost officially announced, it’s only natural Motorola will be looking for the rest of the world (outside of the U.S.) to get even more sales. And since “DROID” phones are Verizon’s thing, they’ll use some other name (Milestone) for the international version of the device.

That said, we expect to see the Motorola Milestone 4 announced from the floor of the upcoming Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

CES is international show but it’s still mostly U.S.-centric. In that sense, leaving the announcement for Barcelona makes much more sense.

Of course I could be wrong and the American handset maker may easily unveil the Milestone 4 even before the big show, but what will they announce if not Milestone 4? As far as we know, there’s an Android phone with 720p screen in the pipeline and perhaps some device (phone and/or tablet) with quad-core processor, but those are on a long tail. The Milestone 4 with HSPA+ connectivity sounds like something Motorola could start shipping within weeks if not days after the show, presuming they find carrier partners.

Finally to further “prove” this speculation, I’ll remind you on the last year’s MWC when Motorola announced Motorola Pro, which is the international version of the Droid Pro. I believe they’ll follow this pattern this time round as well. We’ll see…

Here are two main reasons:

1. iPhone 5 wouldn’t be the 5th smartphone from Apple — there was the original iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S — but 6th, so that number doesn’t make much sense.
2. iPhone 4G is too basic and also somewhat confusing when there’s also the iPhone 4S.

The way I see it, the next iPhone will most certainly support LTE and that super fast connectivity will be something Apple will want to emphasize. And is there a better way to do so than to reflect the capability in the phone’s name?

Of course I could be wrong and Apple may end-up calling it iPhone 5 rather then iPhone LTE, but as I said – that doesn’t make much sense to me. What do you think? What will be the name of the next iPhone?

On one hand, you could think that’s the original iPhone which didn’t support 3G connectivity. In that sense some folks referred to it as iPhone 2G, hinting it’s different than the iPhone 3G.

On the other hand, iPhone 3G is the second smartphone announced by Apple and that makes it iPhone 2.

However, the best answer is – forget about it. There’s no such thing as iPhone 2 and even if such a device exists, you wouldn’t want it anyway. Go for the iPhone 4S instead. Consequently, we may end-up referring to iPhone 4S as iPhone 5 if Apple decides to call its next smartphone iPhone LTE. After all it is the fifth mobile phone Apple has made. You see how complicated this could end-up?

So don’t even think about the iPhone 2 and iPhone 5, and concentrate on the current model instead – that’s iPhone 4S. Or if you don’t have enough money and still want an Apple logo on the back of your phone – grab the iPhone 4.

• NFC support – to enable contactless payments
• LTE – for super-fast mobile Internet
• larger screen – 3.5 inches is just not enough or at least I think so. A 4-inch screen would be much better.

In addition, we also forecast the next iPhone will rock a quad-core processor, which by that time will be a standard feature of high-end smartphones. Moreover, we wouldn’t be surprised if it gets even faster GPU to further cement Apple’s position in mobile gaming.

Now that would be the iPhone I would buy. And that’s what we hope to see in the iPhone 5…