A Marketing Opportunity -- Pocket Internet

There are times when we all come across a product we think is better than sliced bread. Even more interesting is when the manufacturer hasn't communicated the possibility and the benefits to the marketplace!

I'm having this experience with the "Pocket Internet" capability of the Treo 650. (The color screen is small but imminently readable, and the keyboard is more usable than you might expect. For heavy data input, I just enter it on my PC and "hotsync".)

Just as many people dismissed my joy with a car-mounted cell phone in 1990, many people dismiss the need for Internet access on the go. "I'll just wait until I get back to my desk", they say. But this is exactly where Palm has missed their window of opportunity...

Here are some of the numerous examples from my life, to give you insights into the convenience provided. If my firm can get through to Palm to help them do a better job making this product is relevant to modern westerners, these are some of my stories that we might describe:

• Visiting a big unknown city and easily getting to my next destination with step-by-step directions from my current location (Mapquest.com)
• Easily looking up the phone number for any business without incurring Directory Assistance charges (Whitepages.com)
• Being "out and about" yet able to check hours of operation for a haircut for my son (GreatClips.com)
• Finding out that my wife's flight arrival will be 30 minutes late, and diverting to spend that time doing things my kids enjoy instead of waiting at the airport (handy Palm software called FlightStatus)
• Seeing a rare antique car (BWM Isetta) in a parking lot and being able to quickly learn and share with my kids the years it was made and where it was manufactured (Google.com et al)
• Walking down the street and being able to read restaurant reviews while my wife checks out the menus (Zagat.com et al)
• Finding out the true meaning of "chimera" (Greek legend) to win a $10 bet! (Wikipedia.org)

Just to be clear, I am not trying to convince anyone that using a handheld screen is easier than a desktop monitor. I am saying that I've had very good success getting short nuggets of information that address timely questions! I firmly believe that this anywhere-ability to access terabytes of information via search engine and other means is going to change our lives in exciting ways.

So: what product or service are you so "close to", that you have overlooked learning and telling your customers' stories, compelling more of them to buy?