This is in response to Kent Newsome’s request for inspiration for his feed reading list (his ’swivel feeds’ experiment). As you can imagine, most of my 150 or so feeds I read regularly (there are more that I only glance at now and then) are focused on mobile technology, but there are still some that I think would be of interest. I don’t read as many personal blogs as I should, but there are quite a few one-man shows that I enjoy, and even non-commercial group blogs that come in very useful.

So without further ado, here are five blogs not already on Kent’s list that I think he, and others, might enjoy:

• Blogging Pro
  Lots of news and tips for personal bloggers and pros alike
• D’Arcy Norman
  Works at the University of Calgary, has an interesting insight on the education scene and internet trends in general
• Daily Cup of Tech
  Timothy Fehlman’s blog, full of freeware and really great guides to doing fun things with technology
• UNEASYsilence
  “Observing the unobserved,” full of interesting little bits and pieces on all sorts of topics
• PaulStamatiou.com
  Young blogger from Georgia Tech, interesting insights and reviews

I have tried to steer away from the larger, professional blogs in favor of the smaller outfits. Also, I mainly subscribe to technology feeds, which may have limited appeal to some. Hopefully someone will get something out of that lot though.

Remember, my main reading list is always available in OPML format here, and a rotating selection of links from that list that refreshes every ten minutes appears in my sidebar.

I hear a lot of talk from people about the fact that the traditional ‘dumb phone’ will eventually be deleted from the market in favor of smartphones. While this is a valid point of view, I don’t entirely agree.

Sure, smartphone hardware and software are getting cheaper and easier for manufacturers to produce, but I think there will always be a place for non-smartphone devices in the market. Simplicity is key here – not everyone needs the full features of a smartphone, and while that remains true non-smartphones will always be produced, regardless of how cheap it becomes to make smartphones.

I have seen a trend over time of a general rise in the technology level even in cheap handsets, which is an obvious repercussion from the reduced cost of the components that make them. I wholeheartedly agree that even cheap handsets will eventually come with big, high-resolution screens and other treats, but I doubt that all handsets will become smartphones. The PIM features in non-smartphones have come a long way, and have reached a point where they will accommodate most users; transitioning to a smartphone user interface will do nothing but add a level of complexity that will ultimately drive the market away.

I am all for the advancement of technology, but only if it suits the needs of the consumer. There will have to be a radical change in the usability of smartphones before they truly become mainstream, perhaps the introduction of a ‘dumb’ mode that removes things like the ability to install new applications and the more complex PIM functionality would be beneficial. For the foreseeable future though, I think there will still be the constant flow of new non-smartphone devices.