A few weeks ago, I expounded on the need for dumb phones. Rather than pairing a zillion-featured phone with its horribly cramped interface with a zillion-featured handheld with its decent interface, why not pair a handheld with a phone that does nothing but voice, and routes everything else to the handheld over Bluetooth where there is a real interface. Recently, however, I realized I wasn't thinking far enough outside the box. If the phone isn't being used as anything except a receiver, then why have a phone at all?

No, I've not suddenly converted to the smartphone/hybrid camp. Against-the-face ergonomics and in-the-hand ergonomics are simply too different for one device to do both as well as dedicated devices can, although the Treo 600 comes pretty close. But wasting a hand to hold something against your face is so 20th century (yes, we do like abusing that phrase). The future, finally, is Bluetooth.

Start with a solid WAN handheld, built specifically as a handheld. Give it all the fun handheld features like a big screen, good audio, thumbboard or virtual handwriting (or better yet both), and a GSM/GPRS connection. Think a palmOne Tungsten W crossed with a Tungsten T3. Now, give it Bluetooth, and bundle it with a good, pocket-safe Bluetooth headset like the Jabra BT250. Not just a 2-for-1 deal, but in the same box, from the same company, and, here's the deal-maker, sharing the same recharging cradle and cable, both of which should be included, so that there is only one power cable (and not a wall-wart, either). The handheld can handle speakerphone functionality and have a small microphone as a backup, but in general all voice support should be expected to go through the headset.

By building the two devices as a pair, that allows a company to give users a lot of advantages. First, as mentioned, a single power solution reduces traveler-tripping cables and can charge both pieces simultaneously. All data features (SMS, games, email, web, etc.) stay on the handheld where they belong. If the headset is on, then the handheld should instantly forward all incoming audio to the headset. The handheld should support automatic text-to-speech Caller ID as well as event announcements (Ding! Meeting with boss in one hour). It also means only one device to turn off in theaters and doctor's offices. (You do turn off your phone in the theater, don't you?)

The handheld should still have virtual number buttons (or numbers as part of a thumbboard), but should support speaker independent voice recognition for contact name and digit-based dialing so that it's never needed. Microsoft has an edge on PalmSource here, with the recent release of software to do just that on any Pocket PC Phone Edition handheld. It would be nice if they could throw in headphone support for MP3 and Ogg playback, instead of clumsy wired earphones, but current battery technology would probably nix that idea for now. Perhaps in version 2.

Although bundled, it would behoove whoever is building such a nice setup to stick to the standards so that users can mix and match components however they wish. That includes supporting both the headset and handsfree Bluetooth profiles on both handheld and headset (since, unfortunately, the industry can't decide which to use). It also includes foregoing any proprietary extensions that would lock the user into those specific units. If the product can't stand on its own features without proprietary lock-in, then it shouldn't stand at all.

In the end, we then truly have the best of both worlds; all of the convergence features of a hybrid but without any of the form-factor sacrifices that those traditionally require, hands-free operation standard, fewer knotted cables, fewer devices, and only one vendor to worry about. The only think simpler would be direct neural link (although I hear Jeff Hawkins is working on that), and it would help drive sales of handhelds even further, if Jupiter Research is to be believed.

So palmOne, Dell, Sony or HP - heck, anyone: who wants to be under my Christmas tree in 2004?