Mark Dean is the chief strategist for IBM Research. He was on the original development team that created the IBM PC and he holds three of the nine patents that describe what it means to be IBM compatible. He later worked in various IBM product groups and research organizations before becoming head of strategy in July, 2008. Here's what he had to say in a Sept. 2008 interview about where portable computing needs to go next:

It’s been a long journey in personal and portable computing, but we still have a long way to go. We still have to move farther in terms of the general community and usability. The personal computer has been a valuable tool, but my mother still doesn’t’ get it. It’s still not as easy and intuitive as using a phone. We can use some of our great technology, the advanced silicon capability, to simplify the delivery of content and services to a handheld. I hope I live long enough to see a device like a cell phone to be the next breakthrough device for computing. The iPhone is a step in the right direction, but it still needs a few things. For example, content needs to be developed that suits the phone. Look at the Web today. Most of the content is designed for a screen, that’s at least 12 inches on a diagonal. We’re still in this monitor mode. The cell phone will yield new types of content, like audio and mobile transactions, that are different than what you’ll do with the laptop. Also security needs to be higher. And still some things aren’t integrated. We have yet to find the next great input approach. We still type. We still simulate typing by putting little keys on the screen. One of the things we’re trying to do is move to interaction with the voice. Can I talk to my device and search rather than typing? On the iPhone you can’t talk and type at the same time. Five years ago I didn’t realize that we’d need a second Web, but now I do. It’s the mobile Web.