The Future of Smart Phones
It’s hard to believe just how far mobile phones have come in just a few short years. From bricks with battery packs as big a suitcase to super slim touch-screen smart phones with PC brains, it has been one hell of a ride. But what’s next for the once humble mobile?
If you look around at the current crop of Android, BlackBerry, Windows and Apple smartphones you’ll see some gimmicky ideas coming to the fore. Voice recognition, 3D – these aren’t a vision of the future, rather USPs that will keep punters coming through the doors – the real advances will be less headline grabbing, but far more important in the long run.
To predict the future of the smart phone, it’s important to look at where the mobile device fits into the larger technological picture of the next decade. As the cloud becomes ever more important, and more and more devices become broadband compatible, what functions will the mobile be key to providing?
When compared to other gadgets, one thing really stands out about the smart phone: it’s a personal device. While most of us are happy to pass around a laptop, tablet PC or home computer we’re a little more possessive of our phone – it has all our personal stuff just a click away, so it can be a secretive and private piece of tech.
More and more the smart phones will become your personal connection to everything technical you use both at home and at work. As broadband connects more and more of our daily lives, so the smart phones will be your own small window into all of that functionality.
When you think about it (with your geeky head on, of course), it’s actually an awesome prospect. Your smart phone will become your Internet TV and stereo remote, as well as plugging into your home telephone service. But beyond that will be all the new functionality of the connected home that is coming onto the market now.
Imagine you’re at the bar and suddenly panic that you left the back door unlocked. Grab your smart phone, punch up you home security system and check your settings – you, it was unlocked – one simple click of a button seals up your back door, while another puts the alarm on.
But that back door was open for an hour after you went out – someone could’ve already got in! No problem – simply sweep around your home via all of your security cameras, putting lights on and off to make sure nothing has been touched or broken. All’s well, but now you come to think of it you’ll be off home and it has gotten really cold – may as well put the central heating on, so it will be toasty when you get home.
Of course, this is the tip of the iceberg. Add in health monitoring for elderly relatives, operating your remote from anywhere in the world (forgot to set the Tivo before going abroad? No problem, do it from your smartphone), even letting a cleaner in while you’re away – the possibilities are endless. As our machines get smarter, the smart phones will become more and more useful.