Smartphones Of The Future: 6 Cool Technologies
What will smartphones do next? Check out these technologies and ideas for next-gen gadgets.
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First up, why do we still call that familiar little friend in our pocket a "smartphone"? A phone? Sure, we still make or take calls, but it's high time the name of the device changed to reflect the use we're making of it today -- and the multitude of uses it will have tomorrow.
No, I'm not thinking "pocket computer," which sounds like something Flash Gordon might have carried in his utility belt. How about "life key"? Or just "my control." Because it takes only a moment's reflection to realize where that thin client in constant use is headed. It's part of a world-changing digital fabric, and woven together with machine-to-machine data, the Internet of Things, and the cloud (obviously), it's going to be the central dashboard for our working lives and our leisure lives -- assuming there continues to be a distinction.
We're nearing a major break in the smartphone's history. Whether that break will be sudden and clean, or gradual and sticky, is yet to be seen. It all started with the slow evolution of telephones: from separate ear and mouthpieces to single handsets; from rotary to push-buttons; and then from the table in the hallway to wireless portability. At some point, however -- whether you credit BlackBerry, Nokia, Palm, or Apple -- smartphone development irrevocably merged with the evolution of computing and the Internet.
In this slideshow, we take a look at six cool technologies coming to your pocket in the near to medium future. We're just scraping the surface, of course, but we think these technologies are at least representative of the direction so-called smartphones are going to take.
Specifically:
Smartphones will find ways to be off the grid, both as far as power is concerned, and in terms of being available for use always and anywhere.
They're going to be part of an ecosystem of connected devices -- in fact, they're probably going to be the system hub.
What's more, they're going to change the way we experience the actual world, transforming our surroundings into an ever-connected, informational environment.
There'll be much greater flexibility in modes of operation. The days of finger-pecking will be over.
And the physical properties of smartphones will start to adapt to functional needs.
Smartphones? Why do they even need to resemble handsets? Forget smartphones -- we're looking ahead to wearable (certainly), implantable (maybe), and even invisible (why not?) devices... but probably not shoephones.
The Internet of Things gives way to the Internet of Information. Find out how: Click the arrow to start the show.
(Image: Maxwell Smart of Get Smart. Source: Wikipedia)
Thanks to machine-to-machine (M2M) networking, say goodbye to regular car and household keys. Your smartphone will become the key to your home -- and not just to the front door. Growing from the seeds planted by Bluetooth and others, expect your phone to give you remote control over everything from home and office security to thermostats, lights, your TiVo device, and even watering the plants.
(Source: James086)
No more fumbling with WiFi logins and passwords, no more wondering where you put your hotspot. In the future, your smartphone will access the network from anywhere -- or, better yet, from the middle of nowhere. Technologies like WiFi Passpoint (also known as Hotspot 2.0) will transport your connection seamlessly from network to network, without you doing a thing.
(Source: Steven Rainwater)
Being able to connect from the middle of nowhere isn't much use if you can't find an outlet to recharge your battery. Wireless recharging just has to be a big part of the smartphone's future, and it will be, thanks to technology being developed by Duracell, Q1, and others. We just need it to be a universal solution.
(Source: Kozuch)
We all know that augmented reality is not just for gamers, but we're only just beginning to understand the extent to which future smartphones will be able to layer the world we perceive through our senses with enhanced informational content: maps, tags, suggestions, even ads, appearing and fading as we walk down the street, observing our surroundings through a screen (handheld or wearable).
(Source: Glogger)
A truly flexible smartphone -- or post-smartphone -- experience is going to steer us away from miniature keyboards, even touchscreens, and toward interaction featuring eye movement, gesture, brain waves (truly), or, most obviously, vocal commands. And it will be better than Siri.
(Source: Glogger)
Perhaps the most predictable alteration we're going to see with smartphones is a change in the physical form of the device. There's no good reason, after all, that the hub that seamlessly connects us with a fully networked world need resemble a telephone handset. One significant alteration already in the works is replacing the rigid screen with a more flexible, interactive surface. How about a screen that folds and unfolds like a tissue, but can transmit 3D, or even holographic, images?
(Source: Superdiddly)
Perhaps the most predictable alteration we're going to see with smartphones is a change in the physical form of the device. There's no good reason, after all, that the hub that seamlessly connects us with a fully networked world need resemble a telephone handset. One significant alteration already in the works is replacing the rigid screen with a more flexible, interactive surface. How about a screen that folds and unfolds like a tissue, but can transmit 3D, or even holographic, images?
(Source: Superdiddly)
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