Sure, there's plenty of crazy speculation about iPhone 5, iPad 3, iPod touch 3G, and all that good stuff. But I read a story somewhere about Apple hiring people to work on an enhanced mapping scheme. They're going to 'rethink' how people use maps on iPhone and iPad. And that got me to thinking...
How will people use mobile computing technology in 30 years? If Apple keeps their current product naming scheme, 2041 just might bring us the iPhone 35 and the iPad 32. Here's what I think mobile computing could be like in 2041:
iPhone sticker: Postage-stamp sized communication and entertainment device you stick to your temple. Voice and gesture activated, direct broadcast of 7.1 surround sound and 3d video into your brain. Gestures would be performed on an in-brain 3d projection that looks like it's in front of you. It's a personal device, so nobody else can see or hear what you are seeing or hearing. It's all in your head.
iPad watch / pendant: Another tiny device you wear on your wrist or around your neck as a pendant. Projects an adjustable-sized holographic cube with a 3d multi-touch interface in front of the user. This is for sharing 3d images with others, for multi-player 3d games, automatic flashlight at night, etc. (And it could be an alternative for old-schoolers who are still afraid of the in-brain projection technology used in iPhone sticker.)
Complete integration of real-life and VR experiences: You will see a VR layer superimposed over your actual field of view as you walk down the street. No need to hold up a physical device with a camera. Your iPhone sticker will read the signals on your optic nerves, interpret the data, and project a VR layer of store names, directions to follow, etc. in your brain.
Complete integration of live and online human interaction: You will walk up to your friends, your iPhone sticker will recognize them either by their iPhone sticker's ID signal or by interpreting the images on your optic nerves and using biometrics to ID people. Their most recent Facebook wall entries and tweets will appear next to them, and you'll be able to broadcast photos and videos to all of them in real time. And your iPhone sticker could look up people you don't know yet as well.
This all sounds crazy, I know. But think about what things were like 30 years ago, in 1981. If you told people in 1981 that by the year 2011 they would be using hand-held devices to talk to anyone in the world from where they stand, and be able to get data from anywhere in the world, wirelessly, over a digital communication system called The Internet, they would have though you were dangerously insane.
Just something to think about. Technology moves right along.
How will people use mobile computing technology in 30 years? If Apple keeps their current product naming scheme, 2041 just might bring us the iPhone 35 and the iPad 32. Here's what I think mobile computing could be like in 2041:
iPhone sticker: Postage-stamp sized communication and entertainment device you stick to your temple. Voice and gesture activated, direct broadcast of 7.1 surround sound and 3d video into your brain. Gestures would be performed on an in-brain 3d projection that looks like it's in front of you. It's a personal device, so nobody else can see or hear what you are seeing or hearing. It's all in your head.
iPad watch / pendant: Another tiny device you wear on your wrist or around your neck as a pendant. Projects an adjustable-sized holographic cube with a 3d multi-touch interface in front of the user. This is for sharing 3d images with others, for multi-player 3d games, automatic flashlight at night, etc. (And it could be an alternative for old-schoolers who are still afraid of the in-brain projection technology used in iPhone sticker.)
Complete integration of real-life and VR experiences: You will see a VR layer superimposed over your actual field of view as you walk down the street. No need to hold up a physical device with a camera. Your iPhone sticker will read the signals on your optic nerves, interpret the data, and project a VR layer of store names, directions to follow, etc. in your brain.
Complete integration of live and online human interaction: You will walk up to your friends, your iPhone sticker will recognize them either by their iPhone sticker's ID signal or by interpreting the images on your optic nerves and using biometrics to ID people. Their most recent Facebook wall entries and tweets will appear next to them, and you'll be able to broadcast photos and videos to all of them in real time. And your iPhone sticker could look up people you don't know yet as well.
This all sounds crazy, I know. But think about what things were like 30 years ago, in 1981. If you told people in 1981 that by the year 2011 they would be using hand-held devices to talk to anyone in the world from where they stand, and be able to get data from anywhere in the world, wirelessly, over a digital communication system called The Internet, they would have though you were dangerously insane.
Just something to think about. Technology moves right along.
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