[General Topics] RoboDan918:
What would you like to see?

All of the below are technologies that are AVAILABLE TODAY. They just haven't been implemented yet. When I say future in this thread, I want you to think about what will come THIS year, but also the years to come.

What's already out (see the bottom of the thread for archived, Q1-2 2012 stuff)

AUO Borderless Screen Phone

MAIN CONCEPT: borderless screens

Google (LG) Nexus 4 for $299 unlocked with no contract

MAIN CONCEPTS: affordability, direct from manufacturer, wireless charging, NFC, Wireless screen mirroring with Android4.2

Google (Samsung) Nexus 7/10 for $199/$399 unlocked/no contract

MAIN CONCEPTS: affordability, direct from manufacturer, NFC, Ultra HD on Nexus 10, Wireless screen mirroring with Android4.2

Asus Transformer Prime

MAIN CONCEPT: First ICS quad core tablet that turns into a netbook - second version (with 1080P HD screen - Asus TF700, not yet released)

Not shown: Asus Transformer 2011 Model, Motorola Xoom tablet (first Android tablet).

Also: Galaxy Tab 7.0 with keyboard

Microsoft Surface Tablet -

MAIN CONCEPTS: Windows 8, Mighty Fine Lookin' tablet with soft keyboard

HTC One X5

MAIN CONCEPTS: First 1080P Screen on a phone (Samsung and LG have both mentioned they will release one in late 2012/2013)

Samsung Galaxy Note IIhttp://www.samsung.com/global/microsite/galaxynote/note2/index.html?type=find

MAIN CONCEPTS: 5.5" screen phone, touch sensitivity pen

Asus Padfone 2http://www.theverge.com/2012/9/20/3363090/asus-padfone-2-october-16th

MAIN CONCEPTS: 4.7" 720P phone that slides into a 10" 720P screen tablet shell/dock. ONE DEVICE

What do you want to see?

Modern Cell phones have already swallowed up: MP3 players, GPS units, PMPs, PDAs, landline phones, many computer features and utilities. They can easily swallow up: tablets, MOST laptops, eventually PC towers, console games, portable gaming systems, automobile stereo head units.

MY TOP 10 PREDICTIONS FOR 2012/2013 - these technologies are ALL already available on the market, but are not yet integrated into one device.

1. FULLER INTEGRATION - (cellphone into tablet/laptop, pops into your car, etc.)

2. CONVERGENCE IS "DIGITAL MINIMALISM" - the newer and more complicated the device, the fewer devices you will HAVE to have. This also means you need less storage furniture, cases, cables, etc.

3. THE CLOUD WILL BACKUP EVERYTHING - Apps, all data, etc. will be automatically synched, encrypted, and devices will therefore be fully replaceable. In essence your device will only be a shell. This obviously means that you will be able to access your "Virtual device" from anywhere you are. With many data plans placing restrictions, this will be done mostly through wifi at first.

4. CLOUD APPS - Many of your apps and will be cloud based. This also means that the iOS/Android "great digital divide" will mean less. Part of the processing will also be cloud-based. This means devices will not HAVE to have the most amazing processors, but they will anyway for non-cloud apps.

5. MORE CLOUD SERVICES - but only a few BIG ones (ie Google, Microsoft, Dropbox, others) that everyone will use by default on their device. I forecast this for Android 5.0, iOS 6 (sort of in iOS 5 now)

6. WIRELESS EVERYTHING - no more cables! Not for data transfers (done by already released Bluetooth 4.0, Wifi Ad Hoc, or NFC-near field communications), not for internet (we've been using 3G for years and now 4G LTE is rolling out), and not for charging (inductive charging is already possible and relatively inexpensive).

7. WEATHERPROOFING AND DURABILITY - due to its lack of cables (see point 6), the phone will be relatively weather-sealed (CES 2012 confirms this). There may be a large 1-piece rear cover (like on the HTC Sensation) that is user removable for access to SIM card, Flash memory, and battery which has a rubber liner. More durable construction is already being seen on non-Apple devices like the HTC Sensation, and is in part due to Gorilla Glass technology.

8. BATTERY LIFE - as we become more dependent on our phones, manufacturers will feel increasingly pressured to put new and better batteries into our phones. There are already a lot of aftermarket batteries that exceed OEM specs and are high quality. The next likely battery technology will be Lithium-Air to replace Lithium-ion. (SAMSUNG AND MOTOROLA CONFIRM THIS AT CES2012 - planning on 24h battery life)

9. INDESTRUCTIBLE, FINGERPRINT PROOF, NO-GLARE GLASS - Technologies like Corning's "Gorilla Glass" are already widely used in smartphones. Gorilla Glass will be succeeded by Corning's new "Lotus Glass" (link above, now called Gorilla Glass 2 since CES2012). Omniphobic nanoparticle coating will also allow the entire device, screen included, to be virtually finger-print resistant. Other glass technologies allow for 99.5% light transmittance, meaning that only 0.5% of the light will be reflective, making it practically non-glare.

10. HD - Imagine real life. That's how the images on your phone will look. So much so it will be hard to distinguish the image on your screen from the real-life background behind it. High definition (720P) screens are already in many new phones, but you will also see 1080P screens (see: Transformer Prime TF700, "new" iPad)

For 2013 and beyond:

1. FLEXIBLE PHONES - OLED screens, already widely used in cellphones, are flexible already (depending on the substrate). Due to advances in circuit printing and substrate materials, not only will the entire phone be flexible (and therefore resistant to screen crack/shatter), they may also be "morphable" so that you can snap it onto your wrist when you're not using it. This flexibility also requires that everything is wireless (ie data transfer by BT4.0,Wifi,NFC,LTE, inductive charging)

2. WEEK-LONG BATTERY LIFE - as processors and other components require less energy, and battery technology continues to improve, you will see vast improvements in battery life.

3. CENTRALIZED DEVICE - The phone will, by 2013 and beyond, become the only device that everyone has (ie. no more laptops or desktops, except in some environments such as work where dumb terminals and centralized servers are rapidly replacing older desktop towers).

4. YOUR WALLET - Services like Google Wallet and PayPal NFC are geared to replace traditional credit cards, and therefor your wallet (excepting cash, which unfortunately you still have to use at a lot of places thanks to the greed of credit card companies and their 3-5% transaction fees - fees that are passed on to you and make everything more expensive)

Archived "Coming soon"

Motorola Atrix 2 - dual core phone that turns into a netbook

Motorola Droid RAZR MAXX - dual core phone with 3300mAh battery (about 2x better than other phones) Also has LTE

HTC One X - April 2012 - First quad-core 1.5GHz ICS phone to market (first of many if you check MWC)

Asus Padfone - April 2012- Phone that turns into a Tablet... That turns into a laptop (update from MWC2012 Barcelona). This is the first superdevice/Ultraphone

HTC Zeta - 2.5GHz (stock) Quad core phone, but only 1GB RAM

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