What’s In Store for the Mobile Revolution of the Future?

There is an endless possibility with mobile technology today—we might think that we have already reached the pinnacle of innovation with slim and super sleek phones, tablets, touch screen panels, and the likes… but the more exciting fact is that it is just the beginning of a mobile revolution. If we think that iPhones, Android Phones, and Blackberry phones are the best that this fast paced world can offer—then we’re getting this all wrong. There are a lot in store for us with future cell phones technology.

Mobile Morph

This is definitely a thing of the future but many mobile phone manufacturers have looked into the possibility on mobile phones which can morph into different shapes and sizes with the use of nanotechnology. Nokia’s research lab has already set foot on this venture and soon enough we will be able to get hold of future cell phones technology with the ability to morph into wristbands, tablets, or the usual candy-bar type of phone.

Speed-Charge

One thing that many mobile phone manufacturers are looking into is the possibility of getting a speed charge of phones in a matter of seconds. This future  technology is highly possible with the use of Lithium ions. So in case you fail to charge your phone while preparing for your date—don’t fret, you still have less than a minute to get your battery up and running.

Credit Card Feature

If taking out your credit card from your wallet is a hassle for you, your phone can be a good alternative. You don’t need to swipe it in—you only have to bring it near a proximity sensor wherein your phone’s linkage to a credit card will be communicated with the machines. Now all you really need to bring when heading to the mall or the nearest fancy restaurant is your phone—nothing more.

Phones as Boarding Pass

A certain airline has already tried this feature and has been proven to become a hassle free manner of allowing people to board on plane. This  technology will allow your phone to receive barcodes which will then be scanned by airports. With this feat, no need to worry about losing your plane ticket or boarding pass—everything is now inside your mobile phone.

There are a lot of things that may happen in the coming months or years and we just do not know when these technologies will go mainstream. Future cell phones technology is unpredictable so don’t be surprised if one day, we’ll wake up to find our mobile phones morphing in different shapes and sizes.

The Future of Cell Phones

What's Next: Speed Is Just the Beginning

Today's mobile phones can already send e-mail, browse the Web, and keep you in touch with friends and colleagues via voice or text message. Tomorrow's handsets will add even more to the menu, morphing (as needed) into always-connected portable game consoles, full-featured TVs, and credit cards. Here's a quick look at what's coming:

Networks: In the next few years, cell phone networks will move data at several megabits per second, and will coexist with WiMax, Wi-Fi, and, for TV, DVB-H or MediaFLO. IMS will let them work together.

Handsets: Look for sleek designs (such as Frog Design's Ubik), better battery life, e-payment support, and graphics muscle for true TV and console-style video gaming.

Cameras: Expect not just high resolutions (8 megapixels and beyond), but also the same image-processing capabilities found in current digital still and video cameras.

Network Hopping: Enabling Seamless Internet Access

GSM, CDMA, Wi-Fi, WiMax: Can't we all just get along? With IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem), we just might. Now in trials, IMS network technology will allow any type of packet data--voice calls, video, music, HTML, you name it--to move seamlessly between IMS-enabled networks. With IMS, you'll be able to start a call on your cell phone and end it on a VoIP landline, watch pay TV on either a handset or a big screen (smart-card technology identifies you), and access your contacts from any connected PC or handset. But the benefits will kick in only once IMS is widely deployed, which will take several years.

Tomorrow's Phone: Fold It and Go

Artwork: Courtesy of Frog DesignsMany of today's hot new phones started out as just a glimmer in an industrial designer's eye. The most successful of these new designs are picked up by handset manufacturers and eventually offered to you by your cell phone service provider.

We asked Frog Design, the Silicon Valley industrial design and consulting firm with clients as diverse as Victoria's Secret, Maxtor, and Yahoo Music, what a cell phone might look like several years from now. They shared with us this innovative prototype design. Click on the image to see more features.

Special Report: Tomorrow's Technology

The Future of Your PC	The Future of Robots
The Future of Cell Phones	The Future of Privacy
The Future of the Web	The Future of Nanotech
The Future of OSs	The Future of You
The Future of Fun	100 Fearless Forecasts
Incredible Tech: Lies Ahead	A Look Back

Future Cell Phones

What’s Next with the Mobile Phone Race?

HD video and camera capability, super AMOLED or retina displays, full-multi-touch functionality, Wi-Fi, 3G or 4G enabled; super thin and super light weight—what more can we ask with the fast emerging phone models today? Or should we ask—has the mobile phone technology race reached the finish line? What does the future hold for mobile phones?

Cloud Technology

This isn’t actually a thing of the future because many cloud technology applications have been developed especially with Apple products like MobileMe. Cloud technology will enable future cell phones to store data like files, images, documents, music and videos in a virtual space called a “cloud” and will allow them to sync it or download it to other peripherals like their laptop, or other  cell phones.

Face Recognition Technology

If you think only highly secured places and computers have the chance to make use of facial recognition to allow a person access—upcoming cell phones are not far from getting the most of this technology. No need to input your password, passphrase or swipe your security pattern. All you will need to do is face your phone’s front facing cam and let it do the necessary processes for unlocking your phone.

Pro Looking Shots

Impressive HD images and videos have been boasted by a lot of phone manufacturers and most of today’s smartphones have at least 5 megapixel cameras. In the coming months, the competition for the future cell phones will be unprecedented as this will be the war of giant mobile phone technologies.  8 to 12 megapixels may come in handy! Soon enough, your phone will be able to boast professional looking shots.

Processor Speed

Speed is also expected to be boosted in the release of the upcoming lines. Most smartphones today contain at least 512 MHz to 1 GHz processor and surely, this stat will shoot up with the tight race between many phone manufacturers like Apple, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, HTC and the likes.

OS Improvements

Mobile technology is not just the war between phone manufacturers—it’s also a battle between operating systems which are currently being widely used by these phones. One of the leading operating systems today is the Android platform which many phone models use like Sony Ericsson, Samsung, HTC, Motorola and the likes. It’s close competitors are Apple’s iOS, RIM’s Blackberry OS as well as Nokia’s Symbian OS.

If we can imagine, about a decade ago—people were either mulling or going gaga about those simple cellular phones with analog screens, physical keypads and the likes. We cannot imagine how mobile phone technology has progressed over the past decade as today, we have hundreds of smartphones in the market heaping with a lot of features we could have never imagined while we were playing Snake or Space Impact on that Nokia 3310.

Definitely, there are a lot in store for mobile phone fans—features we might not have even imagined wildly may pop before our very eyes. That’s how fast mobile phone technology progresses.