Remember those tiny monochrome screens, the ungainly protruding aerials on a brick-like device that could barely fit into your pocket? Your cellphones in those days were only good for one thing: They let you talk to people. And today? Almost as commonplace as a wallet, these spiffy little “pocket computers” have evolved into the Swiss army knife equivalent of consumer electronics. Any standard device today comes loaded with at least a camera, calendar, Web browser, organizer, timer, stopwatch, radio, instant text messenger and a video camera. They are smaller, sleeker, smarter and of course, more versatile. It is no less than a generational leap.
Stretching the limits of form and function, tomorrow’s cellphones promise to be even more indispensable. Soon, keypads will give way to technology that can respond to your voice, even gestures. How about speaking to your phone rather than using the keypad? Maybe you’d do better to just wave your fingers at it.
Nokia is developing a futuristic phone, Morph, which—yes—can double up as a bracelet. Samsung is developing a phone that can interpret hand gestures to make a call. Want more? Researchers in the US are reportedly working on a model that is charged every time you shake, move, bend or even rub it against your body. It’s all happening faster than the speed your PC boasted just five years ago. Let’s look at a few ways in which tomorrow’s cellphones will make life easy for us.
No wallet? Got phone
Banking on your phone will soon become a reality in India too. The idea is to replace your wallet with a smart chip in your phone that carries all your banking information, from account to debit and credit card numbers, your driving licence, passport and even investment details. Silicon Valley veteran Sanjay Swami, founder of Bangalore-based mChek, foresees a future when our cellphones will be enabled to perform transactions such as share trading, withdrawing money from ATMs and making payments at restaurants and movie halls. MChek has tied up with Airtel customers holding a Visa or MasterCard to enable them to make payments on select e-commerce portals such as Yatra.com through SMSes. He says: “It promises to transform society and will probably be on our phones much sooner than we imagine. There is no end to the possibilities your phones will enable you for in the future.”
A magic wand
The beginning of the end of the stand-alone universal remote is just round the corner. A number of branded toasters, video recorders and even microwave ovens today are Bluetooth-enabled. Your cellphone can make these talk to each other. Melloware’s Intelliphone remote (Melloware.com) works with an iPhone to control Windows Media Center PCs. You can move the cursor on the PC’s display by using the iPhone’s touch screen, and a Qwerty keyboard obviates the need for a separate wireless keyboard.