Future Tech: Mobile Edition
It’s no surprise that technology has been making the shift from a tethered desktop to the mobile world for quite some time. We are slowly snipping the cables with ever-shrinking mobile devices and wireless capabilities. With recent trends, this mobile revolution shows no signs of slowing. More devices are able to communicate wirelessly, allowing for seamless integration between devices and (in theory) ease of use. Below are some of my predictions and observations as to the near future of mobile technology.
In the mobile market, Google will dust off their shelved services Dodgeball, GrandCentral, and Jaiku and incorporate them into the much anticipated Android platform for a rich mobile experience. It is too early to tell if this will be the ultimate mobile computing platform, but one thing is for certain, Google has their crosshairs trained on Apple’s iPhone. Google is currently holding a competition, open to all developers, to create mobile applications for the new Android platform to support their Open Handset Alliance standard. The competition is currently in between rounds one and two, having recently announced the top 50 developers. Round two is set to begin the second half of 2008 when the handsets become available to developers.
To compete with the Android platform, LiMo (Linux Mobile), another Linux-based mobile platform, has made headlines recently with Verizon Wireless’ announcement to endorse it as the new ‘Open’ platform for their next generation of mobile devices. A network, Verizon promises, that will support any handset that complies with Verizon’s standards. Also, a network that will be getting a significant speed bump as they begin to implement their new 700MHz spectrum they acquired hot off the auction block back in March 2008.
Location-based services (LBS) will be a major player in the next generation of mobile devices. The use of GPS will further blend the line between virtual and physical worlds with real-world hyperlinks, social networking, and marketing. With next generation GPS satellites around the corner, expect more accurate global positioning to expand the capabilities of LBS.
Whichever combination of service and hardware rises to the top, users will be the ones to reap the benefits of a solid mobile environment with a plethora of services available at their fingertips. The future looks very bright…and mobile.
[...] opening the doors to many location based services (LBS) and games. I had mentioned in an earlier post that LBS will be a major player in future mobile devices. Apple’s App Store is now [...]
iPhone 3G announced at WWDC 2008 « @mattmusgrave said this on June 10, 2008 at 6:58 pm