Mobiles of the future

Macky · 22 Dec 2010 at 15:23

What is the attraction with augmented reality? The only usefulness of it I can see is GPS navigation anything else is just for fun.

Russinating · 22 Dec 2010 at 15:24

Macky said:
What is the attraction with augmented reality? The only usefulness of it I can see is GPS navigation anything else is just for fun.

You wouldn't need to spend as much to get beer goggles

.

MikeHunt79 · 22 Dec 2010 at 15:28

I don't think we'll see any huge new features anytime soon, just refinements I think...

The cameras in phones are set to get a big jump in quality and low light performance due to some funky sensor tech that's being done right now. LED's are still improving in efficiency and performance which will lead to an LED flash getting closer to a real xenon flash...

Sound quality can also be improved for phones that play back music. DAC choice and battery life need to be taken into account... Active noise cancellation when using headphones maybe possible also if the CPU and battery are up to the task...

It would be nice to see memory size increase too, 256gb or 512gb of memory to store things on would be good...

Batteries also need improving, they still lose capacity over time, and if this can be fixed then that would be awesome...

Lakeland · 22 Dec 2010 at 16:00

Agreed, if there is one thing I want to see developed it's battery life and memory capacity, one or two days per charge is rubbish, I'd like to see a week per charge and 120gb+

MikeHunt79 · 22 Dec 2010 at 16:52

Lakeland said:
Agreed, if there is one thing I want to see developed it's battery life and memory capacity, one or two days per charge is rubbish, I'd like to see a week per charge and 120gb+

120gb+ isn't too far off, but I'm not so sure about 1 week+ on a single charge, unless you choose to have a bigger phone overall...

If super-capacitors ever take off, that would be rather good, no more waiting hours for your phone to charge, your phone could be charged in a few seconds! :eek:

Le_Petit_Lapin · 22 Dec 2010 at 17:00

Lakeland said:
Agreed, if there is one thing I want to see developed it's battery life and memory capacity, one or two days per charge is rubbish, I'd like to see a week per charge and 120gb+

My battery life may leave something to be desired, however I do have 48GB in my phone right now, so 120GB isnt that far off at all. Could stick a 32 micro-SDHC in there, but have you seen the price of them!

vincent1989 · 22 Dec 2010 at 18:17

battery life.

i think phones are coming to the limit of what they can do without some small advancement in the things that power them.

sarge78 · 22 Dec 2010 at 19:26

Russinating said:
Probably pittance to actually manufacture, but then you have to take into account all the company's other operating costs which need to be covered from this - design, engineering, software development, marketing, sales, admin, customer support, logistics, real estate etc.

Parts for the Nexus 1 cost about $180, similar to the iPhone 4 ($174)

Amp34 said:
I really don't see the fascination with seethrough screens. 1, it means you can see through them, way to make the reading difficult, and 2, others can see what you're looking at.

You should be able to turn the transparency off (OLED/E ink combo)

Personally, I'd like a sAMOLED without the pentile matrix

Russinating · 22 Dec 2010 at 19:36

MikeHunt79 said:
If super-capacitors ever take off, that would be rather good, no more waiting hours for your phone to charge, your phone could be charged in a few seconds!

Now that I can imagine. Being 35 odd and saying "remember the days when you actually had to wait for stuff to charge" is very akin to "remember when you had to dial to connect to the internet and your parents couldn't use the phone at the same time" or "remember when hard drivers were over £1 per GB". It'll come, surely!

sarge78 said:
Parts for the Nexus 1 cost about $180, similar to the iPhone 4 ($174)

That genuinely surprises me!

MikeHunt79 · 22 Dec 2010 at 20:52

Russinating said:
Now that I can imagine. Being 35 odd and saying "remember the days when you actually had to wait for stuff to charge" is very akin to "remember when you had to dial to connect to the internet and your parents couldn't use the phone at the same time" or "remember when hard drivers were over £1 per GB". It'll come, surely!

The technology already exists:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_double-layer_capacitor#Consumer_electronics

In 2007, a cordless electric screwdriver that uses an EDLC for energy storage was produced.[39] It charges in 90 seconds, retains 85% of the charge after 3 months, and holds enough charge for about half the screws (22) a comparable screwdriver with a rechargeable battery will handle (37). Two LED flashlights using EDLCs were released in 2009. They charge in 90 seconds.[40]

They're still improving the capacity of super-capacitors, so it's only a matter of time before we'll have near instant charging phones. :cool:

I'd hazard a guess at 2012...

IamMed · 23 Dec 2010 at 01:43

clv101 said:
I had the 6210, that picture isn't it. That's a 3210.

Ahem..

[TW]Fox;18053919 said:
I think he is thinking of the 3210, not the 6210. The 6210 was the high end business handset, the 3210 was the very popular consumer phone with changeagle covers.

Russinating said:
That was the phone! Found it ridiculously hard to find a timeline of popular phones and my 10 year memory isn't so good. Updated OP .

mrk · 23 Dec 2010 at 02:35

Oh the memories!

My first phone was the Ericsson PF768 flip phone, this, but in dark blue/purple:

Then followed a slew of Nokias and Sony Ericssons when they merged.

I also had the 8110 "Matrix" phone after seeing The Matrix. Got it for free so was very happy back them. Put a bulge in my pocket though

Good times!

Azza · 23 Dec 2010 at 03:13

My first phone was a Motorola but I can not remember the name of it! Got it for Christmas and I got an awesome Simpsons phone case for it! It was amazing, on the ole BT Cellent!

I think it was this one... Motorola Timeport P7389 but I can not be 100% sure.

Myshra · 23 Dec 2010 at 11:33

I think we will see a change in performance and then form factor. More efficient codecs, screens and batteries are high in demand for the current generation of devices - we can't keep putting in more power hungry items in as battery performance is right on the edge as it is for average joe.

Once we start mastering this I'd expect a shift in formfactor to thin (possibly flexible?) devices with more simplification (eg putting 2 phones near each other to transfers files, regardless of OS).

Morba · 24 Dec 2010 at 00:47

talking of thin, an iphone that is as thin and light as the ipod touch 4g would be excellent. the 4g makes my iphone4 feel as heavy as a brick!