Friday, August 28, 2009

Smartphone capabilities in 5 years


I'm not a fortune teller, but I can tell you fairly confidently that smartphones will have some incredible capabilities in 5 years. Here are my predictions:
  • Much larger internal storage capacity that exceeds current Flash memory cards. I think we'll see many smartphones that have over 100 GB of storage space. They will rival current laptops in terms of storage.
  • Much faster processors that are fuel-efficient. (battery fuel). Current smartphones are still running in the MHz range. We'll see smartphones that rival current notebook processor speeds in the GHz range.
  • WiMax instead of Wi-Fi. Forget coffeshop hotspots. The entire city will be a hotspot.
  • Much faster data connections. 3G speed will be like 14.4 K modem speeds compared to modern broadband speeds.
  • Large touch screens. All of them will have touch screens. Smartphones that lack a touch screens will be considered "antiques."
  • Built-in GPS. They will all have internal GPS chips. This is becoming quite standard right now, but in 5 years, we'll see this as the norm.
  • Superior voice command and voice recognition. Who needs a keyboard if you can "say it?"
In essence, future smartphones will have the capabilities of current laptops (not the fastest laptop, but an "average" laptop). They won't have spinning hard drives, but they will be much more capable of multimedia and high-speed data connections. Just follow the history of the Apple iPod to see changes in Flash storage space, processor speed, battery life, and more. I believe Apple will continue to set the trend that others will follow. Samsung, HTC, RIM, Sony, Motorola, Palm, Nokia, and all the others will follow Apple's lead.

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