We’re all eyes and ears about the new cool gadgets The Next Web team is checking out at CES, but this is one gadget that didn’t pop up in Las Vegas. Despite that fact, it still deserves some attention and recognition.

At a recent Google developers event in Tel Aviv, a proof of concept for a gadget that could change the way we communicate with the hearing impaired was demonstrated.

Three developers, Oleg Imanilov, Zvika Markfield, and Tomer Daniel, have come up with a glove that interprets sign language and turns it into text using a custom Android app.

The glove, which is still in its very early stages, would let someone who knows sign language speak in their native language while allowing someone to read the text version of what they’re saying on an Android app that it’s hooked up to. It’s a brilliant idea and the demonstration makes it seem like this product could have a future:

While the device is still being refined, perhaps the team should start a Kickstarter project to get more funding. I imagine that many people who have hearing impaired family and friends would love to be able to use this for communication purposes.

The gesture-sensing project for good is currently dubbed the “Text Glove” and uses an accelerometer, finger sensors, a gyroscope, and Lilypad Arduino to do its magic.

Big markets seem to always have three or four major players. The top wireless carriers are AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint. Music has the big four record labels with Sony BMG, Universal Music Group, EMI, and Warner Music Group.

Mobile operating systems have a big three too. It’s Apple, Google, and Microsoft. Yes, Microsoft.

Apple has a bit of a lead in the cell phone market, and the iPhone 4S has been the biggest seller for the top wireless carriers. Google has gained huge steam with its open-source Android operating system.

The battle for “social” has three big players too; Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. The companies behind them? You guessed it. Apple, Microsoft, and Google.

The future of mobile

Instead of talking about the future of mobile, you could make the argument that mobile is the future of everything. We’re making big purchases using our phone, interacting with the people we care about the most, along with everything else that really matters.

The future of mobile relies on how advanced operating systems can become. Apple’s iOS makes us think in terms of “apps”, which is becoming an old software way of thinking. Developers are starting to call the UI “Boxy”. Apple will have to evolve its OS to allow apps to speak to each other seamlessly without having to flip back and forth between them to connect and share information.

Android has a huge opportunity to capitalize on what Apple’s missing. Since the OS is open source, there are smart developers everywhere working on pushing the envelope outside of what Google could ever imagine or come up with itself.

And then there’s Microsoft. The latest Windows Phones running Mango are focused on social interactions. Live tiles bring your phone to life in ways that make Apple’s iOS feel stale and boring. It used to be a game of how much data you could get onto a mobile device, but now it’s more about how that data gets displayed.

These three companies will push each other to build the mobile experience around people and their daily lives. Watching YouTube videos in the palm of my hand simply isn’t impressive anymore.

The future of social

Microsoft should have an edge here, because of its involvement and investment in Facebook. Creating the best Facebook experience should be an area that Windows Phones can own. Unfortunately, they don’t own it. Even though Mark Zuckerberg couldn’t come to terms with Apple on building a partnership, the best experience for Facebook is on Apple’s iDevices. There are 800 million users there, so building the best Facebook experience would be a good idea for Microsoft.

Apple decided to bet on Twitter, integrating it deeply within iOS 5. So far, I haven’t seen any runaway uses of Twitter built into an operating system, other than being able to tweet something quicker than before. Twitter isn’t the future of social at all, it’s just a component.

And then we have Google and Google+. Google not only owns the OS, they own the social service. For Microsoft and Apple, they aren’t afforded that type of control. If Google truly is focusing on social, they can make the best sharing and interaction experience just by owning both the OS and the social service.

Unfortunately, the Android version of Google+ still feels stand-alone and not integrated into the phone. Perhaps the next version of Android’s OS will fix that. Jelly Bean, anyone?

Who will win?

Since Facebook has the advantage in social with its 800 million mainstream users, Microsoft better get its act together fast. The “Me” section of its Windows Phone OS is a glimpse into the future of social on the go. Updates and replies from all services are blended together into one personalized stream. From that stream you can interact with those people via text or phone call.

People will drive the future mobile and social experience, not apps. Therefore, we all win. All three companies will start focusing its experiences around interactions with people, not the services those people use.

Apple, you have your two strong competitors, it’s time to show us one more thing.

Have you ever wanted to dial your tweet to Twitter via a rotary phone? Of course you have.

Now you can, with a new science project called Tweephone.

Just when you thought rotary phones weren’t cool anymore, Twitter brings them into the next generation. Unteleported explains the amazing feat:

Tweephone is a joint project of two friendly digital firms. As the first anniversary of UP Digital Bureau was approaching, Unteleported tech agency had decided to present their friends with an execution of the UP’s geeky, yet interesting and challenging idea.

As a result, now anyone can post to Twitter from an old-school phone you can possibly find only at your granny’s. Text dialing is based on the same principle you can find in your old cell phones. For instance, to get «a» you have to dial «2» once, and to get «f» you dial «3» three times. To send the tweet you just have to simply hang up the phone. All tweets dialed on Tweephone are posted on its personal twitter account, and if you ever get a chance to try this device, you will definitely understand why they are mostly so short.

If you still think 140 characters limit isn’t enough to express oneself, you should try Tweephone — it will change your mind once and for all.

Rotary phones use the same dial tone technology as cell phones, so a rotary phone hooked up to a computer can send the same data. Tweephone displays tweets as you type them in. Rather, spin them in, using a rotary phone.

Here’s a video showing Tweephone in its full glory:

I find the blend of old media and new media fascinating, and I’d probably use this in my house. Judging by the demo though, it might take 20 or 30 minutes to get a tweet out.