When consultants, strategists and visionaries worldwide were still contemplating ’The Future Of Mobile’ (only 6 years ago), we were all blindsided by an even bigger phenomena: the post-pc era. Suddenly “The future of mobile” sounded like something from an old Nokia
business plan.
When consultants, strategists and visionaries worldwide were still contemplating ’The Future Of Mobile’ (only 6 years ago), we were all blindsided by an even bigger phenomena: the post-pc era. Suddenly “The future of mobile” sounded like something from an old Nokia business plan.
The word Mobile means “capable of being moved”. The mobile phone enabled people to move their phone conversations, the Palm V enabled them to carry their calendar and the Blackberry enabled them to bring their e-mails.
Only now do we see how serious Steve Jobs was when he introduced the iPhone as three devices in one: a phone, a web browser and a music player. From the moment the app store was introduced, the iPhone transcended beyond the phone and really became hundred devices in one. The phone app is certainly not the most important feature of the iPhone anymore. My ‘mobile phone’ is mostly a camera, fitness device, social sharing device, a music player, movie player and production machine. It is very much connected, integrated and versatile. Furthermore, the iPhone became a platform, synching with other mobile devices, and I often find myself carrying a laptop, an iPad and an iPhone and using them simultaneously.
So where do we go from here? What would we like or need to “move with us”, and how will we move this? Will the iPhone stop being a phone in the future, just like the iPad never was one? Are we, again, fixated on one device and shouldn’t we look beyond the device? Will the next mobile be disconnected from what we consider mobile phones, and connect us to a new era of wearable and embedded devices, more integrated, more versatile?
Expert opinions by Howard Rheingold, Tim Ferriss, Max Schleser, Rudy de Waele and Andrew Keen.
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