There can be only ONE!

Anyone who knows me know that I firmly believe that in the end, there will only be one - one device that is and that it will be the mobile phone - the one true convergent device - one device to rule them all! Anyone who thinks otherwise, is just plain daft and out of their tree. The proof? If any proof is needed, you need only look at the iPhone - bah, rubbish, I hear you cry, it doesn't do MMS, Copy and paste and lots more, but that's not my point - the point is that the iPhone today is more powerful that the first bondi coloured iMacs that came out 10 years ago. Don't believe me - see this comparison here - iphone wins on all counts. Taking that a step further and future-casting, the phone you will have in you pocket in 10 years time will be more powerful than the desktop or laptop you are reading this blog on today, it will connect with your bluetooth keyboard so you don't have to type on a small device (that is, if typing is still the preferred input method!) or else it will project it's own keyboard like itech's Virtual keyboard (see here). But what about the display, well, as of today, you won't have to be squinting at your tiny screen either - the first mobile phone with integrated projector is now available...The Lanye N70 - complete with it's iPhone rip-off menus.

You can actually buy this phone here for just $345 and although it needs two batteries to perform it's projection trick at the moment, that's sure to change. So you heard it hear first - in 2018 all we will carry is our iPhone like device and that's it - at work, at home, at play. It will store and manage your entire digital life, project it's screen to make it sufficently large not to loose your eyesight, and provide you with an appropriate input mechanism. Someone's over at the now defunct www.inewidea.com already had a mock-up attempt at this, but I think they missed the screen bit, but worth a look all the same... Can I call myself a futurist now?

Dancing on the street corner...

Courtesy of Hope the (very big) dog's blog from the cool guys at Modern Green (hello Steve, Gavin, JB the DJ and Amanda), I came across this Elbow video. In the video, a guy standing on the street corner does some great tricks with a "Condos for Sale" placard. While Hope thinks that all placard folks should do this, I kinda liken this guys antics with some of the retail bluetooth deployments I've seen - to quote Shakespeare - "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing". What's the point in having to wait to download and install an application on your phone, and then to have to browse through it to find that you've got a token for a free coffee with your sandwich and all you came in for was a pint (litre these days) of milk! Mobile media is all about content. Provide targeted, relevant, location aware content and people will use it even if it's branded. Send just ads, and people will do what they do with their TV's - change channel, or turn it off. In the bluetooth world the customer has the power to choose - so give them what they want - not what you think they need. By the way - buy the Elbow album "The Seldom seen Kid" - it's superb...