The Mobile Upgrade

I've had my old BlackBerry mobile phone for nearly three years. Due to a lack of time and patience, I've been putting off an upgrade for quite a few months. But as the keyboard loses its responsiveness and the screen dies a slowly dimming death, I will be forced to make the upgrade decision within weeks.

Three years ago, this decision was pretty simple. If I wanted to send and receive emails, surf the mobile web (kinda), and make phone calls, the BlackBerry had nearly no competition - it was essentially the only real "smartphone." Today, hundreds of phones fit this description. Some have tactile keyboards, some have touchscreens, and some have both. Most have some sort of digital application marketplace - where I can buy cool, downloadable programs and games. Nearly all are reasonably priced.

Within a few short years, the smartphone is nearly a universal device. Manufacturers have realized the potential for this next generation of devices. This rapid flood of new phones has surely made my decision more difficult - and I have the feeling that I'm not the only one.

Safe Cells?

Mobile telephony has been plagued by the rumors of negative side-effects since the beginning of widespread adoption. Scientists have issued countless studies that have yielded in contradictory evidence concerning the safety of cell phones. The public perception of physical dangers has fluctuated but has never seemed to slow the proliferation of ever-more sophisticated mobile handsets and ever-more ubiquitous mobile usage.

Today, it was announced that the Maine legislature is considering requiring mobile phones to carry warnings about potential negative effects - such as cancer. This would be the first time that such a public and reputable warning would be attached to mobile phones in the United States. It would conceptually make mobile phones similar to cigarettes and alcohol.

Would such a warning have any influence on mobile usage? Potentially - especially if steps to minimize risk were clearly outlined - e.g. using the speakerphone option, etc. But unless these warnings are based on new, more conclusive studies, the massive expansion of mobile will not be slowed. Unless more short-term negative effects become clear, the positive efficiency impact of mobile services will continue to push further adoption.

Augmented Reality in Aisle 3

Augmented reality is one of the leading technological trends in the mobile communications space. This concept brings together a few different mobile-centric features - including the handset camera, the location-sensing features, and a mobile connection to the Internet - in order to deliver quite a compelling mobile service. Essentially, augmented reality allows the owner of a mobile handset (usually a smartphone such as an iPhone) to point their camera at the world around them and see an overlay of useful information through the phone's display.

This information can be purely factual - e.g. the name of the architect who designed the building in front of you. Or the information can be based on a collection of opinions, reviews, and other subjective matters - i.e. the ability to see a restaurant review by purely pointing the mobile device to the front door of the restaurant.

Where I see this technology potentially revolutionizing the we live is within the confines of shopping. For instance, the mobile phone's augmented reality features can fulfill the role of a personal shopping consultant - providing nutritional information and advice for food purchases, matching and pairing advice for clothing selection, or giving utilitarian advice when shopping for tools or construction materials. The possibilities are quite interesting and could be very innovative.

Although startups and software developers seem like the obvious catalysts for this innovation, old brick-and-mortar retailers might find that taking the early lead on this development might provide that additional spark in consumption needed to get us out of this recession.

The QWERTY Opportunity

The QWERTY keyboard has been around since the late 1800s. It is still the dominant format for most keyboards, now primarily seen on desktop computers, laptops, netbooks, and smartphones. Although the QWERTY was somewhat intuitively designed, by placing letters in different positions based on frequency of usage, it is not considered the most optimal model for a writing interface.

So why does QWERTY still dominate? It is still by far the most popular format because of the self-reinforcing cycle of usage-and-training - i.e. because QWERTY is so universal most new typists learn to type on QWERTY and thus demand it in the future, this makes QWERTY even more universal. The same cycle can be seen in hundreds of examples every day: the steering system for cars, the computer mouse, the telephone, etc.

For a new system to replace the old and well established way of doing things, it needs to be more than just better. It must be so much better that it breaks the usage-and-training cycle. This is clearly a tall order but also a very lucrative opportunity. That's why so much money continues to be spent (wasted?) on improving technologies such as voice-recognition and touch-screens. The value of becoming the new universal standard is enormous.

At Arm's Length

Since humans first developed rudimentary tools to solve simple problems, we've felt very comfortable and seemingly attached to useful handheld items. A recent study offers a potential explanation as to why we so easily utilize inanimate objects to solve countless problems and to better our lives. The investigation concludes that it's likely that our minds perceive handheld mechanical tools as natural extensions of our arms, as actual continuations of our anatomy.

"The brain maintains a physical map of the body, with different areas in charge of different body parts. Researchers have suggested that when we use tools, our brains incorporate them into this map."

This makes a lot of sense. It also potentially explains consumer behavior and technology adoption patterns. Our physiology could be the reason that the personal computer truly experienced rapid acceptance when the mouse was attached as a standard interaction-feature (a much more handheld tool than the keyboard). This could also partly explain why mobile communication, with the mobile handset, has so quickly spread to surpass personal computer penetration or why the Nintendo Wii is so revolutionary for gaming.

It's pretty obvious that a lot more handheld gadgets will soon be available, and now we know that our anatomy is already prepared.

Mobile Matters

With the Palm Pre being released this weekend and the upcoming Apple announcements concerning new iPhone versions coming this week, I thought that this would be a good opportunity for me to give some advice to handset manufacturers and the mobile network operators that release the phones on their networks.

Since I won't be so arrogant as to assume what others value in their phones, I will give my personal top-ten phone features in regards to usage. I am a professional in my mid-20s, living in New York, and this is what I care most about in my mobile handset:

1. Voice. This is why I will never purchase the Palm Pre in New York as long as it's on the Sprint Network (my negative perceptions of the Sprint Network are a whole different story). With the mobile phone quickly replacing landlines, voice quality and reliability will grow in importance.
2. Keyboard. I type a lot. Unless a phone has a full QWERTY keyboard or something as simple and easy to use, I won't even consider it - important for 3, 4, and 5.
3. Corporate Email. This is one of the main features keeping me from getting an iPhone (besides the keyboard). Although the iPhone does support enterprise email capabilities - my company's IT department doesn't. I will not carry two phones.
4. Personal Email. This primarily includes Gmail but also my personal BlackBerry email.
5. SMS (Texting). All phones support this now. Pricing-plans might affect my decisions.
6. Mobile Internet. Reading the NYTimes.com and CNN.com fills idle time and is still in front of downloading applications for either of those two news sites.
7. Mobile Applications. Games, location-based services, and other types of apps are quickly rising on my list. This will be at #6 soon.
8. Performance. Speed and memory matter more and more as the Mobile Internet and Mobile Applications are beginning to push my phone to the edge.
9. Battery Life. I've learned to live with bad battery endurance.
10. Sexiness. Appearance does matter a little.

I know that a student or a soccer mom might have different preferences. For example, price isn't close to being in the top-ten for me. I also know that the list is somewhat messy, but so is the mind of a typical consumer.