Why the Top?

It seems that the media loves to reminisce. Over the past few weeks I've read, heard, and saw hundreds of top-10/top-100 lists depicting the best/worst of 2009 and of the past decade. Everything from iPhone apps to music to sociological phenomenons to scientific breakthroughs has been scrutinized and ranked.

Now a little bit of nostalgia is always fun but never have I seen such a heightened sense of past-awareness. Is the future so uncertain that all we can do is wrap ourselves in the safety of previous events? This is probably a big part of the answer for mediums such as newspapers and magazines - which might not even exist by the time 2019 rolls around.

But why are so many bloggers so obsessed with cataloguing the past 1-10 years? Probably because it's such an easy concept to turn into quasi-meaningful content. A ten minute search can revive my memory of nearly any concept. The 2000-2009 decade is the first to have broadband documentation of every significant moment. So top-10/top-100 lists are the perfect mix of convenience and nostalgia.

Apple's Safe Society

Apple has received a lot of criticism for making the iPhone application universe a closed system. Every single application must be vetted by Apple's mysterious approval process before it makes it to the iTunes app store. This system is quite different from how Internet-enabled and PC-based applications function - where free-for-all rules rules govern how applications are created and distributed.

Although I agree that a closed system is highly flawed in many ways, it is also an extremely comforting mechanism. In a world where any web pop-up, email attachment, or even Twitter/Facebook link could lead to virus hell, it's very pleasant to not worry about whether an application will disrupt my iPhone.

No matter how controlling, limiting, and ultimately closed the iPhone ecosystem remains, it sure is very user-friendly - down to the inherent peace-of-mind concerning every single application download.

The Barriers to Touching

Many prominent technologists and industry watchers are predicting the death of the keyboard and other button-based input methods. The argument is based on the initial success of the iPhone (the first mass-market touch-based product), the declining prices of supporting technologies, and the possibility that such forms of input are in some way simpler and offer greater space-saving opportunity.

I generally agree with this opinion but also think there are a few fundamental hurdles left before touch-based tools become more widespread:

• Tactile Feedback. The beauty of the keyboard and the mouse is the feedback that the keys and buttons inherently provide - enabling us to feel the right key as it is pressed. A flat surface will need to mimic such feedback for typing to be possible - something that RIM has begun to do with the Blackberry Storm.
• Ergonomic Shape. The flat surface - typically used for current touch-based inputs - isn't conducive to comfort as it doesn't conform with human anatomy. Even the typical QWERTY keyboard seems more comfortable. The shape of touch-based tools will need to be redesigned, especially for repetitive usage that takes place in the corporate environment.
• Flexibility. I've intentionally used a vague term to describe the final barrier because it encompasses a few different concepts such as the speed of response, the accuracy, and the durability of this type of input. Generally, touch-based tools still feel fragile and not battle-tested for those 2 AM presentation-development binges.

Although not insignificant, these barriers will be overcome in the next few years, ushering in the age of touch-based input.

The iPhone Spy Hurts Innovation

It seems that Apple recently filed a patent for a new gadget to be installed in future versions of the company's popular smartphone, the iPhone. This gadget will essentially serve as Black Box for the device, allowing Apple's technicians to detect any tampering if a device is brought in for repair. The official purpose of the device is to prevent those who've "abused" their iPhone from attaining new phones through the warranty.

For now, it seems that the Black Box won't be able to remotely communicate with Apple's servers but it does leave the door open for a very discomforting slippery slope. Apple has already been widely criticized for the closed nature of its iPhone - e.g. every single program has to be approved by Apple before it can be sold to iPhone users.

I believe that this development is very detrimental to mobile innovation in the Apple ecosystem. Without the ability to tinker with hardware, personal computers would have never experienced the innovative renaissance of the 1980s and 1990s. I fear that Apple is already stifling innovation by tightly controlling the development of new applications. The Black Box will further this trend with the iPhone's hardware.

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.

What does fun do for you?

New technology has given us thousands of new activity-options. More specifically, we've been given the ability to entertain ourselves and be entertained by an immeasurable amount of content, in numerous shapes and forms, and through various new channels. From the Nintendo Wii, to the iPhone, to IMax theaters, time has become the greatest bottleneck slowing total digital nirvana.

Thus we pick and we choose our entertainment ever-more carefully. No longer is fun enough to justify an entertainment activity. Additional utility is required to justify new forms of amusement. We demand to be bettered and entertained at the same time. Leisure time must move us forward in life.

This is why the Wii Fit has become such a success - fun and fitness at the same time. This is why the Nintendo DS offers users the ability to improve the mind through playing mind-exercising games. This is why Malcolm Gladwell's books are so popular - the ability to learn complex ideas through a lightweight and pleasurable way. This is also why television options such as The Learning Channel, Discovery Channel, History Channel, Food Network, and Home & Garden Television have all substantially grown their ratings and cultural significance.

Future forms of entertainment will greatly benefit from providing productivity in addition to fun fluff.