The mobile phone is fast becoming so much more than a mere communication device. For many people, it has already effectively become the remote control handset for their lives.
Despite still usually being referred to as a mobile it incorporates a dizzying array of functions that used to have their own separate boxes, and not too long ago at that. There’s the entertainment device, the organizer, the security center and the payment device to name a few, all exquisitely designed and developed by precision engineers.
Expanding Functionality of Mobile Phones
Many additional services are becoming possible as our mobiles store ‘remember’ an increasing amount of personal and personalized information about us. There are apps available that can recommend shopping lists for the day based on learned preferences, the probable contents of the refrigerator and previous selections that have been made. The sources of such raw data will be things like uploading bills from the local supermarket, with the software removing items that it will have calculated must have been used for meals earlier on in the week.
Equally, mobiles often effectively double for keys, music and wallet and it is, for many people now, unthinkable to leave the house without their phone. Obviously, this reliance can spell disaster if your phone breaks as it can leave you cut off from the outside world. Luckily, there are professional cell phone repair poway services that than fix your phone in a jiffy should the screen crack or a button fall off.
Existing networks
So, mobile phones have transformed almost beyond recognition from the days when they really were simply that, mobile phones, to penetrate increasing chunks of personal lifestyle territory, and this is a trend that looks set to continue.
Where will new technologies and expenses come into this increasingly intimate relationship we have with our mobile phones? The answer is surprisingly simple and rests mainly with the hardware. Existing cellular coverage is now widespread and the majority of homes already have high-speed data networks. With offices and public places like coffee shops and airports all providing Wi-Fi hotspots, everything is in place for mobiles to pick up the precious signal.
Flexible Smartphones are the Future
The future lies largely in having better physical mobiles. They will continue to improve, especially with the emergence of new materials technologies such as plastic electronics. Flexible screens, for example, are already being used in devices such as e-readers. The problem has always been that the underlying electronic components have necessitated a stiff back-plane that really negates the plasticity of the front-plane so that the device as a whole cannot be truly flexible.
Leading developers such as Plastic Logic have come up with innovative, flexible materials that can be used as back-planes in other devices and bestow the flexibility that has been something of a holy grail with technicians for decades. CEO Indro Mukerjee says, “Plastic Logic’s flexible plastic displays are completely transformational in terms of product interaction.”
The company has also pioneered small, flexible display screens that have a wide range of applications in everything from healthcare to credit cards.
“Plastic Logic’s development of a color flexible plastic display is particularly significant, since the same process could enable unbreakable, flexible display solutions with other media such as LCD and OLED,” he added.
We can look forward to seeing some really innovative designs for mobile phones coming out in the near future, characterized by the use of bendy materials. A flexible phone will be the essential accompaniment to a flexible lifestyle for all of us very soon.