This week, I read the article ‘Portables, Luggables, and Transportables: Historicizing Imagined Affordances of Mobile Commuting’ by Meryl Alper. After reading this article, I pondered the spectrum of technological mobility and what will be its future.
The article features a quote from Charles Sharp, a product manager for Sharp Electronics in 1989 New Jersey. He stated, “A lot of people really believe that someday we’ll use computers just like we use telephones” (Lazzareschi, 1989). This made me laugh internally because little did he know that most people nowadays use their phones just like people used to use computers. Telephones are no longer connected to your kitchen wall and they no longer have antennas. Cellphones are entirely mobile devices that provide a diverse range of services to their users. Nine out of ten times, if I have to search something or Google or visit a website, I will do it using a browser on my phone, not my computer.
Technology, specifically its uses and mobility, has changed so much and so quickly in the past few decades. Laptops were innovational, cellphones were lifechanging, and tablets were luxury. The timeframe of technological growth leaves me wondering what is the next big thing that Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, etc. will produce to give us more mobility?
The creation of the Apple Watch is one example of surpassing cellphones in mobility. The small watches can take over the general functions of their iPhone companion. They can take calls, send messages, play music, track fitness, etc. Though they don’t replace cellphones entirely, they certainly do in some respects. For example, my 64-year-old father doesn’t always see text messages when they come through on his cellphone. With his watch, he always sees notifications which has greatly increased his response time. He also will go on walks and leave his phone behind because his watch has cellular and GPS so it can perform any necessary function he needs while out and about.
What will be the next laptop, tablet, cellphone, or watch? What will be the next innovation that surpasses its forefathers in mobility? Will there even be one? There is tons of information out there regarding what’s next for the cellphone. Bigger and better cameras, bigger and better batteries, touch screen flip phones, etc. Everyone wants to compete with Apple and in order to do that, they must provide something so innovative and eye-catching that the world cannot help but to switch over.
Yes, it is easy to find what’s next for cellphones. What’s not so easy is finding what new technologies are in the works that are not cellphones. Maybe car companies will start providing autonomous cellular devices in their cars. They can build off the idea of Apple Carplay but make it independent of the driver’s cellular device. Maybe someone will come out with ear pieces that can read notifications, take phones calls, and give directions. Although I cannot fathom the next big thing, I am positive it is in the works. The speed of innovation in the last three decades assures me of this.
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