iPhone Of The Future
5 Ways It Will Change Your Life.
One dirty little secret about predicting the future is that it isn't all that different from when you were a child.
If you're thirty years old today, you might notice that - despite your dreams of flying cars and tubes that took you to work - the world is actually pretty similar to how it was in 1985. People still ride in cars to work, still live in conventional houses, and still talk on telephones.
Ah, yes, phones: that's one area where we've come miles and miles. Today, our phones aren't only portable, but they're all inclusive - they come equipped with satellite-assisted navigation, electronic mail, instant messaging and, of course, music. When the cell phone first became popular, it was a revolution in portable technology. Today, we carry computer systems in our pockets.
That's one reason the iPhone is promising to change the way we live our lives - and has already delivered on its promises. But there's more potential to explore every time Apple unleashes a new iPhone and an App changes the way we interact with the world. Here are five ways the iPhone will continue to change our lives.
1. The iPhone as a hotel key. Huh? Yep, I said it: the iPhone might just unlock your hotel door in the future. No, I'm not talking about unlocking someone else's room, but rather functioning like the current electronic cards you're often likely to receive at today's hotels.
It sounds like a small change to your routine - taking out a phone rather than a card - but the implications are interesting. A firm known as OpenWays is currently working on the solution, which would actually allow you to skip the check-in desk and walk directly to your hotel room, having made the reservations in advance. Tnooz.com has further details on the mobile-phone-as-hotel-key story.
Of course, not checking in to your hotel would remove much the customer service portion of staying at a hotel - a move that many people simply wouldn't enjoy. A great solution is to keep an "optional" check-in desk that features a concierge that is available to those who would like to hold on to the old way of doing things.
2. Advanced social networking. Sure, it's one thing to have a Twitter profile - it's another thing to walk into a restaurant and look at all of your friends who have been there and read the reviews they've written. ReadWriteWeb suggests that a more realistic form of social networking could take place, allowing you to integrate social networks with your life away from the keyboard.
3. Personalized travel guides. Another interesting idea from ReadWriteWeb is the idea of a personalized travel guide. Many people take virtual tours when they go to museums - so why not download an App that offers a virtual tour of Venice? Plug in the headphones and allow the GPS to show your App where you are in Venice, guiding you to the local restaurants and historic sites while offering recommendations for hotels and other tourist-friendly activities.
4. The iPhone as car key. We've explored the iPhone as a hotel key - but what if your iPhone could remotely activate your car? Electronic starting is already possible, but we're not so sure about the technology of iPhones applying to the world of cars yet.
5. iPhone projection for video. If the iPhone came with a projector, all you would need is a screen to carry movies with you. Of course, this may not come out for some time - and may not even be a part of the iPhone series - but it's always interesting to hypothesize.