 |
The Future Of Cell Phones
Designers around the world are busy designing the next generation of cell phones that will still drop calls - but look exceptionally cool doing it.
Here's one design that reminds me of the data goggles from Neal Stephensons' 1992 novel Snow Crash.
(Nokia's next cell phone/game system?)
Here's another design that engages sight, sound, smell and touch. The intent of the design is that it can both detect and emit odors, as well as radiate colors, light and temperature from the caller's environment - helping you stay in touch.
(Touch your caller by phone)
The idea that you could identify a caller by some combination of touch and smell reminds me of the amazing capabilities of science fiction writer Frederik Pohl's Joymaker, a combination phone and PDA from his prescient 1966 novel The Age of the Pussyfoot. In the novel, Forrester is brought back to life from cryonic storage; he is not quite prepared for the capabilities of his Joymaker phone, which politely asks if he is ready to pick up his message from a Miss Bensen.
Forrester did not know what to expect but was pleasantly ready for anything.What he got was indeed a kiss. It was disconcerting. No kissing lips were visible. There was a hint of perfumed breath, then a pressure on the lips - warm and soft, moist and sweet.
Startled, he touched his mouth. "How the devil did you do that?" he shouted.
"Sensory stimulation through the tactile net, Man Forrester..." (Read more about the phone with the tactile net kiss)
Cell phone design is advancing along all fronts; take a look at WolframTones Cell Phone Tones from cellular automata and the Origami cell phone concept. Take a look at more of these futuristic cell phone designs here, here and here.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 6/20/2006)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 3 )
Related News Stories - (" Communication ")
Sonitus Audio Interface Positioned Beyond The Noise
'... an instrument having relatively small bit pieces adapted to be gripped between the teeth.' - Hugo Gernsback, 1923.
FlexPai Foldable Phone By Royole
'...A paper thin polycarbon screen unfurled.' - William Gibson, 1986.
BrainNet Social Network Of Brains
'I used my implant to tell MILLIE what we wanted and she took care of it' - Pournelle and Niven, 1981.
Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence (METI) Workshop
SF writers have thought about this since the 19th century.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Current News
Wound Healing With Wearable Nanogenerators
'... forcing the energy transfer which allowed him to ... erase the other internal-external damage.'
Flying Dragon Robot Transforms In Mid-Air
Terrific prototype video.
Negative Matter Fluid Theorized In New Paper
'Of course, being negative matter, when you push it, it comes toward you..'
Grow Structures Upon Planetfall - Myco-Architecture
'They'll also start pulling in gases and liquids from the local atmosphere...'
MXene Hydrogel Skin For Robots Flexes And Senses
'The plastex swam and whirled like boiling toothpaste...'
EXPLORER, The First Total-Body Scanner
'The object is built up of an infinite series of plane layers, at the focus of the ray...'
UK Police AI To Stop Criminals Before They Strike
'... the computing mechanisms that studied and restructured the incoming material.'
Sonitus Audio Interface Positioned Beyond The Noise
'... an instrument having relatively small bit pieces adapted to be gripped between the teeth.'
Volvo's Self-Driving Mining Trucks
'A procession of automatic ore carts was racing over the bleak slag'
Audi Pop.Up Autonomous Electric Flying Car
'The cab was an egg-shaped bubble of light metals and plastics...'
Music Not Impossible (MNI) Vibrotactile Wearable Experience
Don't you want to experience the 'feely' effects?
Chinese Face Recognition Mistakes Bus Ad For Jaywalker
'... the imprint of her image on the telephoto cell.'
A Look Back At Apollo's Emergency Escape Vehicle
'A simple mechanism... it drove the iron ball through space like a ship.'
InMotion Glide 3 Electric Unicycle For The Last Mile
'...gyro-stabilized on a single wheel.'
China's Social Credit System - A Facebook-1984 Mashup
'Prestige, face, mana, repute, glory: the Sirenese word is strakh.'
Musk Declares Tesla Supercharger Capacity Will Double By Next Year
'Recharge the batteries... in almost every town and village...'
