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What’s the next big thing after mobile?

Currently everybody’s scrambling to get his stuff mobile – moblogging is here (has been here for years), mobile TV is here, Youtube will launch a mobile service next spring, mobile phones with WLAN are the latest rage, GPS is ubiquitous, cameraphones with barcode scanners help you with your shopping.

You might find a teenager without a clue. But not without his mobile.

So the industry will keep itself (and us) entertained with mobile this and mobile that for the next couple years – five years max, is my guess. At that point, everybody and his dog will own one, if not several, mobile devices to cover every need (using the term “need” loosely) from mobile websurfing to TV to entertainment to shopping to music to GPS to dating. You’ll be able to locate the next coke vending machine in Death Valley with 1.01m accuracy on a topographical map, and pay for the Coke (if you make it to the machine) with your mobile while sending a photo of yourself to Flickr.

Whooopeee. Big deal. BUT THEN WHAT? What’s the next thing after mobiles?

2 Comments

  1. The next big thing after PCs being connected to the Net, then mobiles, is when every machine/physical object is connected, or can be connected to the Net

    Friday, November 3, 2006 at 13:49 | Permalink
  2. Matthias wrote:

    @Scott: The web-connected fridge, finally? You’re probably right about this. At the moment, though, a web-connected toy seems to be the killer application. And considering the security nightmares of connected household appliances, it might be wise to leave it at that. Otherwise we’ll have the Ghost in the Machine come true. Not necessarily because the tools are actually unsafe, but because it would be too inconvenient (or too complicated) for most people to use them in a secure way.

    P.S.: Just because I’m paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get me :-).

    Friday, November 3, 2006 at 14:25 | Permalink