Over the past couple of decades, gadget makers have toiled endlessly to add functionality to a simple mobile phone concept. As a result, they can now play music, games, do math and sound off like a barking dog when your ex calls. It seems like a lifetime ago that the first camera phone appeared. Today, most phones not only take high resolution pictures but also shoot video in ever increasing quality and surf the web. You can even share those pictures and videos to certain websites without the need for a computer.
All this is old hat. So old hat, that it is taken for granted nowadays. There is so much happening in the mobile phone application business you’ll be forgiven for not being able to keep up. Here is a list of 5 major new advances for the mobile phone in 2009 that will add functionality, simplicity and entertainment value to your mobile lifestyle.
1. Mobile TV
This is an area that is ready to explode in innovation. Recently, Nokia unveiled its own mobile television channel in an attempt to showcase its latest multimedia device and persuade users to finally embrace channel surfing on the move.
Since 2003, when the mobile network 3 first introduced 3G, there have been various attempts to convince consumers to watch television on their mobile phones, receiving limited effect. But a tipping point seems to have occurred recently. Vodafone, for example, aired “mobisodes” of a specially created version of 24, and there are now over 120 commercially launched mobile TV services worldwide. As the burgeoning ‘Video-on-Demand’ industry takes off, even more features for the mobile TV market will appear. This is only beginning… the future of mobile TV looks bright indeed.
2. GPS
Mobile phones with GPS, or Global Positioning Service installed, give the ability to quickly and easily view their current location on a map, search for destinations, find specific routes, or locate services such as restaurants, hotels or shops that are nearby. Handy, to say the least.
Depending on the service, the maps can also show thousands of points of interest, such as restaurants, hotels, shops or other services nearby, including phone numbers and web addresses for instant mobile calls. And, because the map’s information is located in the mobile phone, it can be shared with family or friends with the touch of a button.
3. Untangle your texts
Many mobile users struggle to navigate through the array of content on their mobile phones. Mobile software firm Resco has developed a service designed to offer consumers quick and easy access to their list of contacts and received text messages.
Resco Contact Manager also allows people to look back at previous texts and call history without having to trawl through their inbox, offering a history of all messages exchanged between the user and their friends in an easy-to-read format. The downloadable application is fully touch-optimised, meaning users can navigate their way around the device using a few simple finger scrolls.
4. Go Green
Probably the biggest news on the mobile phone front this month as it was finally announced that the industry plans to introduce a universal charger as part of a drive to improve its previously patchy environmental record. The plan from industry body the GSM Association (GSMA) is just one of a raft of “green” announcements at the recent Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
Not only will it mean phone users no longer have to hunt for the right charger, but the specifications for the new device include a 50% reduction in standby energy consumption. Already 5 of the UK’s mobile phone companies have signed up to the universal charger which relies upon micro-USB connection. By 2012, the GSMA has pledged that the majority of phones shipped around the world will use the universal charger.
5. Mobile Satellite Radio
Yes, all mobile phones nowadays have the capability to play MP3 music and the like, but how many add full FM and satellite radio functionality on top of that? The ability to listen to your favourite radio shows wherever you are is a fairly recent development in the mobile phone industry and is beginning to become something users are looking for when deciding on a phone.
Examples of offerings from mobile phone masters Nokia include a music ID tool, XM satellite radio, MobiRadio and Billboard Mobile applications, along with a selection of community services for connecting to other music fans – features that every music lover is sure to embrace with open arms.
