What's Next?

[CriticalCritic]

Yes, that's right. The Evo LTE / LTEvo / El TEvo Hasn't even been released yet, and I'm asking you, what do you predict will be the next EVOlution?

Up to this point, there have been essentially three EVOlutionary devices
-- The EVO 4G - The FIRST 4G Phone to hit the market. In addition to EVOlutionary specs that still compete in the market 2 years later.
-- The EVO 3D - The FIRST 3D Phone. With both 3D display and 3D recording, it was an EVOlution that jumped on board the new 3D wave that seems to have proven to be more than just a fad. And again, packed with industry leading specs.
-- The EVO LTE - The FIRST HD Call Quality Phone. I've been surprised that this hasn't been played up more! But then again, this is a feature that is completely subject to positive network externalities, so we won't see its benefits for the first few months unless we call fellow LTEvo owners. And of course, the LTEvo comes with mouthwatering specs.

So I ask, what's next? EVO has set the standard for Speed, Camera Function, and Call Quality. In what ways can you imagine next year's EVOlution taking shape?

 

[EarlyMon]

Sorry, but I have to say that we cannot proceed without recognizing the real Evolution heritage.

My phone can print money so I can buy a private island and then transform into a jet and fly me there.

There. NOW we can proceed.

The next Evo will be modular and allow us to buy it with various options and option bundles, just like a new car, so no one need complain about how they didn't want to pay for something.

And it will be the Evo with a transreflective display, first phone ever.

 

[drexappeal]

Well, simplest upgrades I'd assume would be next = Quad-core processor, more RAM, more internal storage, no soft key buttons (just more screen to account for on-screen buttons), bigger battery (w/o sacrificing size).

Other than that, not sure what else can be done, unless it's a completely different form factor.

Like these
ADmented Reality - Google Glasses Remixed with Google Ads - YouTube

or this (although, it'd be cooler if it functioned like the glasses)
Android Watch Phone - VEGA WiFi Android Watch A World's First, By 3gWatches.com - YouTube

I personally would love phones to eventually be virtual in the same/similar concept as the Goggles, without actually needing the goggles. Something like Minority report cpu, but without needing gloves either...LOL:
Minority Report - Precrime Intro - YouTube

 

[CriticalCritic]

I personally would love phones to eventually be virtual in the same/similar concept as the Goggles, without actually needing the goggles. Something like Minority report cpu, but without needing gloves either...LOL:

Like this?
Iron Man 2 STARK PDA - YouTube

 

[mak916]

Like this?
Iron Man 2 STARK PDA - YouTube

That is what I would like to see. I would say it will be another few years before we see transparent phones. But I believe they are coming.

I'm still waiting for this phone.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Thfy1HF-2t4

 

[CriticalCritic]

That is what I would like to see. I would say it will be another few years before we see transparent phones. But I believe they are coming.

I'm still waiting for this phone.

That would be cool with three screens. A 2-screen attempt has been made already with the Kyocera Echo. From what I hear, it didn't fair too well... If Kyocera hadn't botched it already, I think that the 2-screen setup would have been a great venture for next year's Evo.

Then again, does EVOlution really need to be something that is appearing for the first time? Just because evolution left us with an Ostrich that can't fly, doesn't mean that there can't be other birds that take flight. Both are results of evolution... Maybe it just takes HTC to get it right?

 

[dan330]

first flexible screen/phone..

 

[Orion]

More likely Samsung will have the first flexible screens before HTC will.

 

[EarlyMon]

They're not a tech limited to the Samsung/Apple competition.

Readius Cell Phone 5-Inch Fold Out Display: Science Fiction in the News

From 2008, ready to go, before either of them started working on it.

 

[CriticalCritic]

They're not a tech limited to the Samsung/Apple competition.

Readius Cell Phone 5-Inch Fold Out Display: Science Fiction in the News

From 2008, ready to go, before either of them started working on it.

Holy crap! That's amazing!

Building on the above, I want to see a modification of it...
A 3"x5" phone (or smaller), that is actually two separate pieces dividable longways (inside one piece is the battery, and inside the other is the rolled up screen), and when the two pieces are connected the phone is solid and has a small screen to see caller info and other basic stuff. Then, you can disconnect the pieces, pull them apart, and the screen will pull out, extending to something around 8"x5" in size.

The question is how to support the screen once it's rolled out? In any case, it wouldn't be just a phone or a tablet, it's the HTC Evo Scroll

 

[EarlyMon]

Alternative to that (I'm recycling this one, apologies if you've seen it before) -

There is no screen - only a normal phone keypad on the front and a few-lines LCD, like the old StarTac

Turn the phone over - flip it open - now a pico projector displays onto the flipped-open screen and a laser keyboard and mouse appear on the lower surface.

The screen itself could unwind like a movie projector, the flip part could be as little as a wire frame.

Flip it all the way back, to cover the keypad - and the pico projector will now display onto any surface you've chosen and optionally the laser keyboard and mouse projects to the desk where you've propped the device.

And that's what would make it a true Evo - kickstands to do the propping.

Otherwise - very '60s design thinking.

 

[novox77]

While we're on this future-thinking thread, this is a MUST read:

A Brief Rant on the Future of Interaction Design

It's very enlightening (and to some extent is a criticism against Apple for painting a big picture of innovation when really they just made a pretty package around a human-unfriendly interface).


-edit-
for those too lazy to read: it basically says that the touchscreen is a transitional technology, something we should evolve away from quickly. Or hands are so capable that it's such a setback to think that the future of interacting with our technology is over a numbing piece of glass.

 

[CriticalCritic]

... why not, that's how the physical world works, if i'm reading an article and he says "what are you reading" i want to pinch it off my phone and toss it onto his so he can read too, this is the future i want, physical interaction beyond touchscreens.

Sounds a lot like this groundbreaking technology
Paper - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[CriticalCritic]

-edit-
for those too lazy to read: it basically says that the touchscreen is a transitional technology, something we should evolve away from quickly. Or hands are so capable that it's such a setback to think that the future of interacting with our technology is over a numbing piece of glass.

Very nice article. I'm wondering where it could go next though? The article seems to stress the incredible amount of versatility that we have with our hands, but there is little to discuss possible future options, or more importantly, other limitations.

Covert_Death painted a very interesting picture of grabbing a file from the phone and throwing it across the room to a friend (reminds me of Iron Man again, where Tony Stark grabbed the digitized schematics of something, balled it up, and threw it in the trash/bullseye). This would be a great and fun technology, but practically speaking, why? We can already bump our phones together to share files, or send them via text, bluetooth or email. So as a method of sharing information, it doesn't seem especially beneficial. This leads me to think that the benefit - of interacting more 'in depth' with our technology - must be in our ability to increase efficiency in retrieving, sending, and sorting information.

If someone suddenly did create a new technology that allowed us to interact with our hands in ways that were much more versatile than the current 'picture under glass,' that could be nice. However, we would still be severely hindered by our abilities to intake, output, and most importantly, process, information. When it comes to the digital materials, the input to our brains is always going to be through our eyes, no matter how much we try to incorporate our hands into the game (unless of course we go matrix-style, directly jacking-in our brains). Looking at the lines on the screen is quite a well organized and efficient way to observe information, and the 'picture under glass' is readily transportable and functional.

As I see it, there's really only two stages remaining. Holographs replacing the glass, and direct "matrix" input. The former will not greatly increase our ability to intake or process information (IMO it will mainly improve organization). And the latter, I guess that would help with everything... but that's also a hands-free game.

 

[CriticalCritic]

Gotcha. That is definitely something that I had not thought about. The interaction not being about increasing the amount of info received, sent, or processed. But rather, changing the interaction for the purpose of significantly reducing - or completely eliminating - the learning curve. No learning to swipe, text, navigate menus, or use preconfigured gestures. Just natural movement to interact. Nice.

 

[EarlyMon]

Well - we can either adapt machines to ourselves - or adapt ourselves further to the machine.

Skinput: Appropriating the Body as an Input Surface (CHI 2010) - YouTube

You be the judge.

 

[novox77]

The author of the article I linked to did have a disclaimer that he didn't really have a viable alternative to propose. But rather, his point was to inspire us to think about something grander, rather than settling on a transitional technology.

If he is able to reach out to a few creative, motivated individuals, we could see the evolution of technology take a leap, sparing us all from the stagnation of picture under glass, which as he points out is where all the current 'visionaries' are depicting. There are a few Corning videos showing the same thing. But of course they'd push glass

Speaking of 'glass,' the google glasses would be one such leap in interaction... And it focuses on the eyes rather than the hands. That's real innovation.

 

[simcha]

I could envision a tiny chip being implanted somewhere under the skin next to the skull that would emit brain waves that interact immediately with the brain and vice versa. The chip could communicate with the visual cortex, the auditory cortex, the cerebellum, etc. We would be able to see, hear, and physically interact with others miles away though the chip. We could read a book by walking to a virtual shelf, choosing a virtual book, removing it from the shelf, opening it, and even have the experience if holding it and turning the pages with our hands, actually feeling them, while hearing the page turn. It would be a truly virtual world we would experience fully with all of our senses. The phone, computer, radio, stereo, television, etc. would be replaced by a virtual experience of interacting with people and data. We could buy tickets to concerts and attend them virtually. You could virtually taste the items on a menu while experiencing the decor of a restaurant before choosing to go there.

That's what I call an evolution.

 

[Sauske]

I could envision a tiny chip being implanted somewhere under the skin next to the skull that would emit brain waves that interact immediately with the brain and vice versa. The chip could communicate with the visual cortex, the auditory cortex, the cerebellum, etc. We would be able to see, hear, and physically interact with others miles away though the chip. We could read a book by walking to a virtual shelf, choosing a virtual book, removing it from the shelf, opening it, and even have the experience if holding it and turning the pages with our hands, actually feeling them, while hearing the page turn. It would be a truly virtual world we would experience fully with all of our senses. The phone, computer, radio, stereo, television, etc. would be replaced by a virtual experience of interacting with people and data. We could buy tickets to concerts and attend them virtually. You could virtually taste the items on a menu while experiencing the decor of a restaurant before choosing to go there.

That's what I call an evolution.

This here my friend is what I call master control! (Irobot) lol!

 

[dan330]

I could envision a tiny chip being implanted somewhere under the skin next to the skull that would emit brain waves that interact immediately with the brain and vice versa. The chip could communicate with the visual cortex, the auditory cortex, the cerebellum, etc. We would be able to see, hear, and physically interact with others miles away though the chip. We could read a book by walking to a virtual shelf, choosing a virtual book, removing it from the shelf, opening it, and even have the experience if holding it and turning the pages with our hands, actually feeling them, while hearing the page turn. It would be a truly virtual world we would experience fully with all of our senses. The phone, computer, radio, stereo, television, etc. would be replaced by a virtual experience of interacting with people and data. We could buy tickets to concerts and attend them virtually. You could virtually taste the items on a menu while experiencing the decor of a restaurant before choosing to go there.

That's what I call an evolution.

matrix?

porn?

 

[simcha]

matrix?

porn?

Yes, of course anyone can turn technology to any propose.

And, yes, like the matrix but you are in complete control of your experience.

 

[simcha]

how you gonna guarantee that? i thought i was secure from companies like carrierIQ then out of nowhere i find out it's been on my phone all along...

Ultimately life has no guarantees.

 

[drexappeal]

porn?

Demolition Man already gave up the tech that'll eventually be invented for that:

Demolition Man sex scene - YouTube