Mobile Phone Convergence

I don't want my mobile phone to surf the web, I don't want it to play music, I just want to make phone calls and, maybe, make the ocassional text

There-above being a typical response as seen on The Register comments section upon any advanced mobile device being introduced. (There are devices for these people, by the way!)

Convergence of mobile devices has been happening for a long time now. The first thing to be added to mobile phones was cameras ~2003. My first cameraphone was the Nokia 7250 (it's predecessor had an addon camera module). But this was something like a CIF camera, basically useless (which didn't stop me taking oodles of snaps of course). It had an FM radio also - another device not required.

Around the same time saw the introduction of the first series 60 devices - smartphones! These had PIM (converging a PDA) and allowed the user to install native applications to extend the functionality of the device (facewarp, anyone?). These things were, very slowly, becoming portable computers. 3G arrived, and the power of web browsing was available.

2006: Wifi was added, better cameras (3mp with autofocus). That and a decent mp3 player (although an actual 3.5mm headphone socket? come on!). What could be next, you ask?

The N95 was introduced in 2006, and I think it is fair to say that it blew people's minds: -

• A 5mp camera with autofocus and flash, and VGA video recording!!
  
• Built in GPS (with network assistance)
  
• WiFi
• Dedicated music keys
• 3.5mm headphone socket
• Great screen
• Accelerometer

How many of those features were new, and how many set the template for the phones that we use today? Most of them, on both counts. How many separate devices have we been saved with carrying around?....

After the N95, we have seen evolution rather than revolution on the hardware front. Cameras have increased in megapixel count, but the image quality is not massively better. Slightly larger screens, and more compact design. The revolution came in the form of software - Apple software. The iPhone when it was introduced was an extremely limited device but with a beatiful interface. This didn't itself bring any further convergence, but it brought the smartphone to the masses. Possibly the same masses who had been using s60 devices for the last couple of years (because of the 5 megapixels?) but who had not been installing applications and playing games, or web browsing; until now.

Here are some of the separate gadgets that have been integrated into mobile phones today: -

• FM radio
• Camera
• GPS/Sat nav
• PDA (with web browsing thanks to the ample connectivity)
• MP3 player
• Portable video player
• Portable gaming device (ie gameboy/PSP)
• Oh yes, and you can talk to people with it ;)

But how many of these are proper replacements, and how many are compromises? Radio is covered, with FM and internet streaming capabilities (the only thing I can see coming is DAB?). GPS/Satnav is just as functional as the real thing. PDA? do they even exist any more?! MP3 player is absolutely covered, and playing videos is an excellent experience on the latest devices. Gaming is rapidly approaching the levle of dedicated devices, although not quite there. But it will get there.

The omission form that list is the camera. My phone has been my primary camera for years now, and for the last 3 years it has produced excellent results. But phone cameras are limited simply by the form of the device, like none of the other additions are. There will not be a serious optical zoom in a compact mobile phone any time soon, or seriously good optics - there simply isn't space! That's why I just bought a dedicated camera (shock, horror!!) in the form of a Panasonic TZ7, which has a 12x stabilized optical zoom and 720p video capture. I'm happy that I won't have this camera everywhere with me and the iPhone photos that I take at 3MP will be "good enough" for instant snaps, but for holiday photos I want something better.

So the first device to be converged is the one device that I still require to own separately!

What comes next?

• HD video recording. This is just a matter of processing power (and to some extent storage) and will come soon
  
• Next-level connectivity: WiMax or even just 802.11n
• Battery technology. Ever more powerful devices, with more functionality, need power more than ever before. We are still awaiting the massive leap here..
  
• Software. We have the hardware now - improvements in that sphere will not be radical. We just have to find the best ways of using it! Flixster for the iPhone is a perfect example: it uses your GPS location to give you local cinema listings, integrates with online sites to give you ratings of each film, and lets you view the trailer on youtube directly. Bringing all of these converged devices together in unison is the future.