h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

So Mobile Phones are both an annoyance and a benefit . . . question is where will they be in 4 years time. We use them for to make / receive phone calls and to send / receive short messages today. What will we be doing with them in 4 years time? Watch a video clip? Download music and store it on the phone?

Hello serious one.

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I'll look forward to chatting soon.



Bassman

Well, in four years time 3G networks should be up and running, greatly increasing the data rate at which information can be sent to a mobile. The terminals should be more capable by then too, so you'll probably have something more akin to todays PDAs that a phone.

Bluetooth (a local wireless technology, think of it as just replacing everything that currently needs a wire to talk to something else nearby) should also be pretty prevalent by this point, enabling distributed terminals (phone in your pocket, headset in your ear and data screen in your hand all talking to each other wirelessly.

Chances are, some form of micro-payment system will be in operation too, allowing you to use your phone as a sort of low-amount credit-card for buying goods and services, charging them to your bill.

Ok, so what we going to be doing with them? Well, access to H2G2 will obviously be at the forefront of everyone's mind and that should be possible. With the added knowledge of your current physical location, your terminal could pull back guide entries relevant to where you currently were without you having to ask.

Video and audio streaming are possible. Left your portable stereo at home? Connect to your home music server and listen to music online.

Bluetooth can be used as a secure authentication method for purchases, as I mentioned earlier, so we might be able to wander into a shop, wave our phone at the check-out and leave, having paid automatically for everything in our basket (assuming embedded chips in the goods we're buying too..)

If the software companies have their way, all our current productivity programs will be offered on a server basis too, so you'll be able to edit that document you were working on whereever you are. Tele-commute from the beach and video-conference from the bar. Finally, location tracking information made available to your friends might get rid of the "I'm on the train!" calls, as they'll already know..

Going on further than that, who knows? Terminator style head-up displays reminding you of the name of that person you just met? (with your terminals automatically exchanging contact details while you chat), phones embedded in your teeth? (Then people really will think you're talking to yourself..) We'll see..

hmmm, my mobile doesn't work on the moors, and since I've been using it the large bumps behind my ears have gone away