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iPhone of the future
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Drink up the iPoTF - Image from SlipperyBrick.com
What does the future hold for smart phones like the iPhone? How about an iPhone that morphs your office phone, your cell phone and maybe even your home phone into one super smart device. It has one phone number that handles every phone you own or use. We’ll coin the moniker iPoTF (iPhone of The Future) for this device.
(We could just as easily have called this the PPoTF (Palm Pre of The Future.) So if you are a Palm Pre fan, substitute Pre for iPhone and and PPoTF for iPoTF and read on...)
There is no denying that one device with one phone number would be very cool. You could disconnect your office phone, but retain your individual office phone number. It would be redirected to your iPoTF. Now you can put your business Smartphone away in your desk drawer. Maybe you could even get rid of your home phone because you have one device that handles calls from all your phones.
This all sounds so very grand, but there are hurtles that must be overcome before the iPoTF becomes a reality.
User-based call routing: The most obvious hurtle is the technology that allows the device to proxy for every phone you use. The phone system can do this partially now through a service called call routing. AT&T, for example, offers a call routing service with some interesting features. However, what is needed for the iPoTF offers far more flexibility, versatility and user control.
Coverage, coverage, coverage: We can safely assume that the iPoTF is wireless. After all, why would you want a device that can replace all your current phones only to have it tethered to your office desk? You’d want to carry it wherever you go. That means that cell coverage needs to be ubiquitous with absolutely no dead spots. This is far from the case today.
Features, features, features: We all know what makes the iPhone so popular—it’s the features and flexibility it offers. So we can safely assume that the iPoTF must be feature rich and extremely customizable.
Virtual SIM card: The idea behind the SIM card was that you could move your SIM card from device to device and move its phone number as well. But now your iPoTF can assume any and all numbers that you need. So why not change this to a virtual SIM card? The SIM would be encrypted and securely stored in the device’s memory retaining your iPoTF’s identification. What if you get a new iPoTF? No problem. There is nothing to remove. You securely migrate your virtual SIM card to your new device. No fuss. No muss.
Eliminates mobile phone thefts: We almost have this feature today with remote wiping. However, now that we have a virtual SIM card, it can be remotely wiped as well. Doing this causes the iPoTF to lose its identity and become totally useless for making or receiving calls. It can’t use 3G, 4G or any other cellular service for voice or data. And if vendors are really clever, they can remotely enable a lock feature that prevents the iPoTF by clearing it’s virtual SIM. Now the robber has nothing more than a useless plastic brick. In fact, the only thing the device can do is flash a message saying "Stolen iPhone'" when it is turned on. Voila!
Biometric support: I am mystified as to why Apple hasn’t included biometrics into the iPhone. It seems to be such a natural combination. We already have biometric fingerprint devices for PCs that substitute for passwords. Yet biometric support is MIA on today's iPhone. Why is that the case for a device that you already hold in your hand? Even on the latest incarnation of the iPhone, you still have to enter a passcode if you want to secure the device and its data. The iPoTF would simply scan your index finger when you pick up the device. It can even use this as a trigger to wake up the device from sleep mode. Now how cool would that be? (Note to Apple: Please don’t forget about us lefties when you implement this feature.)
Update: MacRumors has reported that Apple has applied for a finger print identification patent application for the iPhone. Click here for more information on the patent.
Feel free to add your own ideas as to what your iPoTF should look like. After all, the keystone of such a device is flexibility, so it should be extremely customizable. You should be able to design your own iPoTF with custom features and custom applications. Now we need Apple to get busy and design that neat new iPoTF that makes all our current phones obsolete. A super Smartphone that we will carry with us wherever we go.
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