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Smarter Phones Coming Soon

cofaboy writes "Down at Vulture Central there's an article regarding the next generation of smart phones. These things will learn to nag you if you try drinking too much the night before, learn who your friends are via bluetooth and more. "

48 of 145 comments (clear)

  1. Your mom by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I thought nagging about how much you drank last night was one's mother's job, using the phone...

    1. Re:Your mom by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Why waste a phone call when she can just come down to the basement and yell and you in person?

  2. Information is dangerous :) by Gopal.V · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I wouldn't want these logs (plus a location chart) to fall into the wrong hands :)

    Privacy is a concern the second you send it to a server ....

    1. Re:Information is dangerous :) by Johnny+deBris · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Indeed. First they know where you are, now they're trying to find out what you have been doing, and if the project would succeed they would even know what you *will be* doing later on...

    2. Re:Information is dangerous :) by malsbert · · Score: 4, Funny

      would never happen! companys take care not to disclose personal information about there custermers!

      damn this is goooood weed! where was i? nevermind...

      --
      "Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest." - Denis Diderot.
    3. Re:Information is dangerous :) by Enix · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The scary part is that you might not know when you're being 'tracked'... Say one of your friends gets the phone but you don't know it's a smarty-pants phone. If they hang around with you a lot of the time suddenly They know where you are.

      I just find it strange that in time of security paranoia we still seem to broadcast so much information about ourselves without thinking about it. For example, I bought a set of headphones the other day and was asked my phone number and post code (zip code). Now why do they need to know that?

      --
      -- Enix
    4. Re:Information is dangerous :) by Lobishomen · · Score: 2, Interesting

      While I'll agree that there's cause for concern about privacy, the whole system strikes me as a user friendly front end for accessing information that the cellphone companies likely already collect. Who you called? Obviously. Where you called from? Signal strength and tower location, at the very least. Who you're connecting with? Absolutely. Letting consumers get more out of this is cause to raise an eyebrow, but don't start putting on the tinfoil hats quite yet.

    5. Re:Information is dangerous :) by digitalchinky · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I think the tinfoil hat types might want to delve into Signalling System number 7. (SS7 - CCCIT7)

      It's a pretty complicated beast, but with access to the stream in a few key locations, your mobile telephone already gives away a metric crapload of information about the user.

      (Tinfoil hat weenies)
      'But my phone uses an encrypted signal!'

      Yeah, well, that little micowave dish on the cell station 'does not'. GSM vocoders aren't too complicated to figure out.

      Think big database, and multiple SS7 inputs.

      Google is your friend! (It allows you to swell your sense of fear and paranoia to ever soaring heights when used correctly)

  3. 'learn who your friends are via bluetooth' by dupper · · Score: 5, Funny
    Aha: I don't have any friends.

    Take that, Big Brother!

    1. Re:'learn who your friends are via bluetooth' by ceeam · · Score: 5, Funny

      I changed your slashdot status to "friend" :)

      Others?

  4. Bah by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Isnt a wife good enough for this?

    1. Re:Bah by Zog+The+Undeniable · · Score: 2, Funny

      No, the licensing costs are excessive and there are some serious instability bugs that need working out. They never, ever, suffer from memory leaks though - especially if it relates to something you said in 1987 about her arse looking big in those jeans.

      --
      When I am king, you will be first against the wall.
    2. Re:Bah by EricKoh · · Score: 3, Funny

      Cool gadget! I'll train the handphone to nag at every little thing and then give it to my wife. Revenge of the Geek Husband... Sweeeet...

    3. Re:Bah by maxwell+demon · · Score: 2, Funny

      Also, the license is usually terminated as soon as you try a competitor's product. And then in most cases you'll still have to pay license fees after your license was terminated. And even if cou manage to keep your license, the functionality will be severely reduced.

      --
      The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
  5. And Hopefully tell you someone cute goes by by Mycroft_VIII · · Score: 2, Funny

    After all what are 7 megapixels and smarts good for if the thing can't help you spot someone atractive, just so long as it learns its' OWNERS preferences, and not some factory default.(shudder)

    Mycroft

    --
    https://signup.leagueoflegends.com/?ref=4c3ed6600b6ea
  6. One more privacy breach by bugbeak · · Score: 2, Insightful

    That's one more potential privacy breach. Why do we even bother with that term anymore?

  7. You can call me paranoid.. by thegoogler · · Score: 5, Funny

    but thats just a little freaky, i mean it monitors pratically your whole fucking life? "Dave, its your girlfriends birthday. buy her this type of chocolates from this store and your cahnce of getting layed goes up 36.4%" wait.. thats actually a good idea... nvm..

    1. Re:You can call me paranoid.. by njchick · · Score: 4, Funny

      Imagine explaining your phone that your girlfriend dumped you for a guy with a better phone, so you don't need to buy her any gifts. Your phone may be very unhappy to learn about that.

  8. not buying one by TLouden · · Score: 2, Insightful

    seriously, i've got enought trouble when my family does that stuff, so why whould a buy a phone that is better at doing it?

    --
    -Tim Louden
  9. When drunk... by imroy · · Score: 4, Funny

    Will it advise you not to ring your ex when you've had too many drinks?

  10. Nah... by Zog+The+Undeniable · · Score: 4, Funny

    Predictive texting is crap (everyone I know turns it off) so I can't see this being much better. Now a *really* smart phone would recognise telemarketing calls and refuse to ring, or just play a recorded message telling them you're dead.

    --
    When I am king, you will be first against the wall.
    1. Re:Nah... by Trillan · · Score: 2, Insightful

      It's funny. I only know three people who turn predictive text off, and two of them type in foreign languages for which prediction is not available. The third has had a cell phone since texting was available.

      I think it's a lot like anything else. The good ideas don't actually win people over, it's just that the people stuck on the old ideas die out sooner or later and aren't replaced.

    2. Re:Nah... by KronicD · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I use preditive text, it's alot faster for me, the casual SMS user. For those excessive types that never stop sending text messages it is probly slower. However for those who look at the keys etc, it is alot faster.

      As for filtering calls, my current nokia can do that (6610), by setting different caller groups with different ringtones (or no ringtones).

      --
      "Those who would give up Essential Liberty, to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety"
    3. Re:Nah... by Urkki · · Score: 2, Insightful
      • Predictive texting is crap (everyone I know turns it off) so I can't see this being much better. Now a *really* smart phone would recognise telemarketing calls and refuse to ring, or just play a recorded message telling them you're dead.

      In my experience, those who think predictive input are either

      a) SMS addicts who type 20cps the old way with closed eyes and have repetitive stress injury in their thumbs

      b) too dumb to learn the new way well enough to make it faster than the old way, or even too dumb to understand it at all (it *is* more complex, there's no denying that)

      c) too stubborn to accept that the new way is better, just in principle

      d) to lazy to spend a bit more time (not to mention brain activity!) writing next 10 messages, even though they'd more than make the time back during their next 100 messages

      But trust me, if you write any number of messages, learning the new way is worth it.
    4. Re:Nah... by martyn+s · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Predictive text is great it works really well, you just have to know how to add words to the dictionary and know how to cycle through words. For example, if you typed G-A-M-E you have to know how to cycle through the available words to get the word "game" if your phone thinks you want the word "hand". Predictive text is great unless you don't know how to use it.

    5. Re:Nah... by tcr · · Score: 2, Funny

      The only good thing about predictive text is the unpredictable messages, especially if the sender is in a hurry.

      Hence, from the gf, things like "see you in a monument" and "duck off you tanker".

      Personally, I always use mobile phones with keyboards, partially to piss people off by sending 160 chars with punctuation and capitalisation quicker than they can thumb stab 80 chars of txt spk, yu no wht I mn?

      --


      Information wants to be beer.
  11. Interesting but by roxtar · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Is it the smart phone which is predicting the owner's behaviour? According to the article it seems that the smart phone just acts as an intermediary which sends data to a server for processing. So actually the real smart stuff is being done at a server by some other program rather than by the phone itself.

    1. Re:Interesting but by cofaboy · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Yes, it's the server that does the processing, the phone is gathering all the information via your calender, appointment book and B/T connections.

      Don't blame me for the write up, it got mullered by the editors

      --
      In the end, It's all bovine dung you know
  12. Danger Will Robinson! by snaphu · · Score: 4, Funny

    I can see it now: "I'm afraid I can't let you do that, Dave"

  13. Automatic social network (that does not work) by asb · · Score: 2, Insightful

    If their system relies on plain bluetooth identification it crumbles down as soon as the first person buys a new phone.

    This could be fixed with additional software, but it would seriously limit the user base. And what good would it be then?

    And it would also require that people keep bluetooth always on. Good bye battery life. Welcome bluetooth worms.

    Nice idea, though.

    --
    Antti S. Brax - Old school - http://www.iki.fi/asb/
  14. Third and five by cubicledrone · · Score: 2, Funny

    and the snap... phone owner drops back and rolls right with five receivers in the pattern, throws a LONG SIDELINE PASS

    WHAM!! No more nagging phone.

    --
    Business isn't willing to pay for products, innovation and careers, so we get brands, mortgage commercials and layoffs.
  15. What type of crazy ass sensors... by N5 · · Score: 2, Funny

    will this thing use? will it "talk" to smart beer cans through RFID? or something embeded in your mouth? fillings perhaps? we have voice recognition. why would we need such things?

    only thing i know is most /.ers cells will commit suicide at our lack of friends, unless we get *nix running on it first.

    i guess it dosn't matter because let's face it, it's a GIMMICK to boost SALES. and in practice will suck.

    --
    John 3:16 - The easiest way to a BETTER YOU.
  16. Let's get it over with... by pair-a-noyd · · Score: 2, Funny

    Let's all just replace ourselves with machines then die out. Hell, we're moving towards a Cylon future anyway.. Might as well get it over with..

  17. I don't want an all-in-1 device by kbrannen · · Score: 3, Insightful
    The New Scientist reports possible applications include reminding you not to drink too much the night before an important presentation. Some people might balk as the idea of being monitored - and nagged - by their personal technology. But US scientists reckon they've hit on a winner.

    Bzzzz, wrong! This is not a winner. My cell phone is used to call people and for them them to call me. It is not a PDA, that is a separate device. It's also not a web browser, a camera, nor a music player. These devices are separate for a reason: so I can use them all only when I want, so I can upgrade them when I feel like, and if one of them breaks (or gets lost) then they are not all gone. Also, I can buy the individual devices much more easily because I'd buy only 1 a month, rather than having to buy the very expensive all-in-1 device; and who says they'll even have all the right features anyway?

    So this causes me to need a little more pocket space or belt space to carry multiple devices. That's OK, I rarely have more than 2 of them with me at once anyway.

    1. Re:I don't want an all-in-1 device by kylegordon · · Score: 2, Informative

      I wouldn't exactly call them expensive. I got my bluetoothed, mp3/ogg playing, photo taking, web browsing, email reading/sending, note taking, handwriting recognising, etc SonyEricsson P800 for the princely sum of £30 last year. It wasn't a dodgy shop, just a deal with a contract on Orange.
      Admittedly, I'd be screwed if I lost it. But that's what backups are for. If it decides to go walkies, then sync all my contacts from the PC to a spare phone and off I go again.

  18. Misleading Summary by EricKoh · · Score: 3, Funny

    These things will learn to nag you if you try drinking too much the night before

    Actual article said:

    The New Scientist reports possible applications include reminding you not to drink too much the night before an important presentation.

    Sheesh.. I was under the impression that the phone had a built in breathalyzer.. and perhaps a 'Bad Breath Scale' showing on the LCD as your work day progresses...

  19. I can see the marketing now... by laughingcoyote · · Score: 3, Funny

    "Are you too stupid to think for yourself? Worry no more, the Megacorp model XL69 will take care of all of that for you!"

    --
    To fight the war on terror, stop being afraid.
  20. Re:When drunk.... by fizze · · Score: 3, Interesting

    ....those location tracks together with a alcohol-breath track and statistics of your bank account could prove indeed useful.....



    ....the next day. ;)

    --
    Powerful is he who overpowers his temptations.
  21. The '0wned' Excuse by salvorHardin · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm sorry I forget our anniversary, honey... my phone got rooted by some elite regiment of North Korean hackers, who wiped out the reminder and replaced it with a 'to-do' stating that I was supposed to have a meeting with somebody called 'Lusty Linda' at the local tittie bar. I thought it seemed a little strange at the time, but, oh well - the phone knows best... or so I thought until Linda dropped her pants and revealed her real name to be Linford. I'll have to upgrade to SP2 sometime soon, but I'm running Google PDA-Search, and I don't think the two work together. Sorry babe...

  22. Oh no, a smart phone! by arasinen · · Score: 2, Funny

    I just want my phone to work like a regular phone. Is that too much to ask? I just want the basic features. You know, a phone that can make phone calls, has calendar, voice recognition, camera, ability to install additional software and a Python interpreter.

    --
    [ Antti Rasinen ]
  23. Worried about privacy? by Federico2 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    When we'll see a completely open-source phone OS?

  24. ugh. by ErikZ · · Score: 3, Insightful


    I don't want more features, I want to be able to afford it!

    The latest Sony Ericson phone is something I'd love to have. I'd also love to have a laptop, and it costs about the same.

    --
    Democrats or Republicans. They are both taking us to the same place and they are not afraid of us anymore.
  25. Fading fad by tezza · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Remember Tamagochi??

    The original 'smart' agent responding in a semi lifelike manner. There's also the Aibo et alia.

    But the first thing people are going to learn about this technology is how to turn it off in the rom.

    With ever decreasing margins set aside for innovation, I predict the budget for value-adds that cost a lot of money, like Usability testing and embedded AI agents will shrink. At least they will when the marketting departments figure out that people don't really base their purchasing decisions on those metrics.

    The mobile market is still reeling and trying to cope with the lack of interest in 3G Video calling and MMS. People will drop £200 for a Blackberry which deals mostly in Text over GPRS. They only pick a 3G handset because the carriers have slashed their prices to loss making.

    --
    [% slash_sig_val.text %]
  26. Awesome by kuzb · · Score: 4, Funny

    This is exactly what everyone needs, a digital mom!

    Perhaps it can nag you to clean your desk, mow the lawn, and take the garbage out too.

    --
    BeauHD. Worst editor since kdawson.
  27. Re:just cause you can don't mean you should by ajs318 · · Score: 2, Informative
    what about a phone that gets excellent reception wherever you go?
    Unfortunately that's not very likely. Whenever the phone companies want to put up a new base station, someone invariably objects on bogus "health risk" grounds.

    Now, recall that RF is non-ionising and so has no cumulative effects. Only field strength matters. Furthermore RF travels in straight lines, and spreads out evenly over an area; so the field strength decreases with the square of distance. Twice as far away == a quarter of the field strength.

    The further your phone is from the nearest base station {which will be even further if the protesters get their way.....}, the more power it has to put out to reach it. And your phone probably is a lot closer to you than the nearest base station is .....

    Get what I'm saying?
    --
    Je fume. Tu fumes. Nous fûmes!
  28. pretty soon I can stop thinking altogether by g0hare · · Score: 2

    If my phone does all the thinking who needs me?

    --
    Vote Quimby!
  29. Re:The Killer App: Intelligent call answering ! by Kiryat+Malachi · · Score: 3, Funny

    You forgot one thing:

    Real geeks don't need phones to talk to their mom. They just yell up the stairs from the basement.

    --

    ---
    Mod me down, you fucking twits. Go ahead. I dare you.
    (I read with sigs off.)
  30. had to be said.... by mr_z_beeblebrox · · Score: 2, Funny

    In Soviet Russ...er America, Bluetooth learns You