BBC: 2005 Looking Good for Gadgets

wiggles writes "The BBC says, 'The relentless pace of development in the hi-tech world and rampant competition in many of its sectors, particularly among mobile phone firms, all suggests that 2005 is going to be a very good year.' They talk about that (overused?) buzzword 'convergence' and the implications for gadgets in 2005 as we further approach the 'convergence' asymptote. So what 2005 gadgets are Slashdotters looking forward to?" I'm forecasting that 2006 and 2007 are ALSO looking good for gadgets. You heard it here first...

Comments

Watches that communicate with one another

[Anonymous Coward]

The rumor is out there...

WiFi phone

[Anonymous Coward]

I am getting one of the new wireless VoIP phones. A friend of mine has one and it is absolutely awesome. As long as you live in the city or an areas where there are many access points it is the best phone you can imagine. Crystal clear calls worldwide with no noticeable delay at minimal bandwith consumption and no cost. WiFi phones rock!

E-paper

[Foofoobar]

E-ink has made a partnership with a company that prints circuits on plastic making e-paper a reality. They go into mass production in 2005 making the paperless office a potential reality.

Re:The Perfect Phone

[perky]

Things I want on a phone:
1. Small
2. Lots of space for contacts
3. Synch with Outlook
4. Some flash memory with a USB socket, like a USB memory stick
5. Well designed UI
6. Good audio quality
7. Shold look recognisably like a phone
8. Predictive text

Things I don't want on a phone:
1. Camera
2. Video camera
3. Games
4. Audio recorder
5. mini qwerty keyboard
6. flashlight
7. GPS
8. Compass
9. Microsoft Office
10. A meda player

Things that are acceptable as long as they don't get in the way:

1. GPRS
2. Some kind of WAP/internet thing
3. Bluetooth
4. a Java runtime

Incidentally, I had the same phone as you until it broke. subsequent models have been larger and less easy to use.

Also, with reference to "must look like a phone", when Nokia released the 6230 last year, almost everyone I know bought one within 2 months. This was because it didn't look like it was designed by a 12 year old like the previous two years output.