Tomorrow's Cell Phones

bart_scriv writes "Businessweek looks at the future of the cell phone, starting with some existing button-free prototypes and moving on to more outlandish and whimsical designs. From the article: 'New technologies drive many of the new designs. One example: Synaptics ClearPad, a new type of touch screen that will become commercially available later this year. Unlike today's touch screens, which aren't entirely transparent and often not very sensitive — we've all had to endlessly tap one with a stylus to get a response — ClearPad is clear, so it can be used as a sensitive overlay to a cell-phone display. Another innovation likely to change the cell-phone's appearance: flexible displays. An electronic ink screen prototype, developed by Koninklijke Philips Electronics and startup E-Ink, is thin and flexible like paper so it can be worn wrapped around a cell phone. Users can unwrap it to view a map on a larger screen. Eventually, the display could be used to watch video.'"

Comments

What I really want

[Phreakiture]

First?

I don't want a touch screen. In fact, that is the precise antithesis of what I want.

I want a cell phone that has few to no menus. I want to be able to operate it without looking, by feeling the keypad.

I don't care if the screen is even in colour, because I'm not going to be looking at it if I don't have to.

I also want to be able to connect it to my computer as a USB modem.

I have been asking for this for upwards of four years. Can I have that, please?

Re:What I really want

[generic-man]

So buy a cheap Motorola phone with real keys, use a standard USB cable (with the mini plug on the phone end) and Google for instructions about using it as a modem.

Here are search results pertaining to my old Motorola v180, which at the time I bought it was the second-cheapest phone T-Mobile sold.

Re:What I really want

[loose electron]

Except for the USB port modem, what you are describing is a cell phone from 5 years ago.

The modern cell phone has gone thru gobs and gobs of feature creep. The market wants more gadgetry, and if that is what sells, it will be provided.

I think the reason nobody has made (to my knowledge)the cell modem, is because they can cell (sell!) you a PCMCIA plug in and bill you for the modem service as an independent service. Verizon sucks $150 a month out of me instead of $70. You get the idea.

Re:What I really want

[bunions]

Thank you.

Every time there's a cell phone thread, someone posts a variant of the grandparent post about how all they want is a simple phone that only makes calls and oh god why can't someone just make one. Apparently these people have never been to the damn cell phone store, because they make a jillion of those things and they're cheap as dirt.

Re:What I really want

[anothy]

the problem is that all these folks say "i just want a phone that does X, Y, and Z, and i don't care about A-W", but everybody's X, Y, and Z is different. the phone manufacturers can only produce so many models, and the stores can only stock so many; the market drives them to hit averages and exclude the peripheral. for example, the grandparent wanted a USB modem. well, that's not on most peoples XYZ list; most folks who want a USB modem also want a camera phone, so they only (not literally "only", but the focus, still) build ones that bundle the two. there's no build-to-order market, clearly.
i have a very small set of features i want, but i'm well outside the curve. actually what i want is very close to the firefly, except some form of data service (preferably bluetooth) is a must and it clearly should have some form of address book syncing via USB/bluetooth (programming it on that 5-key pad is stupid).

Buttons are "out"?

[The Dalex]

What's wrong with buttons? How would replicating the function of buttons on an easily-dirtied touch screen be an improvement? It really does sound like they are trying to find applications for technologies that are not really needed when trying to make a phone call.

Re:misfeature

[rovingeyes]

Call me an idiot but I'd expect that most important job of a cell phone is to make calls (and hopefully not drop them). I don't care if it can store roman numerals for crying out loud all I am asking is to let me make and receive calls, even indoors. Seems like that is a feature that no one is interested any more.

Re:misfeature

[Keruo]

Making calls is assumed to work, atleast here in europe where we have basically 100% coverage.
I can't remember when I couldn't have made a call because the service was unreachable, or I was dropped from call due bad signal.