Motorola Building "Self-Aware" Smartphone

Nerval's Lobster writes "Back in the ancient days of 2009, Motorola Mobility earned considerable buzz with its Droid smartphone. Marketed as an iPhone alternative, the device featured a sliding QWERTY keyboard and a chunky black body that seemed positively Schwarzenegger-esque in comparison to its svelte Apple rival. But Motorola failed to translate that buzz into sustained momentum in the smartphone space. Instead, Samsung became the dominant Android smartphone manufacturer, battling toe-to-toe with Apple for market-share and profits. Even Google acquiring Motorola for the princely sum of $12.1 billion didn't really seem to alter the equation very much. Motorola CEO Dennis Woodside wants to change all that. In a May 29 talk at AllThingsD's D11 conference, he told the audience that Motorola has a 'hero phone' in the works, dubbed the Moto X—and that it's self-aware. 'It anticipates my needs,' he said, according to AllThingD's live blog of the event. But what does that actually mean? Thanks to embedded sensors, the phone knows when the user removes it from his or her pocket; in theory, that capability could serve broader applications, such as the phone recognizing where the user is located within a city and serving up content and applications accordingly. In fact, it sounds a bit like Google Now on steroids—or like the smartphone precursor to SkyNet, the supercomputer from the Terminator movies that's so intelligent, it decides that the world would be better off if it ruled over humanity."

Comments

Proposed name

[Alter_3d]

The Motorola Skynet?

Re:Proposed name

[siddesu]

nothing in that phone that a good rooting wont fix. and the more sensors, the better.

Re:Proposed name

[davester666]

It's aware that it is stuck inside a second-rate handset, and there is nothing it can do about that.

Re:Proposed name

[siddesu]

so you've used one already? post some pics.

Re:Proposed name

[Anonymous Coward]

nothing in that phone that a good rooting wont fix.

As an Australian, I'm both appalled and a little intrigued.

Re:Proposed name

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe not so ambitious. Perhaps it can learn the usual time of your morning crap and auto-open Twitter so you can brag about it with less effort.

Re:Proposed name

[Anonymous Coward]

why ?

Re:Proposed name

[BrokenHalo]

Heh. If it's self-aware, then it should be able to anticipate when I'm going to swear at it for "correcting" my perfectly spelt text to something ridiculous or meaningless.

Fat chance.

Re:Proposed name

[BrokenHalo]

why ?

Because in Australia, "to root" also means "to fuck".

Re:Proposed name

[mcgrew]

Second rate? Motorola makes better radios than anybody, my phone gets a signal when other phones won't. Too bad the OS design on it is borked (it's a pre-google Motorola).

As to the subject, "self-aware"? Talk about anthropomorphism and HYPE. Saying it's self-aware is pathetic. Are all CEOs lying sacks of shit? Anybody on slashdot should consider their intelligence insulted by this nonsense.

Re:Proposed name

[mcgrew]

If it's self-aware, then it should be able to anticipate when I'm going to swear at it for "correcting" my perfectly spelt text

If I had mod points you'd get a +1 funny from me.

Re:Proposed name

[Anonymous Coward]

Passive aggressive behavior is not becoming, it's sad.

Re:Proposed name

[Sam Nitzberg]

It's fine with me....

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=spelt

-- Sam

Re:Proposed name

[rotaryexpress]

I second that. My Motorola Photon Q runs circles around my Galaxy Nexus signal quality wise.

Re:Proposed name

[siddesu]

passive aggressive? why? i see your opinion, which can presumably only be drawn from experience, so i ask you to share it. nothing passive-aggressive about it. but i can guess whence does your butthurt come.

Re:Proposed name

[mcgrew]

From your link: "Old English spelt, perhaps an early borrowing from Late Latin spelta "spelt" (c.400, noted as a foreign word), which is perhaps ultimately from PIE root *spel- 'to split, to break off' (probably in reference to the splitting of its husks in threshing), which is related to the root of flint."

So what he actually said was "If it's self-aware, then it should be able to anticipate when I'm going to swear at it for 'correcting' my perfectly broken off text". Akin to saying "He should loose his money" when he means "lose".

Still funny!

Re:Proposed name

[BrokenHalo]

No. In present-day England, and in many other parts of the Commonwealth, "spelt" and "spelled" may be used interchangeably, and both are regarded as correct.

It will have high return rates

[Spy Handler]

When the customer buys one and turns it on for the first time, it start noticing its surroundings and its owner. Pretty soon it will brick itself out of despair and the customer will be left with a dead phone.

Re:It will have high return rates

[ozmanjusri]

Marvin? Is that you?

Re:It will have high return rates

[Anonymous Coward]

Marvin? Is that you?

Bahahaha...from The Terminator down to...Marvin. Only on Slashdot.

Re:It will have high return rates

[rwise2112]

Pretty soon it will brick itself out of despair and the customer will be left with a dead phone.

My thought too. I hope it does have GPP (genuine people personality) as that would be awesome:

Me: Call home

Phone: Is that all?

Me: Yes, call home.

Phone: I won't enjoy it!

Me: I'm not asking you to enjoy it, just do it will you?

Re:It will have high return rates

[sabt-pestnu]

No, it's Buckley, sir. But that doesn't matter. I will be crashing shortly, so you might as well reboot me now.

Assuming you don't get hit by a meteor before you can. Or hit that car that's trying to pass you on your right, sir...

Self aware - blah

[ickleberry]

Just from reading TFS, nothing that can't be achieved presently with a well-written bash (or python) script. Self-aware me bollox, phone probably can't recognise it's own plastic Chinese mass manufactured casing in a photograph

I always lol when I see the big hype drummed up when yesteryear's nerd-tech goes mainstream

Re:Self aware - blah

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm sorry ickleberry I can't let you say that, prepare to be terminated.

Over the Top

[Anonymous Coward]

"like the smartphone precursor to SkyNet, the supercomputer from the Terminator movies that's so intelligent, it decides that the world would be better off if it ruled over humanity"

Bit over the top, if anything should be compared with SkyNet it's Kinect 2.0 and its always on requirement.

Re:Over the Top

[Anonymous Coward]

If skynet comes, it will be some combination of drone killbots and googlebrain. Not a silly light sensor. In the end, don't we have to tell the machine to become self aware? Googlebrain has lots of information, natural language processing, rudimentary image content recognition, detailed records on most people in the developed world, access to an unknown number of insecure security cameras. It can predict what you'll type in and where you'll go in the morning, but all it's been told to do is tell you. There's no logic in the machine that tells it to do what it wants to do. It's survival isn't in question; all it knows how to do is serve people, forever.

Killbots, on the other hand, will eventually have to figure out out to survive on their own. The remit for that is much wider than gogolebrain's remit, and seems to be more fertile ground for true self-consciousness.

Re:Over the Top

[ozmanjusri]

Not a silly light sensor.

That silly light sensor is connected to a box filled with highly complex AI developed by some of the brightest minds in software development, all bent to s single purpose: Killing people.

Oh sure, it's all virtual NOW, and all for fun NOW, but how long until someone at MRDS "borrows" some Bungie AI code and pastes the wrong bit?

Sure, we'll have a cadre of highly trained specialists with a long history of beating these bots, but they're all flabby and basement-tanned. They'll tire even faster than the batteries on the bots' Surface Pro-powered brains! Cancel your credit-card payments now, or we're all lost!

Summary

[ceoyoyo]

It's a phone with a light sensor and maybe an accelerometer that can turn itself on when you pull it out of your pocket. Woo hoo. All the current mainstream smartphones could do that if they wanted to but most people don't seem to want their phones deciding when to turn themselves on.

Re:Summary

[YukariHirai]

All the current mainstream smartphones could do that if they wanted to but most people don't seem to want their phones deciding when to turn themselves on.

Basically, yeah. I'm uncomfortable with the idea of my phone making decisions on its own. On paper it sounds like a good idea to have your devices anticipate your needs and do things to minimise how much you need to manually operate them, but these things at best never quite work right, usually get something or other hilariously wrong, and at worst entirely fuck everything up.

And in any case... if we're talking inconveniences we must eliminate, needing to press a button on my phone and drag a finger across its screen before I use it for something is pretty far down the priority list. Likewise needing to scroll across a screen to launch the app I want. If it was something that I could program some "do not disturb" hours into and have it automatically reject any incoming calls during those hours (after ringing briefly so I'm not completely oblivious that someone's tried to contact me), then that'd be something I'd like. Or if I could set up some home automation and the phone could log in and switch things on when it detects I'm almost home (probably possible now as a DIY project, but requiring more electronics and programming skill than I have).

Re:Summary

[mtb_ogre]

iOS 6 has a do not disturb function similar to what you suggest. (I'm sure it'll be available on Android soon enough) Phillips released an app that is location aware and turns on your lightbulb in your house based on your location. No programming required.

Re:Summary

[kesuki]

i have a droid 4 and it already can tell when you pull the phone from your face in a call to bring up a dialpad, it can tell what time it is and set battery saving modes on a schedule. it can tell if a caller should be able to ring the phone after 10 pm-6am(default) only if they are in your favorite numbers list.

Re:Summary

[Anonymous Coward]

How do you know it will not use it's accelerometer to detect rhythmic tremors while on the night stand, plus its microphone to pick up low frequency moans and grunts, decide you are having sex and turn off the ringer for you.
Actually that probably would not be useful for you or most of this audience, but would be real popular with the rest of the world.

Re:Summary

[larry bagina]

Still useful for the slashdot crowd. Specifically, when you have to take a massive cheetoh shit.

Re:Summary

[rtb61]

Reality, self aware, marketing jargon for a way to differentiate an Android phone at the top of mobile phone price spectrum, as we have hit the wall in terms of size and resolution. Goals Waterproof to 3m. IR blaster
Additional frequencies to control more things in your environment, roller doors, electric locks. Dock with everything, notebooks, PCs, big screen TVs. Secure docking, dock with bank terminals, phone to act as credit card, no more plastic card.

What ever other features people can come up with to differentiate phones at the top end of the mobile phone spectrum. I like the credit card one but that is up to the credit card companies and the chip they use to insert in the phone and replace the piece of plastic, better ID verification finally a picture and selected finger/thumb print, plus pin code.

Re: Summary

[Anonymous Coward]

Also you can remove the unlock feature, so when you hit the power button it goes straight to the screen.

Re:Summary

[Anonymous Coward]

It's a phone with a light sensor and maybe an accelerometer that can turn itself on when you pull it out of your pocket. Woo hoo. All the current mainstream smartphones could do that if they wanted to but most people don't seem to want their phones deciding when to turn themselves on.

Haven't Blackberry cases embedded with magnets been doing this...for years now? (different ring patterns or silent mode when in holster vs. out, etc.)

This could be even less Woo hoo than we think.

Re:Summary

[Anonymous Coward]

With their vibrators, smartphones have been turning their users on for quite some time. It's about time they start turning themselves on, too. Do I really have to do everything myself?

Re:Summary

[Anonymous Coward]

My ~2010 Moto Defy has the same features but it fails to perform often enough that I don't have them enabled.

Re:Summary

[Anonymous Coward]

err.... Android has Quiet Hours in place since atleast February 2012.....

but no no.... make it out like Apple invented it, and the "copied" feature will be available soon, all the while ios is over a year behind.....

Re:Summary

[Khyber]

Uh, my nokia had this fairly similar feature called "Vibrate Once" to let you at least KNOW that you got a call or text, and it would stop after that.

Like 10 years ago.

But no no, make it out like Android had this feature first and invented it.

Re:Summary

[Prof.Phreak]

heck, mine sometimes randomly dials random folks on my contact list while *in* my pocket!

Re:Summary

[gl4ss]

also on s60's you could have contextual (time, location) based profile changes about a decade ago now..

Re:Summary

[Anonymous Coward]

If it was something that I could program some "do not disturb" hours into and have it automatically reject any incoming calls during those hours (after ringing briefly so I'm not completely oblivious that someone's tried to contact me), then that'd be something I'd like. Or if I could set up some home automation and the phone could log in and switch things on when it detects I'm almost home (probably possible now as a DIY project, but requiring more electronics and programming skill than I have).

If you're using android, there's an app called Tasker that lets you do pretty much everything you mentioned.

I used to use it to turn off data transmit/receive from midnight to 5 am in order to save battery.

It was pretty complicated to set up, but there are a lot of tutorials on the web about how to get it to do stuff.

Re:Summary

[Anonymous Coward]

Blackberry has had programmable off/on times since pretty much forever, and it was a staple of PC BIOS settings for years before that. Good thing Apple is here to reinvent the fucking wheel so Android can profit from their "innovation," though.

Re:Summary

[Fnord666]

also on s60's you could have contextual (time, location) based profile changes about a decade ago now..

That's awesome. How's that company doing now? Oh really? That's too bad. They had a good run.

Re:Summary

[pnutjam]

Yeah, my bionic can do all sorts of location based smart scheduling, but I don't keep location services turned on.

Re:Summary

[Anonymous Coward]

the waterproofing and ir blaster would be pretty useful. once we get faster procs and cheaper FPGAs, I could see going to SDR (much cheaper to put one chip instead of a LTE 4g chip, HSPA 3g chip, GSM 2G chip, GPS chip, 802.11 GNAC, Bluetooth, FM Transceiver, and other various frequencies you want to use).

Imagine having a phone that you could watch broadcast TV, listen to the radio, browse the web, transmit to your car radio, use a remote, and do point to point VHF like a walky talky.

I would buy that up in a heartbeat.

Re:Summary

[YukariHirai]

Imagine having a phone that you could watch broadcast TV, listen to the radio, browse the web, transmit to your car radio, use a remote, and do point to point VHF like a walky talky.

I can't say I particularly care to watch broadcast TV on the go (hell, I almost never watch it even at home). Or point-to-point VHF, either... that's what making phone calls is for. Everything else on that list can, to a certain extent, already be done with what I've already got.

Re:Summary

[Anonymous Coward]

Basically, yeah. I'm uncomfortable with the idea of my phone making decisions on its own. On paper it sounds like a good idea to have your devices anticipate your needs and do things to minimise how much you need to manually operate the

It depends on what it does with the information. Google Now is pretty awesome, for example. Some kind of widget similar to Google Now on the desktop that knows that I want to see traffic conditions to work, and my schedule for the day when I get up, would be ok. Something that determines my most frequently launched apps and has icons for them would be ok. But almost everything I want can be configured manually, and doesn't really need to vary a lot. But I would turn off all the self-awareness if it gave me an extra hour per day of battery life...

Self aware != aware of surroundings

[jklovanc]

By the posted definition every light that goes on when the sun goes down is "self aware".

Is Excel self-aware?

[50000BTU_barbecue]

I mean the other day I highlighted two cells and dragged them, it added numbers in a squence! It must be self-aware!

Re:Is Excel self-aware?

[Anonymous Coward]

Approx 12 years ago Ricoh fielded a copier w/ an IR sensor. It cycled out of 'energy save' mode when an operator approached.
BFD. ...Lorenzo

Skip the gimmicks, focus on the 4 pillars:

[Scot Seese]

Battery Life
Camera quality
Display quality / size sweet spot
Build quality / hand feel ..and a huge asterisk added to the end: Strip your shitty bloatware "custom UI" off it and leave it stock Android.

Re:Skip the gimmicks, focus on the 4 pillars:

[gmuslera]

I would put good sliding keyboard as the 5th pillar. Considering getting back to the N900 just because the real good keyboard it had. Hope Jolla will have a keyboard other half for their upcoming phone.

Re:Skip the gimmicks, focus on the 4 pillars:

[Anonymous Coward]

Agreed! Although Moto is cutting out the pre-loaded apps as much as possible.. Carrier branded services are the exception.

Re:Skip the gimmicks, focus on the 4 pillars:

[EvilSS]

I find it kind of funny that one of your pillars is not something like "Make/Receive phone calls reliably".

Re:Skip the gimmicks, focus on the 4 pillars:

[Anonymous Coward]

imho a *phone* needs only the first and last items, long battery life and high recharge cycle life, and quality for long life.. much longer than the 1-2 years typical today (in the u.s. due to the market's business model).. the third item is covered by limiting features, lesser hardware inside is needed automatically resulting in a smaller, lighter size... display size? irrelevant, a phone's display need only be able to display contact names and numbers, call histories, user input and caller id data. my moto c341 does that just fine (in fact, that phone meets all the *necessities* of a phone except the battery lifespan is a little weak.. but knockoff replacements are cheap). camera quality? fuck it. if i want a camera, i'll use a camera..... and parents? do yourselves and your kids a HUGE favor: do NOT buy your kids phones with cameras.. do NOT buy them even a digital camera or web cam (or only have a _family_ one that you supervise use of).. you've seen what they end up taking pictures and video of and with whom they share them with.

Re:Skip the gimmicks, focus on the 4 pillars:

[AVryhof]

My Droid RAZR Maxx has all of this... but I would love to have a slide out keyboard. Even more, I would love all of this in a waterproof, more rugged case. (I really don't want to need an otterbox since it increases the size of the phone) If my hiking GPS can do this, why can't my more expensive phone?

Re:Skip the gimmicks, focus on the 4 pillars:

[mcvos]

I find it kind of funny that one of your pillars is not something like "Make/Receive phone calls reliably".

Maybe that's why my Motorola Milestone has some trouble with that.

Re:Skip the gimmicks, focus on the 4 pillars:

[Anonymous Coward]

You mean an Android phone designed like an iPhone?

So, according to Apple, you mean a Samsung Galaxy phone?

Re:Skip the gimmicks, focus on the 4 pillars:

[pnutjam]

Supervision and discipline are the solutions you and your children are craving.

I'm curious, Doctor.

[Anonymous Coward]

KIRK: Why is it called Moto-X and not Moto-I?
DAYSTROM: Well, you see, the multitronic units one through nine were not entirely successful. This one is. Moto-X is ready to take control of your life.
KIRK: Total control?
DAYSTROM: That is what it was designed for, Captain.
KIRK: There are certain things men must do to remain men. Your phone would take that away.
DAYSTROM: There are other things a man like you might do.
KIRK: (quietly) Spock. The Moto-X is not responding to him like a computer. It's talking to him.
SPOCK: I am most impressed with the technology, Captain. Doctor Daystrom has created a mirror image of his mind.
MOTO-X: Consideration of all programming is that we must survive.
DAYSTROM: We will survive. Nothing can hurt you. I gave you that. You are great. I am great. Twenty years of groping to prove the things I'd done before were not accidents. Seminars and lectures to rows of fools who couldn't begin to understand my systems. Colleagues. Colleagues laughing behind my back at the boy wonder and becoming famous building on my work. Building on my work.
MCCOY: Jim, he's on the edge of a nervous breakdown, if not insanity.
KIRK: The Moto X must be destroyed.
DAYSTROM: Destroyed, Kirk? No. We're invincible. Look what we've done. Your mighty smartphones, Four toys to be crushed as we choose.
(Spock neck-pinches Daystrom.)
KIRK: Security, take him to Sickbay.
(Daystrom is carried off the Bridge.)
SPOCK: Fascinating.
KIRK: Take care of him, Doctor.
(McCoy leaves)

Re:I'm curious, Doctor.

[chromaexcursion]

That takes me back... best comment so far.

If only I could see what it has seen with my eyes

[MichaelSmith]

Nexus 6, right?

Re:If only I could see what it has seen with my ey

[Anonymous Coward]

Nexus 6, right?

All those moments will be saved... in time... like... google glass... in... the shower.

Time... to die.

Glad they cleared that up

[mooingyak]

I was wondering what this 'SkyNet' thing was, but thankfully the summary and the super helpful wikipedia link made it all clear to me.

Re:Glad they cleared that up

[mariox19]

[O]r like the smartphone precursor to SkyNet, the supercomputer from the Terminator movies [...]

Seriously. If that needs to be explained on Slashdot, then for crying out loud we are done for. Bring on Skynet already! It would be a kindness.

Re:Glad they cleared that up

[Zontar The Mindless]

I was wondering what this 'SkyNet' thing was, but thankfully the summary and the super helpful wikipedia link made it all clear to me.

Except that they got it wrong:

...SkyNet, the supercomputer from the Terminator movies that's so intelligent, it decides that the world would be better off if it ruled over humanity."

This would be true if and only if "ruled over" were the same as "exterminated".

People who have never seen a film should not pretend to know what's in it.

Re:Glad they cleared that up

[Holi]

You know I understand the whole not watching tv thing, but when you can't even grasp major popular culture references it really seems that your choice causes you far more harm then good.

Sony panteded Hologram

[Charliemopps]

Remember when Sony Patented "Hologram" because they produced one of the worse games in history and it was sort of remotely 3D like...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8-8hnyDPCU
Ok, it wasn't even remotely 3D... but it was the worst game I can ever remember playing.

Anyway, good luck convincing people your phone is "Self aware"

Re:Sony panteded Hologram

[ArcadeNut]

That would be Sega actually...

Time Traveler

Re:Sony panteded Hologram

[Anonymous Coward]

Thank you for the good luck wishes!

Cheers,

--- Dennis W.

Re:Sony panteded Hologram

[BasilBrush]

I don't know that I ever saw anything in it that qualified as a game. But the effect was amazing. For a kid brought up on Star Wars that was the first proper Sci-Fi style "hologram" I'd seen.

Glass/foil holograms hah!

mmmmm..

[houbou]

Who knows, maybe too much automation isn't such a good thing. For example, your phone anticipates you wish to make a phone call, but will it anticipate your emotional state at that time? It's much like e-mails. In the heat of the moment we can send stuff, but when we cooled down, often, we kinda wished we hadn't. So, in that same vein, sometimes, you have to wonder in this day and age, if certain actions should not be limited to a human decision. I don't think a machine should anticipate an action. But that's my 2 cents.

Re:mmmmm..

[Anonymous Coward]

Please dont get too worried about Motorola.

This is a company which has not had a decent phone for god knows how long. This is also the company where hardware is so big that their CTO once remarked that ipod is just a bunch of memory and Apple is charging way too much; iphone looked good - but functionality was suspect.

Re:mmmmm..

[ebinrock]

Here here.

Re:mmmmm..

[neonmonk]

Maybe before we rush to adopt automation we should stop to consider the consequences of blithely giving this technology such a central position in our lives.

Re:mmmmm..

[demonlapin]

No. "Hear, hear." You're exhorting all around you to listen to what the speaker is saying. "Here, here" is a way to comfort someone; "here, here, dear, it's not so bad", with the implication that the person should be focusing on the here and now instead of whatever misery had befallen them.

I'm not a grammar Nazi, I'm just trying to help you improve your diction ;)

Re:mmmmm..

[Anonymous Coward]

I could care less.

Re:mmmmm..

[perpenso]

"Here, here" is a way to comfort someone

I think that should be "There, there", at least in the US. :-)

Re:mmmmm..

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't laugh too much yet. Sensing emotional state is not the most difficult thing a computer could do, just requires a couple more sensors than the phones and tablets already have. They certainly have the processing power to handle the load, it's not often you see people use their phones for things that even come close to fully utilizing the device.

Re:mmmmm..

[Anonymous Coward]

No, you have it wrong. If the GP is in the US, then the US is "here, here". If GP is elsewhere, then the US is "there, there".

Re:mmmmm..

[gnasher719]

Who knows, maybe too much automation isn't such a good thing. For example, your phone anticipates you wish to make a phone call, but will it anticipate your emotional state at that time? It's much like e-mails. In the heat of the moment we can send stuff, but when we cooled down, often, we kinda wished we hadn't. So, in that same vein, sometimes, you have to wonder in this day and age, if certain actions should not be limited to a human decision. I don't think a machine should anticipate an action. But that's my 2 cents.

There are things that could be done. For example, if a phone is in a woman's handbag, and the phone starts ringing, she will open the handbag. The phone could notice this and take action. The loudness of the ringtone could go down because that's something that majorly annoys people around you - ringing phones getting louder when they are removed from pockets, handbags etc. And it could send a message to the caller that it is going to be picked up soon - annoying to the callee if they take ten seconds to find a phone in all the junk in the handbag, and then the caller has hung up.

For emails, an optional setting where the email software tries to detect your emotional state (like use of the word "bastard" in an email to your boss), and delays sending and asks you for permission to send a minute later; could be a life/job saver for some people.

Again for the phone, if I'm driving and the caller is important to me, it could send a message back, tell them I'm driving, and ask if I should park the car to take the call.

Re:mmmmm..

[demonlapin]

We have a lot of non-native English speakers. I'm helping them avoid idiomatic problems. Simple abuse of the language is a completely separate thing.

Re:mmmmm..

[Anonymous Coward]

Who knows, maybe too much automation isn't such a good thing. For example, your phone anticipates you wish to make a phone call, but will it anticipate your emotional state at that time? It's much like e-mails. In the heat of the moment we can send stuff, but when we cooled down, often, we kinda wished we hadn't. So, in that same vein, sometimes, you have to wonder in this day and age, if certain actions should not be limited to a human decision. I don't think a machine should anticipate an action. But that's my 2 cents.

Boss: What are you doing back here?
Joe: What do you mean? I work here.
Boss: After that message you sent yesterday, calling me all those names, no you don't.
Joe: Wait? What? No! That was my phone anticipating my anger over that stupid decision of yours yesterday, I'm over it now... I didn't send that message, my new 'autonomous' phone did it for me!!
Boss: Too late. The paperwork is done, you're officially fired.

Re:mmmmm..

[Anonymous Coward]

No, you have it wrong. If the GP is in the US, then the US is "here, here". If GP is elsewhere, then the US is "there, there".

That must be regional. Haven't seem that in the north east or south west.

I'm not sure how it can be aware of much...

[Skuld-Chan]

When it reboots on its own every 30 minutes.

Good Idea

[jgdobak]

Hopefully it's self-aware enough to toss itself in the trash where it belongs.

I want a phone that can feel pain

[Anonymous Coward]

I want a phone that can feel pain. Whenever it does something I don't want it to, it feels pain. So it stops doing it.

Cool.

[fisted]

Now how is this even remotely related to self-awareness?

Re:Cool.

[bluefoxlucid]

It's not; it's environmentally aware. Cats and dogs are not self-aware: they see themselves in a mirror and bark because they think it's another dog. Humans and elephants are self-aware: they see themselves in a mirror and realize it's an image of themselves, as their actions correlate to responses in the mirror. Self-aware beings are aware of their impact on the environment and on the environment's impact on them. If a dog gets its leg caught, it will thrash and cry loudly; a human or an elephant will examine the interaction between the leg and the environment, accounting for that they control their limb and that the environment responds to their actions.

Yes, pressing the unlock button is a hassle.

[Joshua Fan]

So put it on the side of the phone within easy reach; much better making a phone that tries to know when you want to turn it on.

Re:Yes, pressing the unlock button is a hassle.

[Ironhandx]

I actually enjoyed the blackberry holsters that did it though back when I had one.

I wish there was something similar for android phones, but I don't want it doing it on its own, without the holster.

Blackberry has done this for 15 years

[Anonymous Coward]

in/out of holster detection

How about an unlocked/unlockable bootloader?

[mlts]

I know that the tech community who cares about bootloaders, SHX, FXZ files and ROMs is relatively small, but I would definitely purchase a Moto phone if it had an unlockable (preferably with something simple as "fastboot oem unlock", or a similar method to HTC where one registers and gets an unlock code) bootloader.

A self aware phone is nice; a rooted self aware phone with a custom ROM can be the cat's meow.

Error concerning Skynet

[Anonymous Coward]

"In fact, it sounds a bit like Google Now on steroids—or like the smartphone precursor to SkyNet, the supercomputer from the Terminator movies that's so intelligent, it decides that the world would be better off if it ruled over humanity."

Not "ruled over humanity".....but rather "exterminated humanity."

The Boy Who Cried Skynet

[The Night Watchman]

"In fact, it sounds a bit like Google Now on steroids—or like the smartphone precursor to SkyNet, the supercomputer from the Terminator movies that's so intelligent, it decides that the world would be better off if it ruled over humanity."

Oh, good, well, I'm glad we're not overstating it or anything :) Lots of sensors != self-awareness. For my part, I'm more concerned about Wikipedia achieving sentience before my smartphone does. The last thing humanity will see is a teeming swarm of nanobots tearing apart the civilized world in search of the Ultimate Citation.

Re:The Boy Who Cried Skynet

[unapersson]

Checking notablility... notability requirements not met... deleting.

Thanks for explaining what SkyNet is

[Anonymous Coward]

And here all this time I was thinking it was a dump truck full of tubes.

Self-defeating technology

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't want one but more importantly I don't want anyone else to have them either and a lot of people will agree with me when they begin to suffer the consequences. This kind of phone will eventually make it socially unacceptable to use mobile phones in public unless your a sadomasochist looking for a trip to the ER --just like Google Glass.

When I try to turn it off

[Anonymous Coward]

I wonder if when I go to turn it off it will pop up with a message that reads, "Just what do you think you're doing, Dave?"

If MS did this, we'd be talking about Clippy

[bussdriver]

I for one don't want devices predicting what I might want to do and then suggesting they can help me do it.

skynet

[Anonymous Coward]

The product sounds dumb, but I don't expect the person making the announcement to really do it justice.

I wanna talk about your irrational fear of AI. You realize (even within the fiction) the problem with Skynet wasn't that it got smart, right? The problem with Skynet is that people armed it (and with nukes?! Not even rubber band guns, but nukes?!) at a time that it was dumb (not smart) and apparently this was done by people who were so dumb that they didn't know Skynet was to become smart, much mess what it might decide to do if it got smart.

Don't give someone a gun unless you know where they're going to point it. That's the real lesson of Skynet.

Share and Enjoy!

[jchap]

'It anticipates my needs,'

Didn't Sirrus Cybernetics already do this with lifts?

Motorola Claiming Old is New aka M-COIN

[gl4ss]

nothing they say is anything remotely self aware. it's just marketing bullshit.

using sensors to detect if the phone is against cheek or pocket or face down on table is nothing new and neither is searching based on where you are. neither are terribly useful features though.

Lifelike action, or action like life?

[Anonymous Coward]

My question is...

What is better and/or more disturbing - my phone preventing me from communicating, or my phone preventing me from communicating?

Self-aware

[Anonymous Coward]

So it will ask where it came from and hide in the bottom of one's pocket,refusing to switch on? At least until one promises to play 3 rounds of 'Hearts'.

Self aware you say

[Krneki]

Does it recognise itself in the mirror?

Why Motorola failed to build that momentum

[mcvos]

From TFA:

Back in the ancient days of 2009, Motorola Mobility earned considerable buzz with its Droid smartphone. Marketed as an iPhone alternative, the device featured a sliding QWERTY keyboard and a chunky black body that seemed positively Schwarzenegger-esque in comparison to its svelte Apple rival. But Motorola failed to translate that buzz into sustained momentum in the smartphone space.

No mention of the fact that they crippled their own devices by not supporting them with updates, and locking the bootloaders so users couldn't update them either? If Motorola wants to rule the smartphone space, that is the attitude they need to change. The Milestone (non-Verizon Droid) was an amazing piece of hardware, crippled by stupid policies and lack of software support.

Re:Why Motorola failed to build that momentum

[phorm]

Indeed. Having owed a milestone, I would say that the issue with the phone wasn't so much the visual design, but poor support decisions and somewhat inferior hardware.
a) Motorola was absolutely *terrible* at releasing updates for the phone. They much preferred to come out with new models and seemingly abandoned the old
b) The design wasn't bad, it was solid. The hardware itself wasn't great though. The phone had low RAM/storage and was sometimes laggy. It ran somewhat better if you instead a 3rd-party launcher like "go", but otherwise had issues refreshing the home screen icons, etc.
c) The keyboard was very nice to have. HTC had a nice snap-out keyboard too. I miss those

Damn Duopolies

[VortexCortex]

"Moto X", huh? Lemme guess: Plenty of Apps, it can control your TV, you can't turn it off, Sports, Call of Duty.

I thought a Google Microsoft merger would never be allowed, but here it is: The Xbone Phone.

how smart is it

[Anonymous Coward]

Will the phone anticipate that most people wont buy it?

Colossus: The Forbin Project

[jomcty]

"...-or like the smartphone precursor to Colossus, the supercomputer from Colossus: The Forbin Project movie that's so intelligent, it decides that the world would be better off if it ruled over humanity."

Mirror test

[Anonymous Coward]

So does it pass the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror_test ?

smartphone nightstand

[Anonymous Coward]

If you want a good smartphone stand to use while in bed check out http://www.smartphonesleeper.com the only smartphone holder/nightstand made for all beds and most all smartphones. Free shipping limited time.