MOBILE TECHNOLOGIES

Though not all of us are too interested in the technologies that power our personal mobile devices, it is important to understand what will empower our devices in the future. It’s the only way to make educated guesses at what the future devices ill be. Mobiles hav come a long way. 2day we are able to use our mobile devices for almost everthing v can do on PGs-even multiplayer gaming. And all these features have to fit into a device that’s truly mobile and pocketable. The future, as we see it, isn’t going to be much different & features into tiny devices, with innovative and distinguishable designs.

DISPLAYS

LCD Displays...
The very first speed bump in the road to miniaturization is a device’s display. The problem begins with the popular LCD display technologies that are incorporated into almost all devices today. It’s not that LCD technologies are bad, or cannot be made smaller the problem lies with human sight. You can only shrink displays to a certain size, after which they are no longer comfortably viewable by the naked eye.

The near future might just see the end of LCDs in their current form in mobile devices. However, in order do way with LCD screens we first need to develop viable alternatives.

Paper Displays...

Paper displays can be folded bent and rolled,and this gives them an immediate advantages over LCD displays. As of yet refresh rates are a problem, paper displays are still more suited for static content such as advertisements or e books.

It’s true that these displays cannot replace the LCDs on high end mobiles yet. However we’re still waiting for the day that paper displays capable of displaying video are developed. That day might spell dooms for the now ageing LCD technology.

The Legacy..
The Idea of paper displays or epaper as it’s also known, is hardly new. Back in 1975,Nicholas Sheridan, a physicist working at the Xerox PARC (palo Alto Research Centre)started his research on epaper.

Sheridan’s dream was to make a flexible paper like sheet that could not only displays text and images, but also be re written by using an electrostatic charge.

Oleds..

Recently we’ve seen some mobile devices with OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diodes) displays screens. OLEDs use organic materials to produce light when an electric current is applied to them. They are flexible and can potentially be used in mobile devices that required rollable displays. Better than LCDs, shorter lifespan easily damaged by moisture.



OLEDs are better suited for mobile devices as they have no difference in refresh rates and use much less power. The only obstacles in the mass adoption of OLEDs in mobiles have been their fragility with moisture, their relatively shorter life spans, and of cours their pricel.

Projected Displays....

Projected displays are sort of like holographic displays but in 2D. They work just as projectors but use lasers to project images.

Prototypes of this technology are not yet available the development of initial prototypes should begin in less than two years.

Video Eyeware...

Though wearable displays have been around for ages they haven’t really caught on. There are hundreds of new models that come every year, but no one seems to be buying any. Perhaps it’s because of the way they limit your eyesight and are not really good for use on the move. However with innovations and improvements These too could see increased acceptance.

NETWORKS

BATTERIES...
Though battery packs have become smaller they are still one of the largest component of a mobile device this has been as unavoidable a situation as the display problems. All devices need power for at least eight hours. In order to increase battery life, new technologies are being looked into to replace standard lithium-ion, Nickel-Cadmium and Nickel metal hydride batteries.

FUEL CELLS...
Fuel cells use chemical reactions to “burn” a fuel, oxidize it and create electricity, fuel cells have cartridges that contain the fuel and running out of power means exchanging the spent cartridge with a new one. For mobile devices fuel cells are a great alternative even a great backup system.

Fuel cells have reached a stage where they can power a standard mobile device for up to 10 times longer. So if your normal battery runs out in say 3 days, you can go a month with a fuel cell cartridge buddy.

NETWORKS...
The main focus of advanced network services is in Japan and Korea. While most of the world is yet to see 3G device the Far East is buzzing with murmurs of 4G services. What lies in the near future for countries such as the US the UK and India is already old news in the East. While many enjoy streaming video services with advanced features and bandwidth of the Mbps variety. We in India are still languishing with WAP enabled browsing and pathetically slow GPRS speeds. Will this change? Yes, we will get better services, but perhaps will never catch up with the crazy East.

WIMAX...
Though far from being implemented in India. Offer a change of achieving a “connected” India. There’s no doubting the fact that it might be our only hope. If India deployed a nationwide WiMAX network, which is possible given the enormous coverage offered by WiMAX, we could truly realize the dream of networking even the tiniest of villages.

The equipment is expensive however and it will be some time before we and the service providers as well will be able to afford such equipment.

UMA...
UMA stands for Unlicensed mobile Access. It’s not anything illegal. Simply uses GSM and GPRS services over an unlicensed frequency spectrum such as Bluetooth or WiFi.

APPLICATIONS...
Increased power of a mobile’s microprocessor. We’re loading Java games and software applications, like there’s no tomorrow and the all new genre of multiplayer mobile gaming has arrived.

Ever increasing capacities of hard drives and flash storage, it’s no wonder that mobiles are beginning to become omnipresent and can now store video, audio and data files as well. Another interesting field of study and improvement is voice recognition.

With features such as voice dialing however if possible VR will eliminate the need for a keyboard and will in turn reduce the amount of space required in the mobile device.

CONCLUSION....
The fact of the matter is that there are way too many technologies and networks that are being worked upon. None of us really knows what to expect even 3 months from now, but by staying informed We can make educated guesses. Hope this words has helped you understand better about some ideas in mobile telephony 4m me, Do write ur thoughts and comments i would love to hear from you....