Andrew Seybold: Wireless phones are more than phones

By Andrew M. Seybold 

We all know our wireless phones are more than phones. They are cameras, MP3 players, video players and provide web access to the Internet. They host applications that help us be productive when we are not in the office and applications including games and ringtones that add fun to our lives. 

With Bluetooth, USB and other cables, our wireless devices can be connected to stereo headphones, hands-free car kits, computers and other devices. In addition to wide-area voice, broadband and Bluetooth, some of today's phones have built-in WiFi and perhaps even GPS and TV receivers. Over time, these devices will become our "command-and-control" devices or, looking at it another way, perhaps our server that is connected to various types of displays and input devices using either wired or wireless connections.  

In a previous column [1] I talked about the opportunities to build smart applications that know how a device is connected, what it is connected too and how it can interact with the device. These smart applications also are aware of the data speed and can adjust the device's capabilities accordingly. But there is much more to this than connectivity. There are lots of smart people in the wireless and development world who believe our wireless phones (devices) will become our command-and-control devices. Just as we now use a single remote to control our home theater components including video, audio, CD and DVD players, so too will we be able to use our wireless phones for even more advanced command functions since, unlike our current remote controls, our phones are two-way and can interact with what we are trying to control. 

Here is one example I use when I am asked about command and control. Today, if you have a hands-free kit in your car or wear a Bluetooth device on your ear, the phone and the device are mated when they are turned on and they connect to each other. You can answer your phone with a simple tap on the ear device or a push of a button on your steering wheel. But we have the capability to move so much further in the interaction of our wireless phones and our automobiles, for example.  

Today you can buy a car with navigation built into it, you can buy an aftermarket PND (Personal Navigation Device) or you can get all of the same features and functions in your wireless phone using navigation products from Networks In Motion (VZ Navigator and others) or from TeleNav. It is not clear to me why the wireless industry has not worked with the auto makers to convince them to simply build a display screen with touch capabilities and use the data from the phone to power it.  

And that is only the beginning of what could be. My vision is more along these lines: I get into my car, turn it on and it starts talking to my phone. My mirrors are adjusted the way I want them, my seat and steering wheel are automatically adjusted, my favorite AM/FM or satellite station is tuned in, the volume is set where I like it and the heater and air conditioning are adjusted. In other words, every function that can be adjusted to a specific person is stored in the phone and then sent to the car's own computer system (they have LOTs of computers onboard today).  

Next, as I am pulling out of the driveway at 7 a.m., the "system" knows it is a week-day and therefore I am on my way to work. As I close the garage door and get ready to enter the street, the navigation system is checking my route and the traffic along the way, choosing the best of several options for me. During the day, I come up with a list of things I have to do on my way home and enter them into my phone. When I leave work, the navigation system again plots my route with the various stops, checks real-time traffic and sets the priorities for where I will stop when.  

This is only one of a thousand examples of using my phone as a command-and-control device. There already are a number of things that can be done--programming your TiVo to record a show, checking over the Internet to make sure you remembered to close your garage door and even setting the thermostat in your home a few minutes before you arrive. There will be many ways to communicate with all manner of devices: Bluetooth, Wireless USB 2.0, WiFi, Zigbee and, of course, the Internet and IP as the common thread for all of this. When you are looking for the next big application to build, when you are searching for what to do next, think about this: What problem can you solve and will it be of more value if it is not phone-centric and can work in the multi-connected, command-and-control world we are headed for? 

Andrew Seybold is an authority on technology and trends shaping the world of wireless mobility. A respected analyst, consultant, commentator, author and active participant in industry trade organizations, his views have influenced strategies and shaped initiatives for telecom, mobile computing and wireless industry leaders worldwide. Andrew Seybold University will take place Sept. 9 at the CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment conference in San Francisco.  Check here [2] for more details.