Your next (smart) cell phone

The days of the phone that only makes calls are nearing an end.  No more will you be confined to a basic address book, crappy web browser, and dumb applications.  Google's cell phone operating system, Android, will be release later this year and its definitely no iPhone. 

 

The Apple iPhone is great, no question about it, but there are a few issues. 

• It requires you to use AT&T
• It is mostly proprietary software and tough to customize.
• There are only 2 models of the phone

 

Unlike the iPhone, Google is not coming up with a new phone.  They are providing an operating system to run on new smart phones, so you will have your choice of LG, Motorola, and others.  And you also will likely be able to have your choice of carrier, be it Verizon, AT&T, and others. 

 

It's time to get rid of our antiquated cell phones.  I'm guilty of this as well.  My phone is not "smart."  It is just used to dial numbers, and that's a shame.  Going on a short trip requires me to lug a laptop with me, it would be much easier to just take a smartphone.  Within 2-3 years, anyone with a non-smart (should we just call it dumb?) phone will look like the guy who still watches TV over an antenna, has a non-digital camera, and books plane tickets exclusively over the phone.

 

Here are some cool things that Android will let you do, that you likely won't be able to live without once you try:

• Bar code scanner: If you are in any store and see an interesting product, you can scan the bar code with your phone and it will immediately pull up reviews of the product (along with comparison prices).
• Iris Scanner: Your phone is protected by your eye instead of a password
• Social networking + GPS: Find out the location of your friends (obviously there are some privacy implications, but as long as you can turn it off, it could be useful).  Your friend tells you they are at this new cool bar, but they aren't quite sure where it is.  They can send you the location to your phone, which will give you directions.
• Cooking programs: Will show you videos of how to cook.  Ever try to bring your laptop into the kitchen?
• Emergency Broadcast - Will issue alerts to you about weather or other issues (like a terrorist attack).  As the system knows where you are, it will be customized based on your exact location. 
• Keep your family safe - One program will tell you if you are in a high-crime or sex offender neighborhood (or if your other family members end up in such a place).
• Video conferencing - Talking can only go so far

Of course, these phones will still have the standard phone, so if you just want to make calls you can or send a text message.  But who wants to do just that anymore?

 

Here are descriptions of some of the neat applications that I described above, plus some more.  http://code.google.com/android/images/adc1r1_deck.pdf