It’s pretty amazing when you stretch your imagination a bit and think about new uses for existing technology.
I’ll give you an example: years ago I had the FIRST script that caused Clickbank ads to appear on your site looking like AdSense.
It sounds silly now, but this was back when Clickbank was hot and AdSense was hot.
Although I was first, I had about ten (mostly free) competitors within the first 14 days of launching, including people like Joel Comm and Armand Morin.
How did I Differentiate Myself?
1. My script was the only one that was contextual… the ads were targeted to the content “magically” just like AdSense… no one else had this feature.
2. There was a built in referral system for points, only a couple other people had this feature.
3. It showed images of over 750 Clickbank products directly in the ads, no one else had this feature.
4. It allowed anyone with the script to establish their own pay-per-click AND/OR traffic exchange network… no one else came close to this feature.
And Now You See Phones That Let You…
1. Use it as a turn-by-turn GPS.
2. Let you access your usual time-wasting sites like MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter, from anywhere.
3. Take HD photos and videos.
4. Turn it into a roaming wifi-to-3G hotspot.
Every time a new iPhone, Blackberry or Droid comes out, it adds new things people can do with phones. On that note, here’s what I want to see in iPhone 5:
Likely Features
1. 128 GB storage (reasonable to expect by summer 2011)
2. 12 hours of talk time (improved battery life)
3. Video calling with non-iPhone4’s (iPhone to webcam)
4. Recurring billing for some apps in the App Store (added Feb 2011 – same apps had their own internal billing before this)
5. Built-in network file sharing (wifi and bluetooth) and the ability to download a FILE from the internet to the phone
6. Better Google Maps: works more like the Droid where it has voice recognition, turn by turn voice directions and a street view screenshot when you arrive (might happen when Google releases its free GPS app)
Communications
7. 4G network and gigabit wifi (maybe possible once iPhone isn’t stuck with AT&T service)
8. Automatic syncing over Wifi (Steve Jobs has promised this eventually)
9. Tethering and mifi hotspot capability (available now with Verizon iPhone at least)
10. Incoming Skype calling (added Jan 2011)
11. RFID or digital wallet
12. FM/XM radio receiver or HD TV receiver (might not be necessary if there’s 4G)
Hardware
13. Dual speakers for louder and better sound quality
14. Touch sensors you can program it like the “virtual buttons” on the front and back
15. Ability to stream video to TVs with a USB dock or wireless HDMI (now possible with Apple TV)
16. USB attachment instead of Apple’s proprietary plugin
17. Smudge-resistant glass (might not be possible)
18. Keyboard attachment (both physical and bluebooth keyboards now available)
Software
19. A better notes app that acts more like EverNote and AudioNote combined
20. Better file management (plug into USB, drag and drop pictures and notes instead of importing)
21. Different skins or themes
22. Integrated RedLaser, Facebook, FlightTrack, Twitter, GPS, Bump, Amazon and Skype into the OS (seriously, buy out the “Bump” company, guys)
23. Integrated and standardized mobile banking
24. Gestures, i.e. put the phone into airplane mode by signing a figure-eight
Pie in the Sky Wish List
25. Unibody: no physical buttons whatsoever — if combined with wireless charging they could make the phone waterproof and not only prevent damaged phones, but it would become an underwater camera and you could even make phone calls UNDERWATER and use the internet UNDERWATER
26. Call screening logic, such as: direct straight to voicemail after hours or from unrecognized numbers
27. Ad-hoc (phone to phone) wifi capabilities
28. Solar panels for recharging (Apple has this patent but it’s still probably a few years away)
29. Facial recognition and “maybe” biometric (fingerprint) security if it can be accomplished with the camera
30. Presentation projector (maybe a 3rd party should create a special stand so it doesn’t suck up battery life)
What features do you wish your phone had? Will smartphones 100% replace computers someday? Or do you think this is all ridiculous and a phone is just a phone, is doesn’t need anymore features? Please comment below, right… now.
