Next generation phones

Is there life after 3G? What's the next buzz in the phone market? Well, in the post-iPhone era it is clear that strong focus on software, convergence with the desktop, and open platforms are what will make or break the next generation phones.

End-user applications are the new battlefield for market share

Phone manufacturers seem to compete primarily on hardware features. Advanced hardware is of little use without sophisticated software and end-users not only realise this but also want to use their phone to run desktop and web applications they are already familiar with. For example, if Firefox is a user's favourite browser on her desktop, why would she use a featureless, unfamiliar browser on her phone? Likewise, if Google Maps is her favourite map application, why would she want to use a sub-standard alternative? Rich, innovative applications and familiar applications matter probably more than any other single feature and and will drive adoption of next generation phones.

GNU/Linux will be a mainstream operating system for next generation phones

If wealth of applications will drive the market adoption of the next generation phones then the phones/platforms with most applications will fare best in the market. Applications don't grow in trees, software developers create them. The operating systems with large developer mindshare are GNU/Linux, Microsoft Windows, and Mac OS X. Phone manufacturers will realise -if they haven't already- that the only way to compete with the rich output coming from the Apple & iPhone SDK camp is by leveraging the legions of GNU/Linux developers; especially if they ship mainstream distributions like Ubuntu on their phones.

Phones could serve as desktop computers at times

A growing number of users want to be able to plug a keyboard & monitor to their phone, and use the same basic applications as they would on their desktop computer, e.g. an office suite, a PIM, a browser. Some people go as far as suggesting the use of the phone's screen as an additional screen. At times the phone could serve as a real desktop machine by interfacing with other equipment such as external hard-drives, screens, keyboards, mice, etc.

Open platforms: users making more of their phones

With current generation phones, if there is a problem or an unwanted feature, there is almost nothing a user can do about it. If the platform is open, chances are that a company or individual will address the issue for fun or profit. For example, a company may need an encrypted filesystem on its phones or a user may want automatic switching to VoIP when a WiFi network is in range. These are legitimate, useful features that can easily be implemented on phones based on open platforms/operating systems. With next generation phones based on open systems users will have options beyond the limited choices that phone manufacturers and GSM providers currently offer.