Nokia has recently launched a set of navigation tools that will in time make large and unwieldy paper maps a thing of the past. Using mobile phones as sat-nav systems has become an increasingly large part of the mobile phone industry. These context aware technologies will take navigation out of the car and into the hand.
The move will create mobile phones that will fulfil pedestrian needs; an array of new handsets will all contain the appropriate software. These phones are expected to be a large part of the next evolution of the social networking site. The ability to track the whereabouts of friends and family en route is being touted as the must have future application. The software will be twinned with the ability to utilise online entertainment sites such as You Tube in an attempt to compete with Apple’s iPhone.
Although the service is likely to carry an additional charge, producers believe the ability to know if a friend is in the bar you are walking past will be highly popular. Other phone companies are following suit and have announced the development of GPS enabled phones. It is hoped this evolution will lead to people abandoning their computers and using the technology to meet up with friends who are nearby.
This is not all the next generation of mobile phones will feature. The ‘mobile wallet’ is believed to become a large part of our lives, with the ability to use our handsets to buy train tickets and pay for items in a number of shops being developed.
Whether this is just the mobile phone companies overestimating their importance to the world is a matter of opinion. There is little doubt that mobile phones have become integral to our lives but how integral they become is debatable. Seemingly they will allow people to track our position at all times while enabling payments on the move and in real time. What must be considered however is whether this is actually a good thing or if the gain in convenience is really worth the loss in personal privacy?
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