Dual screen phones emulate laptops
LG is launching a dual screen smartphone on November 1 for $699. The GX8 ThinQ phone’s hinge on its left side opens to be make it a mini-laptop, a game controller, a tent, flat, or a regular phone form factor. CNET
dis-rup-shun: With fold-able phones and dual screen phones, we will soon see some variety in smartphones, which, for the past decade, have been a single candy bar format. This format may move phones and PCs closer together, meaning that PC applications on phones may be easier to use and that the day when our phones are our PCs, tethering to a bluetooth keyboard and external monitor when we are at our desks, is near. With the advent of 5G, companies can more easily store corporate data on the cloud and give employees secure access through approved smartphone/PC hybrid devices.
Microsoft DreamWalker VR technology combines real and imagined worlds
DreamWalker VR today consists of a googles, a smartphone and a bulky backpack. We can expect future variations to be more wearable. The technology combines a view of the real world, with steps, sidewalks, obstacles and other objects with imagined worlds, so one can safely walk long distances through these hybrid worlds. Ars Technica
dis-rup-shun: Will VR become a mainstream product? It makes great sense for training, for operating complex machinery and for gaming, but will it become a mass consumer product? One reason 3D TV failed was the requirement to cover your face with goggles or glasses. Perhaps the advent of stylish and lightweight glasses that are smart glasses will bring VR to the mainstream, but much work is yet to be done to simplify the experience.
It’s predictions season, and here’s Gartner’s view of the future
Market research and consulting firm Gartner offered its future trends list. Here is the short version…
- Hyperautomation – a set of software and machine learning tools to automate frequent work tasks.
- Multiexperience – combining VR and voice with standard user interfaces, to create a complex, multi-mode way of interacting with machines.
- Democratization of expertise – making powerful intelligence such as AI and machine learning easy to implement by normal IT staff.
- Human augmentation – using technology, such as smart glasses, to improve human tasks and extend human capabilities.
- Transparency and traceability – the ability to understand and track who, how and where and for what your personal data is being used.
- The empowered edge – a fancy way of describing more computing power being moved to the edge of networks, not just in the cloud.
- Distributed cloud – locating cloud resources in order to minimize latency and geopolitical concerns.
- Autonomous things – a fancy way of saying that more autonomous devices, like drones and vehicles, will be everywhere.
- Practical blockchain – Blockchain implementations that are less theoretical and actually benefit from the technology. TechRepublic
dis-rup-shun: Come on Gartner, putting complex names on the trends that have been all around us for the past couple of years doesn’t make you look smarter. What are the trends that will most impact our jobs, our lifestyle and our safety, comfort and economy in the next year? Data privacy, entertainment bundles, home automation, connected health, portability of applications and data are at the top of my list.