January 26, 2007
Voice 4.0?
The title of this post is in reference to one called web4.0 that Seth Godin recently wrote. But as interesting and cool as that is, forget that and read his Inventing a new cell phone. In it, he references the new Apple phone and how doesn't really re-invent the cellphone. But wait, that's not all. It's his suggestions for what a reinvented cellphone might be able to that's required reading. Us VoIP bloggers have probably all already read it, but VoIP and cellular providers and cell phone manufacturers all need to read this wisdom.
Amongst the suggestions are features that require really smart smartphones and application servers, as well as data format compatibility for presence capabilities. I'll admit I'm not particularly good at describing presence features. If you want to know more, I highly recommend Alec Saunders Saunderslog and his writing about presence.
Seth doesn't mention VoIP in his list, but the fact is, pretty much every single wish can really only be implemented via advanced voice applications and infrastructure. VoIP (i.e., IP-based) providers could score a coup implementing all these features. My vote for a test platform is the Mobile Linux Initiative. There already are Linux phones, and they're undoubtedbly cheaper than the Apple Phone. (Apple is forcing cellular providers not to discount the phone. Great marketing strategy, Steve.) What's more, anyone who has programmed on Linux systems knows how powerful the apps can be, and with a small memory footprint at that.
I can "see" Seth Godin's wishlist of cell phone app features being an extension of crowdsensing applications. In my humble (or not) estimation, every single feature can be implemented. Whether any provider will do so or not remains to be seen.
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