The Future of Mobile Communications

Ever since a Motorola prototype phone was used to make the first ever public cellphone call was made in April 3, 1973, the cellular phone has gone a long way, and a very long way indeed it has gone. From the brick sized Motorola phone which was nicknamed, well, "the Brick" to the super smart smartphones of today, the cellular phone has undoubtedly leapt in bounds. Comparing the early years of cellular phones to today's smartphones is like looking back millennias, when in fact a mere 40 years elapsed between the brick heavy, antenna protruding, call only phone to 2013's multi-tasking, internet-capable mobile information and gaming platform that is ubiquitous in modern societies.

Gone are the days when the cellphone was a mere telephone on the go, for today's smartphones could essentially function as a mega-arcade, global library and business and networking platform. The cellular phone has become the single most important and essential gadget to get for every human being in today's increasingly technical, mobile and information savvy milieu.

So what holds for the future of mobile communications? A recent report indicates that an iPhone 4 could serve as a tool to detect underground nuclear tests. Yes, that's nuclear with a bang! That is how the cellular phone has evolved from its innocuous beginnings to today's mega machine. Other scattered mutterings in the internet indicate that a future use for cellphones could be to detect blood sugar levels. Today's cellphones are now increasingly used as a platform for internet banking, especially in Africa, where distance and the lack of a reliable land line based phones are a constant feature, the cellphone has ensured connectivity and convenience, not to mention affordability and independence in conducting communications.

The future of the cellphone is just beginning, I see in the near future the cellphone evolving to play a greater role in health and medicine such as the diagnoses of diseases with the use of its camera for example, or conducting ultrasound procedures, even a portable blood pressure monitor. In the field of engineering, cellphones could be used as a SONAR tool. In law enforcement and the legal system, cellphones could be used to verify identities of individuals through a retinal scan or a fingerprint scan through specialized apps. In education, cellular phones could be used to provide content and personalized learning modules, as in fact it is already done on a limited scale.

The cellular phone will become the single most important personal gadget in the coming years - in fact, I'm visualizing the cellphone to serve as a mega-console that will integrate work, home and recreation on a comprehensive scale. It could serve to start cars, control household appliances, regulate home and work temperature settings among others in addition to what smartphones are already capable of doing as of date.

The future looks bright and exciting - who knew that a portable phone would evolve to a super machine beyond our wildest aspirations. The cellular phone is a work in progress, and we might still be surprised with what it can do in the future, until then, the current cellular infrastructure, the 4G LTE, gives as a glimpse into the limitless possibilities of the cellular phone. What a machine indeed!