The Future of Computing Devices

There has been constant evolution of computing devices over the past half a century.  The first computers were the size of rooms and when a personal PC came out people were amazed at the computing power that could fit on desk. With the ratification of 802.11 to standardize wireless came a mobile technology revolution. It started with laptops and moved to phones and tablets as science advanced.

There has been two major schools of thought on the next focus.

Wearables

First is the concept of wearable devices. This includes things like Google Glass which you wear as RoboCop. The other wearable gadget that has been in the news recently is the LG GD910 watch phone. This device reminds people of the Dick Tracey wrist watch.
glasses to get instant feedback visually about the world around you. It is right from any science fiction movie you have ever scene.For those of us who grew up in the 80s it reminds me of the head's up display for

Wearables try to integrate technology with your body in some way. There are many advantages to wearables such as constant fitness monitoring and not having to carry an additional device. This technology is slowly getting adoption but is still a few years away from mainstream in my opinion.

Integration

The second push is driven by consumers and is the ability to integrate your devices with your home. Internet content is more abundant and the availability\cost of high speed internet is making people rethink their high cable bills. Consumers want to stream their entertainment from the cloud and share it in their living room. Netflix started a revolution that has quickly become mainstream along with iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, youTube and many more companies offering a monthly or pay by the show approach to entertainment. Consumers also want to share their screen with others and a phone screen just does not cut it. People across America are glued to their individual wireless devices while sitting in their dorm or home after a long day. They want to press a button or click a link and easily have it shared with others around them.

There are many devices available that allow consumers to stream various content to their TV. Some of them are integrated into your TV (Samsung) or your Blueray\DVD player but I personally do not want to be tied into changing my TV as technology changes. Another approach is to integrate your devices with you game systems and then they display on your TV. The Xbox has been the leader in this industry ever since the development of xbmc and the ability to hack your game system. This solution does not scale to individuals who do not have game systems (larger group than some of you may think). Almost every device has a option to run a HDMI cable to their TV but in my house it is a hazard for my dog and my daughter. Wireless devices like the Apple TV, Roku, and PLAiR have been the most popular but even at a $99 price point they are just out of the price range for people to try them. I feel the market is looking for a small, inexpensive, wireless devices that is easy to use anywhere. Google seems to be the closest with their ChromeCast for $35 released this past summer. This device is lacking features from my time using it such as the ability to stream Amazon Instant Video without turning off Silverlight (poor quality) and integration with some major streaming content vendors. Although, it is on the right track with speculation of a similar Amazon device to follow.


No one knows what the future will bring but corporations need to stay in touch with the technology its employees are using at home and understand how to harness that to make them more productive at work. The public ecosystem is changing rapidly with universities and homes following suite. There is huge opportunity for companies if they understand the base concept and can apply it to overcome their challenges.  Those who doe not evolve with be weeded out through natural selection.