Over 10 years ago, if you told someone you would have a handheld device with the games, internet, calling facility, email and almost anything else a PC could do back then in the palm of your hand, they would probably scoff at you. Or, at the very least, say it would cost a fortune. Yet now we have dozens of smart phones that do those things. Mobile phones have seen a huge explosion in usage over the years and tablets have only begun to become a mainstream device, thanks to the iPad, Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet. The first hints of phones and tablets merging is the release of the Samsung Galaxy Note, a gigantic phone, or tiny tablet… or both, which does anything a tablet can do as well as a phone. The size of the screen screams tablet, but the 4G speeds and calling capabilities scream cellphone.
Future phones are going to function as just like terminals. It’s hard for me to imagine being without my computer tower, but I know that this technology is on it’s way out as well. Cloud computing seems to be on the rise which will lead to people simply having a screen that connects to a central super computer service. This computer could then run any game on maximum settings, and keep up with any and all computers out there. So if your computer is essentially a screen connected to a massive interface, then it’s only a matter of time for that screen to simply be another tablet, and then your smart phone. Service like OnLive does this kind of thing already, and once our internet speeds get faster, this will become more of a reality.