It doesn't take a usability expert to recognize flaws in the phones we use day in and day out, yet inexplicably, for most of us the perfect phone doesn't yet exist. The explanations range from a stall in battery technology to capitalism (manufacturers need to perpetually give us reasons to upgrade, after all) to simple laws of physics, but any way you slice it, there are improvements to be made. CNET UK's Andrew Lim has described his perfect cellphone in great detail, and surprisingly, it's not that far out -- in fact, we'd venture to say that it's completely manufacturable with 2007 technology (though the autofocus 5 megapixel cam with 3x optical zoom in a 10 millimeter body might be a stretch). One idea in particular really caught our eye: an always-on e-ink display up top (
a la MOTOFONE) for the important stuff, keeping the large, bright OLED primary display off in an effort to save battery life. Click through for the whole story, it's an interesting read -- and a somewhat depressing look into just how far we are from mobile nirvana.
[Thanks, Thomas G.]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mark @ Jun 25th 2007 4:02PM
Looks nice but unless it has a REALLY good keylock, it looks like it would constantly make unintended calls. Maybe an ultra thin magnetised flap on the outside would help? esp. one with a small ridge on the border so it can't press the keys. Also, could make it cover the entire phone except for the top screen that displays the clock, etc.
Jason Chang @ Jun 25th 2007 5:22PM
The e-ink top screen is an interesting Idea. It definitely would help those new 16.7 million colour displays not eat away at talk time.I would love a fixed 3x optical zoom on a 3.2mp cam.This is probably the cam phone sweet spot,for me. Other than that all phones need to have isync direct compatibility (plz Samsung), and we can call it a day.
PH0ENIX @ Jun 25th 2007 6:54PM
Read the comments too; the dual battery idea doesn't sound so great after all. I do like the idea of a decent camera so that I don't have to carry a separate point & shoot on my vacations.
M@ @ Jun 25th 2007 9:25PM
Looks pretty darn fine, though I'd ditch the separate batteries (just what is the point?) and put in a dedicated camera button on the top left with volume adjust buttons below it, plus an iPod-style keypad lock. Moving parts aren't evil, they just need to be well-engineered. Come to that, slider and clamshell versions would be cool too.
Karl Sander @ Jun 27th 2007 8:50AM
You can get this camera in a phone. But at 2,7x the thickness: The Nokia N93.
Oh 5 MPx so: The N95
oh optical zoom.
I own an N93 and can tell you that optical zoom is really sweet.
and SO want that phone.