English | EN Additional stupid screens are getting smarter faster
Jan 12, 2015
With smartphones being well adopted the battle moves on to the next screens like watches, TV’s and even the screens in the car. But are these screens getting smart too? Do they even need to? Or can they extent the smartness that is already in our pockets?
Our smartphone is the most personal screen around us. It in fact is the first real personal computer. Our old PC’s where usually family computers or company computers we would or could share with others. We teach our smartphones a whole lot about us. We truly invest in our personal smartphone relation.
With one screen up to date on my personal preference, after a somewhat large time investment on my side, I really benefit from this effort. It is becoming more and more the true personal digital assistant that was promised to me in the past. I would love to have the other screens around me also to know who I am and what I prefer. But am I willing to invest that much time again? … And again? … And again? I don’t think so, and maybe I don’t need to.
The so-called smart watch is actually nothing more than an additional screen wirelessly connected to the smartphone we have in our pocket. It is so to say nothing more or less than an extension, or even a remote, for our smartphone. The watches are not smart themselves, they extent the reach of the smartness via your phone. The smart watches are quite stupid if you think of it this way. And that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. That might even be a big benefit.
Every screen around us has the potential to be just as smart as our phone without teaching them separately about us. That’s just genius! Our smart watch becomes as smart as your smartphone without spending a lot of extra time to make it happen. Our TV is no longer positioned as a separate screen or as a screen that has to learn to understand us, but as an extension of the smart connected delights available via our smartphone. Even our car can take this same route be part of our smart digital life.
With all kinds of different standards from several players in the field of mobile it would be great if this wouldn’t exploit the lock-in on a specific platform. Car manufacture Hyundai already leads by example as they made an in car extension screen that is compatible with both Apple CarPlay and Google Android Auto. A wonderful solution to serve both while the battle for standards is still going on so strong.
One central identity available via our connected smartphone makes all kinds of surrounding stupid screens smarter much faster. This is so much faster than we could teach them to get to know us, to understand us, to just get us. For broader usage and adoption we still have a long way to go from the proprietary and specific brands to a generic standard that can extent the smartness from all kinds of platforms. From the well-known and established names like Apple and Google all the way to the possible rising new stars like Firefox and Nokia.
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