Simon Willison’s Weblog

The Buzz

8th April 2003

Russell Beattie rants with zealot passion about how next generation mobile phones will change the way we live:

Like the mid 1990s when suddenly you could easily use the internet for the first time to look up timely information—say medical information or shopping comparsions for cars—at first it seemed incredible, now 90+ percent of new car buyers start on the web. It’s now become a part of how we all live. We’ve been waiting for the past few years for another technical revolution of similar proportions. An enabling technology that will seem interesting, fun and new at first, but then soon become vital to our every day lives. Well it’s arrived...

It’s about anywhere/anytime communication and access to the information that you need. Life itself is about communication: we talk to, we listen to, we read about, we watch other people every day all day. It’s why we get up in the morning. Suddenly we’re going to be able to communicate in new and varied ways: via voice, email, chat, images and video instantly and receive the same all in return. And we’re going to LOVE it. But as a bonus, suddenly you can access information where and when you need it as well: “What time’s that movie? Where are we? How do we get there? Do our friends want to come? I better buy tickets now...” The combination of the two is a powerful package and soon you won’t be able to remember what it was like to have to boot your computer just to browse the web or send an email or chat or play games.