The Near Far Future of the iPad
WIth the release of the iPad 3 i’d suggest that Apple released the iPad they wanted to release at the start, a retina screen, 3G communications, fast processor, multi tasking OS. However be it technology not catching up, market pressure timing, we had to wait 3 iterations of this device to get here. In doing so much innovation has happened and the future of the iPad could be a very interesting place.
So what could Apple add realistically to this groundbreaking device to move it forward and what technologies are in development right now by other parties which could assist this?
Haptic Feedback
Haptic technology, or haptics, is a tactile feedback technology which takes advantage of the sense of touch by applying forces, vibrations, or motions to the user. This mechanical stimulation can be used to assist in the creation of virtual objects in a computer simulation, to control such virtual objects, and to enhance the remote control of machines and devices (telerobotics). It has been described as “doing for the sense of touch what computer graphics does for vision”. Haptic devices may incorporate tactile sensors that measure forces exerted by the user on the interface.
Haptic feedback when it works is an amazing technology and Tactus Technology have recently announced a potentially ready to go technology which works wit Tablet screens.
This addition of user experience for both interface and within Games is potentially huge with this technology
Facial Recognition
Not just a technology for unlocking your Tablet and one which Apple already has filed for a patent on Facial recognition has the ability to distinguish between multiple people using a device and potentially even your emotions while using a device as well so the tablet could be aware of frustration, happiness or other emotions.
The filing provides a simple way for multiple users to share a single device, like an iPad. Each user could customize their personal profile with unique wallpaper, applications and settings, and that profile would be immediately accessed once the iPad recognizes a user’s face.
Solar Power
Pixel Qi designs hybrid displays for mobile devices that are just as easy to read outdoors as indoors. The company has developed a 1-watt solar panel containing new, higher-efficiency cells that can power a screen and a motherboard. A panel placed around the bezel, in fact, could provide enough juice to run low-power tablets and e-readers, the company says. In full sunlight, the Pixel Qi solar panel provides 1 watt of power. In partial sun, of course, it produces less juice. Solar bezels may someday be standard on low-cost tablets, such as One Laptop Per Child’s upcoming XO-3 device, which is designed for students in developing countries.
Location Aware
Location-savvy services such as Foursquare tell the online world where you’re dining, shopping, or loitering. But future tablet and phone apps will do much more than anoint you the Mayor of Starbucks. in July Fujitsu Laboratories announced a new mobile platform that automatically downloads and runs–and later erases–apps and data appropriate for a particular time and place. If you bring your tablet to the Museum of Natural History, for instance, Fujitsu’s cloud-based system will identify where you are and immediately push the museum’s navigation guide to your slate. When you leave the museum, it will automatically delete the guide. Naturally, the system will also work with smartphones and PCs.
3D capability
Tablet computers are a large and growing market segment, and these products are excellent candidates for 3D technologies. 3D technologies go beyond 3D display; they can allow tablet owners to create their own 3D content using the integrated camera, view and edit it in 3D, and easily share it with friends and family. 3D tablets can create a unique and disruptive market segment in terms of visual experience and user engagement. Our technologies can be licensed by tablet manufacturers to accelerate sales by offering products that provide a complete 3D capture and display solution.
3DMedia’s proprietary technologies are embedded in its software. The 3D creation technology creates 3D content from content captured with a single camera. The 3D capture technology assists users in taking better quality stereoscopic pictures for input to 3DMedia’s creation technology. 3D content browsing, viewing, and editing functions complete the user experience. These technologies have been proven in production camera and PC software products.
Transparent Screens
Transparent screen technology is still in it’s infancy like much of the tech ideas here, however the concept of a transparent screen makes the whole idea of augmented reality a far more usable proposition especially for maps and direction control or Wiki/information overlays.
Tr
Bendable Screen
Samsung unveiled this incredible new type of flexible OLED touchscreen technology at CES at the start of the year, showcasing a 4.5-inch smartphone hosting video content with a WVGA 800 x 480p resolution on a screen just 0.3mm thick.
In the video, the Korean consumer electronics giant shows off a number of different real-world scenarios in which a tablet featuring bendable technology could be used.
People are seen in the video using the transparent device for a variety of different tasks, including scanning an augmented reality code on a menu, watching a 3D video, taking photos and translating a real-time conversation.
Samsung is keen to harness the bendable technology for smartphones and tablets in the future and is understood to be developing a number of workable prototypes.
The Future..
there is no doubt that Tablets are no longer a pen laden heavy flash in the pan, they are part of lives and are eating in to other sales, they have to however keep relevant and provide what we need for on the move technology, while it may be products like Google’s Glasses may be the way forward the touch and carry always on Tablet devices have a lot of options on the hardware side over the next few years to innovate and provide us with usable technology.
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