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November 12, 2013

Smartphones 'Smarter' Than You?

What will we wind up calling the next wave of computing, and what will its key attributes be? We might agree that mobile and cloud mechanisms will be key. But Gartner analysts believe pervasiveness likely will play a role as well.

“Consumers will use and interact with a multitude of connected, sensor-enabled devices driven by applications and services to create cognizant ecosystems independent of a platform or operating system,” Gartner says.

"One of the defining experiences of cognizant computing is that the devices that drive the experience fall into what we refer to as the invisible space,” said Jessica Ekholm, research director at Gartner. "In practice, consumers will forget the devices are being carried, worn or used until they need to interact with them for control or to obtain feedback in terms of data or information."

Others might simply call that pervasive computing. Significantly, for mobile service providers, much of that pervasiveness will be supplied by machine-to-machine sensors (Internet of Things) using mobile or other untethered connections. 


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Invisible and cognizant devices will include wristwatches, key fobs, thermostats and shoes, Gartner says. But although people have predicted the emergence of pervasive computing for decades, the underlying infrastructure (broadband access, cloud computing, mobility, low power and low cost processing) and end user acceptance arguably have not been in place before now.

"Personal cloud services and ecosystems are now the center of the digital consumer experience," said Michael Gartenberg, a Gartner analyst. One might argue that what unites home automation and personal fitness wristbands is the ability of cloud software and mobile connectivity to create a new pervasive level of sensors.

At the same time, what we once might have called “artificial intelligence” will appear, arguably aided by “big data” capabilities. So smart phones will be able to predict a consumer’s behavior or trigger relevant actions, based on what already is known. That also is an application of cognizant computing, Gartner argues.

“If there is heavy traffic, it will wake you up early for a meeting with your boss, or simply send an apology if it is a meeting with your colleague,” says Carolina Milanesi, Gartner VP. That is an example of how the personal cloud and big data will combine to create a pervasive computing environment, able to use past behavior to predict present needs.

The first services will generally help with menial tasks such as booking a car for its yearly service, creating a weekly to-do list, sending birthday greetings, or responding to mundane email messages.

Gradually, a greater array of apps and services will attain widespread acceptance.

By 2017 mobile phones will be smarter than people not because of an intrinsic intelligence, but because the cloud and the data stored in the cloud will provide them with the computational ability to make sense of the information they have so they appear smart, Milanesi says.




Edited by Alisen Downey


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