I have been using a Sony Ericsson K800 for a number of years now and it is the best camera phone that I have ever seen. The camera specs are more than good enough for my everyday needs and the user interface has been designed very cleverly. Window's based phones integrate best with my desktop for calender sync and the Blackberry is without doubt the best e-mail phone. The i-Phone is (as most would agree) best for multi-media, but not the best-best to manage e-mails or send text messages.This makes me believe that the common wisdom that the phone will ultimately morph into everything. (Phone, GPS, Camera, Productivity, Multi-Media and Wallet), is not unnecessarily true. It may be possible to produce such a device, but the possibility exists that devices with a specific focus (this is a camera that you can phone on too, or this is a multi-media tool that you can also send e-mails on) will become more popular. If this is the case, I was wondering what a device would look like that has been designed first and foremost to be a mobile payment device and then a phone, etc. This is my take on some of the things that you would probably find on such a device:
- It would be branded in such a way to emphasise money.
- It would come standard with integrated and advanced proximity (NFC) technology
- The display would be geared towards statements (rather than multi-media)
- Advanced security components would be built into the firmware (maybe even some biometric capabilities)
- A portion of the device would be thin enough, so that it can be used at ATM's or POS's. In other words, the device can be swiped or something like that.