Brian Capelli | APPS | 09.19.2012 @ 1:00 pm
Apps that push technology to its limit are far and few between. Not to mention the fact that most apps only cover one or two aspects of the hardware in most devices. This industry desperately needs to see more “proof-of-concept” apps come out into the wild.
Augmented reality is only in its infancy and the possibilities are endless! Yet we only see apps like Layar or Google Sky Map that implement this technology. Why not virtual bulletin boards or user generated overlays on real life objects? Sensors in these devices represent endless possibilities!
My Samsung Galaxy Nexus is loaded with sensors that I, a few years go, never would have expected wound end up on a mobile phone. Barometer, digital compass (which I’ve seen used as a metal detector!), gyroscopes, accelerometers, light sensors, front and back cameras, near field communication…like I said: endless possibilities!
At Rocksauce, we occasionally refer to “Magic Unicorn Apps,” a pet name for ideas that are literally impossible to achieve with current technology. However, with so much incredible technology packed into one device, why aren’t more developers making brave choices? Why can’t we make these “magical” ideas a reality? There are some amazing new technological advances and ideas floating around out there. Look at Google Glass and Pebble Smart Watch, which take input from your device and give the user new ways to interact with their mobile environment.
In the near future, mobile devices will exist as an extension of our personal computers, keeping all of our content accessible wherever we may go. NFC integrated with a home computer can make sure the user can take whatever they want with them for any situation. The foundation is being rolled out slowly, but why wait? Let’s get our hands dirty. Let’s experiment. Let’s not wait for the future: let’s build something amazing and pave the way to the future.