Owning Our Technology

"Owning". The word has such interesting connotations depending on the context. Dictionary.com defines it as 'of, pertaining to, or belonging to oneself or itself.' But it also has more extreme implications--in gaming sub-cultures, for example, it is often denoted as 'pwn', a leetspeak term that alludes to 'the act of dominating an opponent'. And in many cases, that is precisely what technology does to us each day. How many times have we found ourselves cursing the infernal absence of a much-needed feature, or the lack of Internet access when it's needed most, or even grappling with a completely unfriendly user interface--all of which serve to drive us to our wits end at times when we're most banking on our personal technology? And this raises the inevitable question of technology ownership: who is the owner, and who is the ownee?

Think about it--our very existence these days is facilitated (and in some cases even dominated) by our interaction with a myriad of technologies. The catchwords of our times are 'real-time', 'ubiquitous', 'mobile'--descriptors that define our very expectations of the information we create and utilize. Gone are the days where we needed to wait until we reached a specific location (such as our desktop computer or laptop) before we could tap into our digital lifelines; with cellular data services and multi-factor mobile devices, many of us now take for granted our ability to access information no matter where we are. Which is why mobile technologies have melded into such capable devices--devices that have massively surpassed the hitherto humble requirement of simply making voice calls or sending texts. The need to read e-mails, edit documents, access friends' statuses, and even interact with the real world in strange and wonderful ways has turned our phones into surprisingly powerful, yet palm-sized, information access portals. But wait--isn't the addition of these features and capabilities invariably accompanied by a glut of usability issues and much subsequent heartburn? Sure it is, but therein lies the opportunity. In a flat world where life-changing technology is becoming increasingly accessible, the one factor that differentiates users from power users is the ability to own their technology. Owning, as implied by being able to use these technologies to deliver that operational edge, to help push past the rank and file and stand out within the sphere of existence.

And this is precisely what I aim to address through this blog--to share some of the best ways to make the most of your technology, point you to must-have mobile apps, and help make sense of it all. And while we're at it, figure out ways to make them work precisely the way we expect them to.

To start, let's look at a few devices that have especially been making waves in the past few weeks--the slew of mobile technologies that have been unveiled at the recent Mobile World Congress last week. I've noticed four broad areas that have represented the greatest advancement:

More, more, more power: As was expected, newly-announced phones from manufacturers like HTC and Huawei have faster (and more core-laden) processors, more memory and higher-resolution screens. HTC's flagship One X packs a quad-core 1.5 GHz processor, Nvidia Tegra 3 graphics, and a 4.7-inch display with 1280x720 resolution--power that will undoubtedly open doors for more innovative applications, silkier graphics, and smoother multitasking. And this increased grunt will provide the necessary foundation for next-generation capabilities and features.

What comes first--the phone or the camera? Mediocre optics were always the weakest link in the mobile camera chain--until now. With f/2 lenses, cameras in upcoming phones can capture more light and deliver sharper images especially when photographing dim or fast-moving scenes. Even resolutions are getting better, as exemplified in Nokia's jaw-dropping announcement of their 41-megapixel Pureview 808 smartphone. Clearly, this throws in a gauntlet that will force every other player to significantly up the ante so far as mobile photography goes. Nokia does use a plethora of technical trickery to achieve such a path-breakingly high resolution, but the results more than speak for themselves. Use the GigaPan tool here to zoom into the truly awesome sample shots from this camera. Sorry, phone. Or is it primarily a camera? Well, the lines are increasingly blurry these days.

New-generation mobile applications: You might have heard of augmented reality--a usage scenario where applications on your mobile device enable you to actually interact with and overlay information about the real world around you. While augmented reality has been around for a while, it has still not nailed the usability aspect. Current generation applications have proved to be slow and clunky, but companies like Total Immersion have demonstrated practical applications with a level of smoothness and real-time interaction that will enable these applications to truly become mainstream.

All in one, and one in all: Now here's an especially intriguing concept--a phone, that docks into a tablet, that snaps into a keyboard. The result? A netbook that can deconstruct into a tablet or a smartphone. Albeit a concept, Asus unveiled this especially innovative device they call the PadPhone. Based on a decently powerful smartphone specification (1 GHz dual-core processor with 1 GB of RAM,) it snaps into a recessed slot in the tablet enabling easy transition between form factors. There's also a keyboard accessory that snaps into the tablet, effectively converting the entire device into a netbook--and one with a purported battery life that is nine times that of most other netbooks. Just as features and software naturally consolidated into our present-day smartphones, it is going to be interesting to witness something similar with mobile hardware itself. I personally wouldn't mind using a Transformer-like, three-in-one device. Convenient, for sure.

I'd like to keep a dialog going, so do reach me via mail or Twitter and I'll be happy to cover gadgets you're most interested to know about or address technology issues that continue to perplex. After all (to paraphrase W.H. Henley,) are we not the master of our fate? And the rightful owners of our technology?

The thoughts and opinions shared here are of the author.