During its developer conference, Intel representatives spoke about the upcoming era of mobile devices like smartphones and envisioned a not-too-distant future where your phone is more of a personal assistant.
Intel’s CTO, Justin Rattner, stressed that the next battle for smartphones and mobile devices will be the ability to understand what the user wants.
“The question is, how do we change the relationship so we change these devices from just devices to assistants or even companions? We believe context-aware computing is poised to fundamentally change the way we relate to and react to devices. Future devices will constantly learn your habits, the way you go throughout your day. They’ll understand your friends and how you’re feeling. Maybe more importantly, they’ll know where you’re going and anticipate your needs.”
To further stress this point, Intel hooked up with Fodors to create a prototype smartphone which looks like a traveler’s dream because it provides multiple apps which suggest sites, restaurants and other venues to check out when you’re in a new city. I don’t know why, exactly, you need a brand new device for this type of service, but I do like the vision Intel is pushing.
[Update] Ahh, now I know what’s up. Engadget says this is part of a context-aware API that Intel is pushing for smartphones and mobile devices. This is still in works in Intel Labs but it has always been designed with commercial ambitions. This will enable Intel to do the heavy lifting when it comes to physical and social sensors. Cool beans.
Intel was arguably behind in the mobile space but it has used its weight to quickly make up ground. The company plans to spend $1.4 billion to acquire the mobile chip maker Infineon. This will give Intel a large chuck of the market share out of the gates and it will allow it to be well-positioned for the future with Long-Term Evolution chips.
The company has also teamed with Nokia to focus on user interfaces. The companies will open a research center which will undoubtedly have a lot of “Blue Sky” research which doesn’t turn into anything but you never know when some research can turn into a hit product.
[Via Computer World]