Device Diversification

    In a recent tweet, Johnathan blow, creator of the hit video game Braid, hit on a key point about tablets, cellphones, and the advancement of these device form factors. He said

    "Now that I carry 3 computers with me everywhere, the obvious next thing is to get the flexible screens working so you can unfold a phone into a tablet form factor, then I'll get that down to 2 again."

    He speaks of the fact that he carries his cellphone, tablet, and laptop everywhere. I found Blow's sentiment to be quite understandable, as I too carry these three devices with me every day. I think that this hits on a clear problem with current phones/tablets, and might actually give insight into the future of such devices.

    Both my phone and tablet are Android, and have access to almost exactly the same list of apps. Despite the feature overlap, tablets and cellphones have distinct advantages, enough so that I, and many others, chose to carry both. Tablets are far superior for web browsing, reading/eBooks and viewing videos, but you plan on texting or calling anyone, you require a phone. This feature overlap shows a clear path for improvement. Either a new form factor of device will rise that does all the features of phones and tablets better than both phones or tablets, or phones and tablets will drift further apart.

    In a rush to create phones that did everything, early smartphone developers tried to add every possible capability to their products. Cameras, physical keyboards, and touchscreens were all integrated into phones to remove other devices from your life. Until the creation of the tablet (internet sources place this at 2010, release of the iPad), there was no reason not to add features like this. However, It is clear from the success of modern tablets that the phone is not the best place for many features. 

    Where should the borders be drawn? Should phones not try at all to offer features better suited for tablets? Could a tablet incorporate enough features of my phone that I consider leaving my phone at home? A collapsible screen would help in this regard, as a phone's small size is just as important as a tablet's large screen. If a tablet was created that was small enough to carry in my pocket, could receive phone calls/sms, but could fold out for an easy reading experience, that would be a very appealing device. You can already buy 'phablets,' large form phones, that attempt to solve this problem (although jury is still out on whether they are worthwhile).