Today, I left my house heavily weighed down with my laptop, iPad, iPhone, keys, wallet and a few more antiquated things like writing utensils and a journal – all the essentials for where I am in my life-stage. I lug these things around with me almost everywhere I go, and though it’s a hassle, it is also a comfort.
With recent technological talks, I now imagine leaving my house for the day with nothing but my “phone,” just about as light as a bird. This may not seem like a big deal, but when you no longer have to keep track of your phone AND keys AND credit cards AND driver’s license AND every other important access point in your life – when all of it boils down to ONE single item – it will be quite a big deal.
Now, I do not believe a single device like this yet exists, but it is certainly the direction technology is going. With every leading phone developer now hinting, planning, and most likely building their new devices with near-field-communication (NFC), our lives are about to change as we know it. Although, if you really think about it, our lives will actually just continue on the path we’ve been on since the start of “paperless,” except now it will be more or less “objectless.”
If you are not quite clear about what I am referring to, companies like Apple, Google and Microsoft are exploring something called NFC, which essentially allows your phone to replace physical methods of payment (credit cards, debit cards, cash). You would simply “tap your phone to pay” at different venues and locations. Sounds convenient right? Well it also sounds scary.
Have you seen cars with keyless entry? Where the key is actually just a small device transmitting a signal to the car? If we can make our phones able to pay for us, why can we not also combine keyless entry to homes and cars into that mix? And when it really comes down to it, could not we also create a unique signal or code to replace our driver’s licenses?
So there it would be, your entire life in one item. Is that something you look forward to? Personally, it makes me a little uncomfortable. What does one do when that item is lost or stolen? Could we design security strong enough to protect it? Surely the “bad guys” (for lack of a better term) will be right at the frontier of this technology as well.
Though I am not so sure I like the idea of all my eggs in one basket, technology can do some crazy-cool things.
Check out the sites below for some more info on the NFC phones coming to a hand near you.
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ReplyDeleteYou bring up a good point about being able to use your phone as a key, but there is a Swedish company that is working on having your smartphone work as a hotel room key. I know you were referring to using it for cars, but if you think about it, that would be incredibly dangerous for people like hackers and car thiefs! The good thing about having your phone as your hotel room key is that you wont have to worry about de-magnitizing the room key card strip like before. You also wouldn't have to always remember to bring the key with you because it would be on your phone. With this new technology that they are testing, you would be able to check-in to your hotel and get the key without even having to enter the building! Talk about a way to get things done faster!
ReplyDeleteSource:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/210861/what_googles_nfc_android_phones_will_mean_for_you.html
You definitely bring in an interesting take to just how much we can get done with just one device. Being a fan of carrying as fewer things as possible I like the fact that we can forget about carrying wallets among other things, what still remains as a big concern is maybe not just security but functionality. What I mean is, what happens when your phone starts to act up? can it make unintended payments, or can it maybe leave you car unlocked if you sit on the wrong key or button?(if the car door technology is developed).
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to think just how this technology might aid us but it's scary to think of the consequences of a security breach or device malfunction.
I would not be surprised if could open up or house or turn on our car engine by using our cell phones. Before, we used to buy different devices to accomplish a specific task, for example cell phone to make phone calls, computers to work, GPS so get addresses, electronic agendas to organize our meetings or homework or an IPod to listen to music. Now, we can do all that with only one device: a cell phone. In addition to all those tasks, there is something we could soon do with it and is to pay in physical store using the same gadget we use as a GPS, agenda and computer.
ReplyDeleteGood post
That is very interesting Christine - I hadn't heard about the hotel room key technology.
ReplyDeleteMCRod - I thought about security breach but had not thought about malfunction... it's true technology's breaks or gets viruses or has issues every day.
dsaye001 - thanks!