Opinion: The future should be kept in the shadows...

Okay, I’ll admit, I got an Iphone 5, but in my defence it’s my first ever Iphone and the only other Apple product I’ve bought since the classic Ipod. As a user of several Android devices and a boat load of crashes/glitches later I was due a good phone. The phone’s sleek and does the jobs I need well; text, talk, social networking and the occasional silly app (RobotUnicorn Attack anyone?).

My beef is not with the Iphone itself but with a feature it displays: ‘Facetime’ – to those unaware, that’s video calling to you and me, in which you see the person you’re talking to. This feature’s been around for years on various handsets to some degree or other and is more popular on the imitable Skype service. A feature you’re probably used to seeing on many a sci-fi film the likes of Total Recall et al.

Many Skype users would indeed argue this but I don’t think this feature will ever take off – sure it’s fine from the luxury of your home to talk to people from around the world but it is really needed for the everyman? Do I need to see my girlfriend to tell her I’m heading home? There’s nothing natural about holding your phone aloft so the receiver may see your face as you inadvertently walk into a door or fall down some stairs. Now you may argue this as ridiculous but then we’ve all mistaken a Bluetooth headset user for a mentalist in a supermarket…

I don’t think the future is anything like they’ve guessed, we haven’t developed freakishly long fingers from typing or hunchbacks from sitting for long periods and where are our bloody hoverboards?!

More like Marty McLIE!

I like anonymity of a call, I don’t need the guy in my banks call centre to see the dismay in my eyes when he relays my current account balance to me nor do I want my friends to know I’ve rang them from the toilet. Hell, I text more than I call like most of my male friends, maybe we’re rude or maybe we just like to get to the point.

I think the real advancement for communication will be in the voice recognition field such as Apple’s Siri and its ilk. It’s not perfect but being able to send a text hands free is a god send. I drive a lot and it’s handy to be able to shout a text to my phone and not break the law or career into oncoming traffic. I’m not saying don’t bother with it at all because that’s unfair to the 4 people who use it regularly but maybe not invest so much time into it or laude it as the ‘future’. Maybe I’m just bitter… And I am.