Look, I know I talk a lot about Android here on Wireless Wednesday. I get it. But it's really not my fault. Blame Google. They keep coming out with new stuff. I could take 3 paragraphs about last week's IO conference, which announced (officially) Android 2.2, code named Froyo, which adds full Flash ability and runs 400-something times faster. I could also harp on the issue of fragmentation that a lot of people have talked about extensively. So I won't, because unless you're a geek like me, you really don't care. I'll spare you this time.
Instead, we're gonna talk about the future (yay conjecture that you can't disagree with me on because it's based entirely on opinion!). So, the future! I know I've discussed where I see technology going in the next few years in one of the first posts on this site (if you're new, check it out. It's pretty awesome really), but I need to change a little something there. I said previously that two of the few relevant devices in the future will be the TV/Desktop PC hybrid (hello, Google TV?) and the smartphone. Well, I still think I'm right, and I think we'll continue to have these devices. But what I didn't think would be coming so quickly is that these will essentially be extensions of each other. Android's upcoming Froyo update will allow a lot of wireless PC syncing, like link sharing, music upload, and app control. Basically, instead of emailing myself a link so I can click on it on my phone, all I'll do is click one button, and my PC sends the link directly to my Android phone, which I can access with one click in the notification panel. How cool is that? And being able to tell my phone to automatically go out to the Marketplace and download a specific application, all without having to lay a hand on my device is awesome.
What I mean by these two very different devices being extensions of each other is that I see it as a very distinct possibility that we'll see the same operating systems on both, just with minor tweaks to optimize performance for whatever device it's on. And if I had two things that do the same thing, but just have different size and power levels (and no, this is not a justification for small "manhood") it would consolidate my life so much. No more wondering "How do I get this information from my PC to my phone" or vice versa. Now we're already seeing a lot of prototype netbooks and tablets getting Android make overs, and we'll most likely see similar advances for iPhone OS, Windows Phone 7, etc. so this isn't something limited to Android or anything. I personally love the thought of just having all of my information accessible no matter where I am or what device I'm using.
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