Smartphone
I
was about to call home from work when my brother handed me a brand
new smartphone. 'Give this a try!' he demanded. It was a new prototype
in the user testing phase.
I
could instantly see that the model was going to be hot. The design
was stylish and the mechanics of the highest quality. The most striking
feature was the touch screen, which covered both sides of the phone.
The active side was illumined whereas the hidden part was dimmed.
But when you turned the phone around, the dimmed side lightened up
and continued from where the previous session had left off. Both sides
could be used for maximum efficiency.
Clearly
the phone was in a league of its own. It featured all the operating
systems available: Android, Symbian, Linux, Windows... Each operating
system was automatically included with the latest software version.
In fact, the phone seemed to contain all the software for electronic
devices which had ever been developed. Browsing through the list I
found operating systems for Atari's game consoles from the beginning
of the 1980s and even Casio and Sharp calculator systems from the
70's. A dream toy for tech freaks!
The
aesthetics, too, differed from other manufacturers' products. iPhone
and Samsung had bright icons on a black background, but this one favoured
light-colored wallpapers. The hazy colours and pastels gave the impression
of a future set in the space age.
Naturally,
the smartphone was full of features and applications. Navigation was
intuitive rather than logical. One was able to move from one function
to another by means of associations, which was an innovation as it
better responded to the real users' needs.
As
I browsed through the menus, I became aware of someone standing next
to me. 'Hey, what's that? Can I get a look?' The questioner was a
young woman in her twenties, clearly interested in the new phone.
'Let me try as well,' she asked.
I
refused to give her the prototype. But I let her watch as I continued
examining the phone. The woman was insistent in her demands and almost
too friendly, which was quite flattering. But I was adamant. As a
result she became annoyed and finally left.
I
continued browsing the phone. Having found all the fancy features,
I now tried to search for the normal phone functions. But no matter
how hard I looked, I couldn't find the selection by which I could
call home.
