We’ve already gotten a glimpse of what Microsoft hopes the future will look like, but how about a different take? PocketNow was able to dig up a pair of videos created by RIM that offers yet another glimpse at our device-driven tomorrow.
RIM’s vision of the future, like Microsoft’s, is one that’s heavily powered by touch — good luck finding a keyboard or physical button anywhere. Meanwhile, BlackBerrys have grown to be considerably more robust, and are able to seamlessly integrate with screens and surfaces that extend their functionality. Working on a long email and need a keyboard? Set your phone down on a table or a countertop and a keyboard pops up next to it.
As you’d probably expect from RIM, most of the scenarios they’ve dreamed up deal with business, from a new hire having her device remotely set up to a repairman using an augmented reality display to find a certain house. Even classic RIM focus points like device management make an appearance, albeit with a futuristic twist.
If some of that stuff sounds familiar, well, you’d be right: a lot of the things seen in the videos are already possible with current technology. NFC-enabled phones work great at (some) train stations, augmented reality keeps getting more sophisticated, and video conference calls happen everyday.
RIM’s thinking here isn’t quite as blue-sky as Microsoft’s; it’s more a refined extension of what we already have as opposed to a wild vision of what we could have. All I know is that the sooner RIM makes this future a reality, the sooner people will stop forecasting gloom and doom for them.