Interpretive phones will soon help with menial tasks

Smartphones and apps are set to become virtual digitial assistants by 2017. Image: Cogniview.com

For instance, if there is heavy traffic on the roads you normally use‚ the phone will wake you up earlier for a meeting or simply send an apology for you warning that you are running late. "The smartphone will gather contextual information from its calendar‚ its sensors‚ the user's location and personal data‚" said research vice-president at Gartner Carolina Milanesi‚

These taks will be performed based on an individual's data, gathered using cognisant computing - the next step in personal cloud computing. The first services that will be performed "automatically" will be to assist with menial, time-consuming or time-wasting tasks.

These include time-bound events ("calendaring") such as booking in a car for its anniual service‚ creating a weekly to-do list‚ sending birthday greetings‚ or responding to mundane e-mail messages. Gradually‚ as confidence grows in the outsourcing of menial tasks to the smartphone‚ consumers are expected to become accustomed to allowing a greater array of applications (apps) and services to take control of other aspects of their lives. "This will be the era of cognisant computing," Milanesi says.

Smartphones, apps getting smarter

She says by 2017 mobile phones may be smarter than people because data stored in the cloud will provide them with the computational ability to make sense of the information they have‚ so that they appear smart.

"Phones will become our secret digital agent‚ but only if we are willing to provide the information they require‚" said Milanesi.

"Mobile phones have turned into smartphones thanks to two things: technology and apps‚" she added.

Milanesi says technology has features such as cameras‚ locations and sensors‚ while apps have connected those to an array of functions that‚ for the most part‚ add and improve our day-to-day life from a social‚ knowledge‚ entertainment and productivity point of view.

"We assume that apps will acquire knowledge over time and get better with improved predictions of what users need and want‚ with data collection and response happening in real-time‚" said Milanesi.

"Mobile phones have been our trusted companions for years channelling the natural need we have to communicate with others and express ourselves first with voice‚ then with the internet‚ and more recently through applications‚" said Milanesi.

"Smartphones‚ their technology and operating systems have been radically changing other devices from PCs to televisions. The era of personal cloud computing is empowering users as well as devices to get access to and share more and more data‚" she said.

"Over the next five years‚ the data that is available about us‚ our likes and dislikes‚ our environment and relationships will be used by our devices to increase their relevance and ultimately improve our life," she says.