What's next?

The iPhone's out, the hysteria is waning, and people are trying to figure out how the newest form of cell phone will actually be used. Now what? With the speed of product introductions, I figure it's only a matter of weeks before something comes along that will help pull the market's attention in a different direction. LG and YouTube have announced their candidate, and I think they may well be onto something--not necessarily the YouTube phone, but the concept of marrying strong mobile applications with a solid device. As smart phones and other wireless platforms become more capable, it will make more sense to base product designs and buying decisions on the software that the phone brings to the party.

Of course, software is also at the heart of a decision that might limit the availability of low-cost devices. One of the factors in lower-cost platforms is their dependence on open-source software. Now, the FCC (with apparent help from Cisco) has written rules that will, at a minimum, make it more difficult for manufacturers to gain approval for Linux-based devices. The concern over software-defined radio security is legitimate: declaring that all software released under a particular intellectual property agreement isn't secure, is not. The FCC should get far more input from many well-balanced sources before releasing rules that, by its own admission, could have a significant impact on the availability of affordable mobile devices. -Curtis