Real Designers Spotlight

Rachael Page

Martin Cooper - Inventor of the mobile phone

Martin Cooper - Inventor of the mobile phone

Martin still things cell phones have a long way to go.

I asked Martin what technology needs to be in place before we have his ideal device, and his answer feels particularly relevant this week as I’ve been watching reviews of the Apple Vision Pro, with its eye tracking and gestures:

Martin talking about cell phones

The purpose of technology is to make your life better. Make your life easier, to improve it in some way. The most modern devices, most cell phones don't do that very well. In fact, they force us to become engineers, to learn a bunch of new things. We shouldn't have to do that.

I think the easiest way that we communicate today is by talking, and so I think that's going to be the first thing, and they're starting to make progress. Apple has Siri, Android has similar kinds of things, so I now when I want to go somewhere, I can tell my phone “Open Maps” and then tell it where I want to go, and it understands and it takes me there. So voice is the first one.

Gestures are going to become very, very important. And Microsoft has started to introduce that concepts, as well as Apple. Very simple things, using 1, 2, or 3 fingers. Swiping things. So that's another one. Gestures are going to be important.

There's already a lot of work on watching your eye movements. Your head movements. So that's another way that we communicate with each other. It's a natural way of communicating.

And of course the ultimate, and I don't think it's going to happen in my lifetime, maybe not yours either, is you ought to be able to think of something and have it happen.

(Shared with permission from David Friedman of Ironic Sans)

Share this on:
The Surface Pattern Design Playbook by Rachael Page — book cover

Earn from your design skills

The Surface Pattern Design Playbook

Create & sell patterns for fabric, wallpaper & murals — on Spoonflower & beyond. Client-free, commute-free, creative work you can do from anywhere.

Kindle ebook · €9.99

See the book →
WEEKLY EMAIL (FREE)

The Design Edge

Keep your design skills up to date with videos,
AI workflows, tutorials, ways to earn $$$ and free resources

Unsubscribe anytime.

Courses, Free Resources & Video Tutorials

Visual Design
Principles Course

Learn to use Typography, Colour, Layout, Hierarchy, and Alignment to create stunning designs
7 days free then $45/month
View the course

Top 50+
UX & UI Resources

Free images, icons, fonts, Illustrations, the best tutorials, books & more!
Filterable list
Get Resources

Embed a clickable prototype into any page

Step-by-step guide to embedding a Figma prototype or any interactive element into a web page
See Video Tutorial
Discuss your learning goals
Book a time
...or ask a question
Artfuly logo
About Send an Email
Privacy Impressum