But what will the next 30 years of mobile phone design bring? Intrigued by what we might be making calls on in 2015 and beyond, weve taken a look at some futuristic concept phone designs.

Encompassing designs from fans to multi-company collaborations, each one of the concepts weve chosen to feature offers something special, and most exciting of all, each one is totally plausible.

Have a look at the futuristic designs below, and let us know in the comments which youd most like to be toting in five years time.

1. Mozilla Seabird

Developed with feedback from the wider community, the Seabird is the evolution of Mozilla Labs community member Billy Mays concept of what an Open Web mobile phone could look like.

The two stand-out features from Mays vision are the integrated BluetoothBluetooth headset that doubles as a remote control and the dual pico projectors that can project a virtual keyboard as well as video or imagery.

Other specs include an eight megapixel camera, a 3.5mm headphone jack, mini USB connectivity and wireless charging, which although available on Palms latest handsets, has not yet been widely adopted in the industry.

Sadly, as part of Mozillas Concept Series there are no plans to put the Seabird into production, but the exciting elements from the design the pico projection and the Bluetooth dongle (both technically possible today) are features we could see more of in the future.

2. Nokia Kinetic

The Nokia Kinetic was design student Jeremy Innes-Hopkins answer to a Nokia-set brief for a playful phone for 2012.

In addition to those curvaceous looks, the Kinetic offers the rather unusual ability of standing up when a call or text is received by converting digital information into kinetic movement.

Under the hood, the visual clue of the phone standing up would be carried out by an electromagnet shifting a weight, while the same position could be employed for a video call or even watching media.

Should you want to dismiss the spontaneous, magical and undirected alert, you could just gently push the phone to lie back down again.

While weve no word on whether Nokia plans to put the Kinetic into motion (sorry!), we think that a visual cue for an incoming call sure beats hearing that tinny Gran Vals one more time.

3. Kinneir Dufort Revive

UK design and innovation company Kinneir Dufort came up with the Revive concept after working with the electronics remanufacturing specialists at Regenersis.

The concept is simple: Many of us are tired of the excessive energy used and waste produced during the never-ending product cycles of the consumer electronics industry.

The idea is that instead of trading in your old handset for a new one, you upgrade elements of your phone as they wear down (e.g. the battery) or as better parts become available (e.g. the camera).

This way, says Kinneir Dufort, the system would allow electronic products to keep pace with technological developments as well as consumer expectations.

To help encourage consumers to hold onto to their handsets, the materials used for the initial Revive handset would be ones that become more beautiful with age such as leather (as you can see in the image below) and it would boast whats probably the worlds cutest graphical interface in order to help establish an emotional connection.

Additionally, a reward scheme would favor those that kept hold of their product for longer, while sophisticated diagnostics, remanufacturing methods and efficient logistics would take the hassle out of upgrades for the consumer.

Its a great concept for some kind of sustainability in the mobile phone market the phone that can only get better with age and wed love to see a major manufacturer take up the idea. But while the majority of consumers still happily swap their gadget hardware every few years, the idea may be unlikely to get backing for some time.

4. HTC 1

Andrew Kims design for the HTC 1 encompasses both the handset and elements of the user interface in order to create a harmonized hardware and software design.

What both elements have in common is a fantastic simplicity, with a smooth, seamless phone design complimented by a much more minimal mono edition of HTCs existing Sense UI.

The wow factor for HTC 1s design comes in with the simple, yet brilliant idea of offering a twist out kickstand across the entire bottom of the phone, which doesnt ruin the devices clean lines when not in use, and provides a useful way to stand the phone up, either for watching media or to set the phone on your nightstand as an alarm clock.

The HTC 1s materials would be premium (glass, machined brass) and its build quality superb. Like a fine watch or rangefinder camera, says Kim, the 1 is made to be in your hands, not the landfill.

Theres one more design aspect from the Korean-Canadian product design student that any clean freaks might like a built-in UV light that shines through the phones glass display when its charging to kill bacteria lurking on the surface.

5. Synaptics Fuse

The Synaptics Fuse concept is remarkable if for nothing else than for how many companies were involved in its design.

TheAlloy provided product design efforts, the UI was from both TheAlloy and TAT, which also enabled the 3D environment, Immersion added the tactile feedback, and the phone that exists as a real-life prototype (unlike others on this list) is powered by Texas Instruments OMAP 3630 processor.

But of course thats not the only remarkable aspect of the concept or it wouldnt have made the cut. The Fuse has been designed for single-handed usage, and boasts multi-touch capacitive sensing, haptic feedback (that tiny feedback buzz), and 3D graphics, as well as force, grip and proximity sensors.

The single-handed control comes via the back of the phone and its touch-sensitive surface. Users can touch to navigate the interface on the display, while grip sensors on the side of the phone control pan and scroll.

A Synaptics VP said of the Fuse as it was revealed: The improved sensory experience of Fuse will drive handset innovation to evolve, taking the current generation of touch-based interaction to the next level of human-device interaction.

Weve already seen the BACKFLIP by Motorola launch with a BACKTRACK navigation pad behind the screen, so it looks as if the Fuses influence is already being felt.

BONUS: iPhone 5

Weve relegated this to bonus status as its not a fully-fledged concept, but a very clever video from WaterWorks that imagines what the next-generation of iPhoneiPhone would be like if it boasted holographic functionality. Is that something that would even appeal to you? Have your say in the comments below.

More Tech Resources from Mashable:

– 10 Incredible Inventions from The World Maker Faire [PICS]
– 11 Astounding Sci-Fi Predictions That Came True
– 15 Creative USB Drives for Storing Your Data in Style
– 5 Hotly Anticipated Social Gaming Experiences
– Connected TV: The New Battle for Your Living Room [INFOGRAPHIC]

Article source: http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/wBaTP5GcgtM/

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#MashableAwards: 30,000+ Nominations in One Week

October 4, 2010

The Mashable Awards, our annual contest highlighting the very best the web has to offer, is gaining momentum quickly. After just one week, weve received 30,000 nominations for more than 10,000 unique companies, apps and individuals.

If you havent nominated yet, nows the time. Weve opened 21 of the 25 categories so far, for which you can nominate a person, company, organization, app, device, gadget, video, URL or technology.

Nominations will close at 11:59 p.m. ET on Monday, November 29. The top five nominees with the most nominations (subject to editorial policies and official rules) will move forward to the Final 5 Voting Round starting Wednesday, December 1.

How to Place Your Nominations

This year, MashableMashable has created a unique social voting platform for the Mashable Awards. Submit your nomination in four easy steps:

Step 1: Visit Mashable.com/Awards

Step 2: Log in via Facebook or TwitterTwitter

Step 3: Choose a Category and Nominee

Step 4: Submit Your Nominations for Any and All Categories
(You may nominate/vote in all categories once per day.)

The Official First 21 Categories

1. Best Location-Based Service

2. Best Social Media Service for Small Business

3. Best Music Discovery Service

4. Best Web Video

5. Best Online Game

6. Best New Gadget

7. Best Mobile Device

8. Best Mobile Game

9. Best Mobile Platform

10. Best Mobile User Experience

11. Best Website User Experience

12. Breakthrough Website Design

13. Best Use of an API

14. Best Social Media Management Tool

15. Most Creative Social Media Campaign

16. Most Creative Social Good Campaign

17. Must-Follow Personality

18. Must-Follow Brand

19. Must-Follow Non-Profit

20. Most Promising New Company

21. Entrepreneur of the Year

Mashable Awards Timeline

Nominations: September 27 to November 29
Final Five Voting Round: December 1 to December 15
Winners will be announced at the Mashable Awards Gala.

Tips for Getting More Nominations

If you think you or your preferred nominee are right for a category, Mashable would like to provide a few tips to help you start promoting.

Promotional Widget and Graphic: Visit our Mashable Awards Promote Page for a graphic and/or link to present the nominee.

Tip: Promote the nomination link via Twitter (using #MashableAwards), Facebook, YouTubeYouTube, company newsletters and e-mail blasts.

Tip: Embed the promotional graphic and a link on your website or blog.

The Mashable Awards Gala at Cirque du Soleil Zumanity

In partnership with Cirque du Soleil, The Mashable Awards Gala event will take place in Las Vegas. It will bring together the winners, nominees, Mashable community, partners, media, the marketing community, consumer electronics brands, technology brands and attendees of the 2011 International CES Convention. Together, we will celebrate the winners and the community of the Mashable Awards at the Cirque du Soleil Zumanity stage in the beautiful New York New York Hotel. The event will include acts and performances from our partner, Cirque du Soleil Zumanity. In addition, there will be special guest presenters and appearances.

Date: Thursday, January 6, 2011 (during International CES Convention week)
Time: 7:00 10:00 p.m. PT
Location: Cirque du Soleil Zumanity, New York New York Hotel, Las Vegas
Agenda: Networking, Open Bars, Acts, Surprises and the Mashable Awards Gala presentations
Tickets On Sale Now: General Admission and VIP Tickets Available through Eventbrite
Socialize: FacebookFacebook, Plancast, FoursquareFoursquare, Meetup, Using #MashableAwards on Twitter

About Past Open Web Awards

The Open Web Awards began in 2007 and achieved more than 250,000 votes and more than 20 million page views combined between Mashable and our 50 international blog partners. Click here for a list of the Open Web Awards 2007 Winners.

The second Open Web Awards, in 2008, included more than 26 categories, more than 100 Blog Partners (from 25 countries and written in 10 different languages), 50,000 total nominations, 80,000 total votes in the first round and 90,000 votes in the final round. Click here for a list of the Open Web Awards 2008 Winners.

The third Open Web Awards in 2009 included 50 winners, garnered more than 440,000 total nominations, 70,000 final nominees and 780,000 final votes. Click here for a list of the Open Web Awards 2009 Winners.

Article source: http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/Y2IY0ep6lYw/

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