Caller ID, And Then Some

from the making-things-better dept

The latest from Rafe Needleman is looking at two new applications that (in theory) make mobile phones better and more usable. The first product enhances caller ID, by letting the receivers of a call respond via the phone - such as by asking the caller to indicate if it's urgent or by letting them know that while you know they're calling you just can't talk right now. This actually sounds really useful, if implemented well, and really extends the usefulness of a mobile phone and caller ID. The other application is more a "presence" application that will let people know if someone's mobile phone has been turned off - and when it's been turned back on. This one, of course, has a few more privacy issues involved, and it remains to be seen how people react to having their mobile phone project out such information. Either way, it appears that we certainly haven't reached the end of the road in useful applications for the voice side of the mobile phone. I can also see how the caller ID stuff could easily be extended to VoIP phones as they grow in popularity.

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