Phone As Conduit Theory Revisited

When I saw this image of an iPhone equipped fridge on DesignBoom’s site it reminded me of the opinion piece I wrote way back about the Phone As Conduit. While I think the Gorenje fridge-freezer fits in the novelty bucket pretty well – it does hint at the notion of the phone being a device we use to create entertainment experiences by connecting it to other ‘players’ as we move about.

Here’s the thinking back from March 2006:

So here’s an idea that struck us today. Let’s combine two theories: first, one day all our entertainment media will be virtual and we’ll pull this from “the air” to any device wherever we are. Second, the smaller the device the harder it is to enjoy your entertanment media because of small screens, few songs, over-heating, battery life.

So imagine the future phone as a conduit for your entertainment media, not the final place where you will enjoy your media. Your phone is a device that you lets you play (and record) your media on (and from) larger devices. Simply connect your phone with entertainment hardware wirelessly or using ports.

The Phone As Conduit Not Player