Future Mobile Communication Concept (2001)
Sonny Lim
2001
Supervisory Team
Jim Hennessey
Paul Hekkert
Pascalle Govers
Ianus Keller
Sony Ericsson Inc.
Tom Waldner
Rather than trying to imagine the continued development of existing technologies, Sonny Lim based his concept on the idea that every human being is unique. He saw mobility as the ability to adapt to change and integrate it into your life.
For Lim, communication was a process of sharing pieces of culture. He envisioned a way of communication that was independent of time and space, and centred on the relationships that people have with each other, and with the objects around them.
The embodiment of this vision was a device he called ‘Snowflake’ – a reference to its liquid lines. The Snowflake had many features we now take for granted on our smartphones: a touchscreen, fingerprint access, location services, photo-sharing, music, and a timeline of memes: things you would want to remember and share.
Watch the interview:
(English subtitles available)
360° Experience:
With fingerprint access, and without the usual keypad, you had much of your life right at your fingertips. Text entry was done by using your thumb to draw on a nine-dot matrix – like unlocking your phone today.
By 2001 mobile phones had become part of everyday life, but with the technologies that enabled mobile communications advancing fast, the industry was keen to envision the future.
With its touchscreen, the Snowflake resembles modern day smartphones. It was the first generation iPhone in 2007 that brought us many of the features Lim had conceived. His timeline of memes was a forerunner of social media timelines on Twitter or Facebook.
