There is a measurable trend with computer components that broadly states that the processing power of integrated circuits will double every two years. Because this trend comes from the ability of manufacturers to pack more transistors into the integrated circuit boards, this same trend holds true with other components such as memory capacity and sensors used in making digital cameras. This trend was first identified in 1965 by one the co-founders of Intel, and has held true ever since.
Many of the advances in mobile phone technology therefore stem from this ability to get a lot more processing power into the same space for a similar cost as was possible a few years ago.
For consumers, this means that the mobile phone you purchase today will become out dated within 12 months, if not sooner. It will of course continue to operate perfectly satisfactorily, although subject to wear and tear, until you decide you can justify the enhanced features of a new phone.
Of course there is a delay between the technological advances and those advances making their way into mobile phones. For this reason, manufacturers are constantly releasing information on their next range of mobiles, even though these will not be available for several months, and in some cases, for the most complex devices this can sometimes be as much as six or nine months.
This does give some idea of the paths in which mobile phone advances are going.
In addition to higher resolution cameras and near high definition video you can expect to see mobile phones with huge amounts of memory to enable storage of images and music.
One limitation to the capabilities of future mobile phones is battery power. New advances, particularly backlit touch screens and music players that mean the phones are used for large portions of a day, use up battery power at a faster rate than when a mobile is sitting in standby, just waiting for a call. In addition to improvements in battery technology, manufacturers are exploring new types of memory that not only work faster but use less battery power. This means that your mobile phone will be able to do more for longer.
Another potential enhancement in mobile phones is the drive towards a green mobile. Samsung in particular have a track history for developing eco friendly devices including a mobile made from eighty percent recyclable materials and solar powered phones.
The final area of advancement is that of operating platform, that is to say the software that runs the mobile and controls how it works and presents itself to the user. There are currently four or five main contenders; Symbian is the platform used predominately by Nokia as well as other manufacturers. There is a mobile version of Microsoft Windows and the Google developed Android, in addition to Apple's operating software that powers the iPhone. Nokia is also experimenting with an alternative system call Maemo.
Developments are inging in each of these and are necessary to keep pace with the hardware improvements, but one thing is relatively here, and that is that the software is likely to only get more complicated and feature rich as time goes on.