My Israeli dream technology list

Right now, as you read this, there are hundreds of Israeli entrepreneurs planning their next moves. Tomorrow’s tech is being dreamed up in Tel Aviv cafes, offices and homes. I hope they consider these ideas:

Mobile Device Lifecycle Enhancer – Aren’t you tired of smartphones and tablets that are obsolete by the time you finish personalizing them? My Galaxy Tab 1 was still “cool” two years ago. Today, they’re up to Tab 3 and will soon announce 4. My Galaxy S1 Mini was a geriatric 11 months old when I bought it two years ago. Today, it belongs next to my Nintendo 64.

We need a startup that will make our devices last 5 years. Do you plan on buying a new phone and tablet every 2-3 years? I don’t. We could all use a “lifecycle extension startup.” I expect to be able to spend more on my bad habits than on a jazzed up phone. When the mobile revolution costs more than my dumbest splurges, I put my foot down.

He’s Having a Bad Day App – The goldmine isn’t in 1st person location services, it’s in 3rd person location services! This startup dream idea would notify you of people having a “very bad day”. It would need to be able to differentiate between someone having his or her worst 10 days of the year and Israelis strutting about with their daily snarky ‘tude. If done right, the settings would have more impact on our lives than configuring Waze not to take us to the West Bank on our way to pick up a pizza.

The extreme side of this would be to collect this info and have Schmendrick Alerts for people you encounter on the street. You’ll find yourself letting the other person get in the taxi, and you may wait for the next bus even though its pouring out. I think it’s only a matter of time before startups try to “help us” via more audacious metadata collecting, like what got the NSA in trouble.

Remove Device Bloatware For the Rest of Us – Smartphones, tablets and phablets are loaded with pre-installed apps that someone decided that you just have to have. I never watch YouTube clips on my smartphone, but can’t delete the YouTube app on either my smartphone or tablet. Why do I need an FM Radio app? For those of us with older models, these useless apps take up a lot of our smartphone’s ROM space.

Typically, the only way to delete bloatware is to root the device. Rooting isn’t for everyone, including me. I don’t want to have to spend hours learning about the inner secrets of my phone. I want to click and delete.

I hope an Israeli startup finds a way to give us control over our devices without needing to get our hands dirty. They should also find a way to enable every device to download directly to its memory card. You may have a 32GB memory card, but if your device’s built-in memory is full, you’re stuck.

Don’t Hear Loud Calls in Public – Wouldn’t it be nice to have your phone cancel out the sound waves coming from people engaging in obnoxiously loud phone calls in public? Without needing Bose headphones, a “privacy field.”

Who’s Next in Line Instant Replay – The natives love arguing about their place in line. They brush by the line like cats scouring new territory and then expect to show up two wars later and claim their place. The future of instant replay isn’t in sports, it’s in shopping malls. This app would make it easier to diss “Israeli sideliners” — the ones who show up on the side of the line and don’t make eye contact with others, so they just “never see you.” Show them the instant replay, buy your Old Spice and walk out with a cool smirk.

What are your dream technologies for 2014?

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