Concepts: the future of mobile phones and tablets

A concept is defined as ‘as an experimental model to test the viability of new design features.’ Every year thousands of products are designed as concepts, many without any intention of being made, let alone being mass produced.

The beauty of a concept is that it can have whatever features the designer wants. A phone that flies? Let's pack in miniature anti-gravity wings. A phone that doesn’t run out of battery? Let's create it from solar power. A concept gives designers the chance to experiment with shapes, colours and materials,

Some concepts are created by manufacturers to showcase new technology and get feedback on new ideas, others are labours of love, created by someone passionate about technology or design.

Every month we’ll be bringing you our favourite mobile, tablet and communication concepts. Feel free to let us know what you think and anything we may have missed.

Nokia 2030

Designer Jim Chan looks to the future here, showing how a Nokia smartphone might look in 2030, as seen on Future Technology. The answer is exceptionally slim, yet unmistakably Nokia with the distinctive T9 keyboard and messaging icons. The touch-sensitive colour screen can be swapped for different colour varients.

We’re not sure how practical this concept is and it certainly doesn’t offer much screen real estate for browsing or watching movies, but it’s certainly a stunning phone.