Inbox:As the mobile phone industry networks and carouses in Barcelona this week, one wonders what there is left to do to make mobile phones even more "all-singing and all-dancing" than they already are, writes Mike Butcher
Perhaps they are working on adding a kitchen sink to go with the satellite navigation, music playing, video camera recording already available on our favourite pocketable gadget.
Perhaps film icon Robert Redford, who was among the speakers talking about the convergence of films and video on to the mobile, might come up with some answers.
It won't be lost on Redford that the Dolby sound we are used to in film cinemas is about to be incorporated into the latest mobiles.
Movies have already become intimately linked with mobile via marketing deals. Motorola shipped its Z8 handset with the Bourne Identity and Nokia offered Spiderman 3 on the N95 8GB model
While watching a full-length feature film on a mobile phone is unlikely to take off, though, promotional clips and shorter video items such as television shows are heading towards our handsets.
Apple now offers iPod users more than 500 television series, particularly in the US and now heading to Europe.
Its iPhone handset is a natural for the next moves in video, especially as it comes with a YouTube application already built in.
In fact, the iPhone has suddenly become the phone to copy, so expect lots of big touch screens heading towards a mobile near you.
For all this wonderful big-screen video to be delivered, however, mobile broadband needs to become a mature proposition for consumers.
One of the ways that might happen is if mobile operators can offset the money they are gradually losing from voice calls and pure text services by targeting relevant advertising.
It's a delicate arena - who wants advertisements on their mobiles?
Well, it turns out that 16-24- year-olds might swap cheaper mobile services in exchange for viewing ads - at least that's the bet of start-up network Blyk.
It is handsets, though, that remain the core of interest in Barcelona, like cool new sexy phones made of exotic materials such as carbon fibre or branded handsets with leading fashion logos.
The "feature" phones continue to roll out such as the new Nokia N96 which comes packed with a 2.8-in screen, 16GB of internal memory and support for video in a wide range of formats as well as a television tuner for live TV broadcasting.
It will even have a "kickstand" on the back cover that allows for hands-free viewing.
Did I mention GPS, a five-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, flash and video light and video capture? It arrives in stores in July.
Mobile firms are also talking up new services such as social networking and user-generated content.
The mobile is poised to reach into our daily commute to work (transport), the hospital (health services) and our schools (educational applications).
Just as they can in Asia today, leading networks will try out mobile payments, or "pay-by-mobile", this year in Europe.
If you see someone start to use their mobile like a projector or a bar-code scanner later this year, tell them that's nothing - you have heard that kitchen sinks will be the next must-have mobile feature.
