manufacturers of Android devices to build the smart station so consumers and businesses can better control their lives from a centralized location.

At some point in the last five years, almost everyone I know gave up their landline. Homes are now bereft of their precious connection to the outside world. This dropping of the old-school landline should be addressed by the Android platform.

I’m talking about an Android home base — a powerful amalgamation of smartphone, tablet, and PC that merge together to create a home base smart station. Think about it… you have a single unit that resides on your desk or a counter (or mounts to a wall somewhere in your kitchen) that is always on, always connected, and always ready to:

• Monitor home security
• Control (automate) the temperature of the house
• Connect you to contacts
• Keep track of lists
• Control multimedia players (or serve as one)
• Set reminders
• Serve as a centralized location for DVRs
• Answer calls when you’re not home (or route them to specific numbers)

That list could go on and on. What’s important is that this smart station serve as a single location for all things to “control and communication” for the house. Individual numbers could be routed to the smart station or a unique number could be assigned.

Benefits for business

I want this. I’m shocked it has yet to arrive, especially considering how ideal a platform Android would be for this system. And it wouldn’t have to be limited to homes. The smart station could be an amazing addition to a VoIP phone system within a business. Intelligent and automatic call routing, controlling alarms and the environment, scheduling meeting rooms, sending messages to employees… the sky’s the limit.

Connection and design

With such amazing possibilities (and even every bit of inspiration necessary from nearly every sci-fi film made in the last decade), how has this not yet happened? And with the inevitable smart watches and other wearables, the idea of controlling the smart station from your wrist makes it an even more intriguing idea.

Most manufacturers of Android devices have reached a sort of design funk. Look at the Samsung Galaxy S5 — what should have been the flagship Android device is flopping due to poor design. The smart station opens up an entire realm of new design possibilities. Consider what HTC or LG would bring to the table if they removed the current limitations of smartphone designers.

“Create the most powerful home or business control system ever.”

The in-house designers would drool over the possibility, making magic into a work of art.

And what about consumers? A vast array of options could be made available to them. Have a swimming pool? Control the temperature of your water or chemical release from the smart station. Hot water heater? Control that temperature as well.

Innovate and integrate.

I can only imagine it being one of the hottest Android releases to date.

Reduce the eco-clutter

Many of the modern, connected people I know suffer from device overload. It seems like every aspect of our lives has a device. With the smart station, the electro-clutter could be cut down. Put all of those remotes into a drawer. Centralize your environmental and security controls into one location. With the smart station, you could maximize control of your home and minimize device clutter. Businesses could also do away with the horribly designed (and poorly functioning) VoIP phone systems and have calls automatically routed to smartphones or smart satellites.

Again… the sky’s the limit.

I can’t understand why this hasn’t happened yet. As our dependency on technology continues to grow, the idea of centralizing control of our lives makes sense. I task the manufacturers of smartphone technology to venture out, be bold, and bring to us the Android smart station before the competition gets the idea and patents the iStation.