The Economist writes:

A more potent story that is only just starting to be articulated is that China is going out to the world. Indeed, China is rising—some say has already risen—to become the newest great power. Do not yet think of it as a global one. Even if commercial and diplomatic tentacles stretch increasingly round the world, the main site of China's power, for decades to come, will be in its Asian backyard.
...
In a forthcoming book about China, David Lampton of the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University argues that nations define and achieve their goals using three means: coercion, material inducement or intellectual motivation. Put more bluntly, that means guns, money and ideas. How China blends the three, and how the rest of the world perceives the process, will more than anything shape the future course of Asia and beyond.

Stephen Johnston writes about a talk Mark Anderson of SNS delivered at Nokia:

Mark's 2007 Predictions
1. ePhones: Phones will be used to pay for things
Japan already does this. Nokia has been testing this for years.
"Carriers have been the bottleneck" - but why wouldn't carriers do this. Qualcomm are investing in startup payments. Carriers are changing their mind about this.
Many technologies, but security clearly the main issue. Authentication is required.

2. Authentication everywhere.
ID theft is so important, that authentication will be required everywhere. Biometric will be big. Voice is one idea, would be great if it does work. Phones could have a bio swipe, and reduce theft - it costs about $9 to install. Could do this in conjunction with insurance companies - never worry about phones being stolen. This then would allow the phone to be used in conjunction with keys for phones. "Phone" is not the right term for what this is - it communicates more with systems than people. 50% increase in data.

WSJ writes:

In the next two to three years, consumers will be able to get TV broadcasts on their cellphones with better picture quality than current video offerings -- and a greater range of live programming from major networks like NBC, FOX, ABC and Comedy Central.

Users will also get sophisticated software applications for surfing the mobile Web, and more services to connect with friends, share videos and exchange photos. And they'll likely see mobile devices that can roam seamlessly across Wi-Fi hot spots, cellular networks and new high-speed data networks, bringing a much faster and smoother surfing experience.

And that's just the beginning. In the longer term, advances in battery, display and storage technology could make it possible to squeeze ever more functions onto smaller handsets. And cellphones could extend even further beyond the realm of communications, to be used as credit cards to pay for groceries and airline tickets, ID cards to swipe at security checkpoints and data-storage devices.