[hershel]

The biggest problem the smartphone solved was boredom. That's the reason for it's popularity.

At it's core ,boredom might be manipulated neurologically, so maybe you won't feel bored and just feel content with whatever. If we're going to aggressive means as neural implants ,this seems a more interesting option.

Another options(without opening skuls) is something that offers far better experiences.

Maybe more immersive (up to a point we can't differentiate from real life).maybe something that enriches our daily interactions without interfering with them. Maybe something that help us manage emotions and brain states optimally. Maybe something that augments fluidly our cognitive capabilities without interfering with what we do.

[kubiiii]

It solved boredom by enabling to play a game a megadrive would run.

[Kliment]

Yes but a megadrive did not fit in your pocket, and the game gear, while backpackable, had awful battery life. The smartphone is successful running game gear level games because it will do so all day, and has a setup time of four seconds from impulse to game.

[kubiiii]

Plus the game gear was more a master system than a megadrive even if both would run columns (I was wondering if ppl from the US understand what a megadrive is since I think they call it genesis). Talking about battery life, I had a lynx which was even worse I think.