Wrist-Mounted Display
How it works: Most mobile phones use a liquid crystal display, which is rigid and square. But researchers are working on flexible organic light-emitting-diode displays, which can be mounted on malleable metal. Instead of carrying a phone, you’ll wear it on your wrist and use it in conjunction with a Bluetooth earpiece.
Who’s working on it: LG, Philips, Samsung, and Sony
Due out: 2011

Water-Drop Lens
How it works: The motors that zoom and focus the lens on a camera phone are bulky and drain the battery. But a process called electrowetting will replace the lens with a droplet manipulated within a glass cylinder. A zap of voltage will turn the surface concave, allowing you to focus or zoom in.
Who’s working on it: Philips, ­Samsung
Due out: Not ­before 2013

Hand-Gesture Software
How it works: A next-generation camera for cell phones will recognize preset motions, letting you execute simple commands by moving your hand.
Who’s working on it: A technology company called GestureTek
Due out: 2011

Pico Projector
How it works: This mini-projector will be mounted in a mobile phone and produce full-color, high-resolution ­images that can be displayed on any surface.
Who’s working on it: Microvision
Due out: 2010

Telesensing
How it works: A telesensing mobile phone will ­measure the cellular waves bouncing off your body to track your heart rate, pulse, and breathing pattern. Such a phone could dial 911 automatically when you’re having a heart ­attack, or it could even be used as a sophisticated baby monitor.
Who’s working on it: Bell Labs
Due out: Not ­before 2013

Image Upgrade
Digital cameras will beam pictures to your home and contain built-in printers 

Built-In Printer
How it works: Instead of a camera sending images to a printer, the printer will become an integral component of the camera itself. A technology called Zink, or zero-ink printing, uses heat to imprint images directly onto paper embedded with color-dye crystals.
Who’s working on it: Polaroid
Due out: 2009

3-D Memory
How it works: Think of memory as rooms in a building. Current memory ­upgrades let you add more rooms, but 3-D memory will allow you to add more floors and store more information (and thus more images) in the same area.
Who’s working on it: Sandisk
Due out: 2011

G.P.S. Tagging
How it works: A global-positioning-system device embedded in a camera will automatically mark the latitude and longitude of every ­image, helping you identify the location of those mysterious landscapes you photographed on vacation.
Who’s working on it: General Imaging
Due out: 2010

Fuel-Cell Battery
How it works: Compared with today’s lithium-ion batteries, hydrogen fuel cells (micro versions of the ones designed for cars) last longer and pack more power in the same space. One catch: The cells need to be ­recharged periodically, a process that is far more inconvenient than that of conventional batteries.
Who’s working on it: Angstrom Power, a research-and-development company
Due out: Not before 2010

WiMax
How it works: WiMax is a high-­performance wireless service that will blanket an entire city rather than just your home or local Starbucks. Digital cameras with the necessary technology will automatically upload images to online storage or send them to a nearby print shop.
Who’s working on it: Sprint Nextel
Due out: 2009