With over a billion smartphone users worldwide, there can be little doubt that 2013 will be remembered as the year that mobile devices hit the big time. As this trend continues and expands in the near future, consumers can expect a wild variety of plans, apps, and complimentary devices that work to further integrate our smartphones into our daily lives. Some of these ideas will work, some will prove to be an evolutionary dead end, but however things shake down, there’s little doubt that a lot of innovation will take place within the next few years. If you’ve been wondering what the near future will bring with smartphone and tablet interactivity, here are 3 ways that consumers will be able to access their mobile devices:

Smartglasses And Contact Lens Displays

Most of the Internet is already familiar with the upcoming Google Glass, a hands-free device that can project mobile apps and information onto the device’s lens, letting you view content as you drive, walk, and otherwise go about your day. Glass is certainly an exciting achievement, but several other applications in various stages of development are already nipping at its heels, including the idea of contact lens that can receive LED projections directly from your smartphone, letting you access content without the need for an obvious peripheral like the Glass device. Belgium’s Ghent University is purportedly working on a prototype version of these lenses, with several other developers no doubt close behind.

Even before the first retail Glass device has been torn out of its box by a consumer, companies are working on ways to surpass its functionality. This rapid evolution may result in more than a few consumers pouring their cash into a device that becomes obsolete in a short while—much like the original rise of the home PC—but the advances in mobile integration will be no less impressive.

Automobile Integration

By 2018, it’s projected that as many as 60% of factory-new automobiles will come with some form of mobile integration and Internet access, such as built-in 4G, Wi-Fi hotspots, and more. In addition to the increased comfort and abilities this access will afford to passengers—children, co-workers, and other carpool members will essentially be able to use a car as a mobile office or entertainment center—this connectivity will allow drivers to access nearly every app and feature of their smartphones without ever taking their eyes off the road or their hands off the wheel, increasing driver convenience while simultaneously improving the overall safety of daily commuters everywhere.

Smartwatches

2013 has already seen the introductory stages of smartwatches, devices that receive data from a consumer’s existing smartphone. While current watches are essentially second screens that can be worn on the wrist—eliminating the need for consumers to pull out their smartphones from pockets or purses each time they need to check an email—future iterations may actually be full-fledged computers themselves, similar to Google Glass.

Additionally, if the wearable tech of smartwatches catches on, we may see a variety of changes in our overall consumer system. Mobile wallets are already in the planning stages, potentially allowing customers to make purchases by simply waving their wrist over a scanner at the checkout lane. Combining this technology with various forms of prepaid “speed passes”—such as the kind frequently used at gas stations, toll lanes, and more—may fundamentally change the time it takes for the average person to buy groceries and make various financial transactions.

With Google Glass not yet taking up space on retail shelves, and automobile companies just beginning to see the appeal of mobile-integration technology, we’re still a little ways away from seeing these seismic changes enter the market. But once they finally arrive—and if they manage to strike the right chord with consumers—the way that we interact with our smartphones, the Internet, and technology in general may radically change before the start of the next decade.

Author bio:

John is a blogger who is never without his iPhone, although the only vehicle-to-mobile integration he currently has is a plug-in adaptor that accidentally fits into his Jeep Wrangler’s audio system and lets him play Pandora radio on the go. He writes for Protect Your Bubble, an Internet Insurer that can protect your smartphone from theft, loss, damage, and all the other hazards that can befall your mobile device.