From reality trip to hologram phone calls, the future of mobile technology holds endless possibilities

Having lunch with a hologram of your mother, taking a virtual reality trip to your next holiday destination, and driverless cars, are just some the innovations predicted for the near future, writes Richard Fitzpatrick

THE telephone has come a long way since Alexander Graham Bell patented the first one in 1876, and it has more interesting places to take us yet.

First we spoke to each other on the phone. Then we sent one another text messages on our mobile phones. Now, with a product like Apple’s FaceTime, we can chat with family and friends while looking at them in full video.