When will we get to real Cognitive Devices?

Many of us in the wireless community have been talking about cognitive radios for years as a potential "game-changer" in the competitive landscape.  Not only do I still believe this to be true, but I believe we are now on the doorstep of realizing the technology instead of just talking about prototypes and pilots.  Of course the Gnu Radio (http://gnuradio.org/redmine/projects/show/gnuradio) has been evolving an open sources environment around software radio platforms for years, but the real disruption is likely to come from the current device manufacturers who have a huge incentive to incorporate cognitive functions into smart devices.  We are seeing the early signs with Apple's "Dynamic Carrier Selection" patent (http://www.zdnet.com/blog/hardware/apple-patent-could-cut-the-carriers-out-of-the-iphone-equation/11341) would allow the users device to select the best network based on their location and need. Combine this with iTunes for aggregated billing and the traditional carrier model would be cratered.  (We may even see elements of this in the iPhone5)  
Google has also been pushing on Whitespace Technology and was recently one of several companies allowed by the FCC to create databases to help user devices know what Whitespace resources are available at a given location.  (http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/01/google-nine-others-will-run-white-space-databases.ars) "Whitespace" or unused TV spectrum is sometimes called "Super WiFi" given the excellent propagation characteristics of the 700MHz band where TV channels are being vacated.  Like Apple, Google's play in this area could allow devices to find better network options than what the carrier networks offer on the fly, disrupting the current captive service model.

While the "super-carrier" model is interesting and Apple and Google certainly have motivations to make this happen, there are many other interesting "cognitive" features appearing via the intersection of smart devices and apps.  Some recent examples in the star-up space include:  Coloci (http://www.coloci.com/) let people know your future location instead of where you are now like Fourquare or Gowalla.  This could easily progress to a predictive model that anticipates where you will be and pushes this info to your trusted network to allow for more efficient, opportunistic group activities/meetings.  There is also Brass Monkey (http://brassmonkeysdk.com/) that turns your smartphone into a controller for any internet enabled platform.  Knowing the state of the user (motion, activity, etc.) could help develop more effective contact-aware apps that help the user in-situ (for instance, knowing i have just hopped off the train (going from high speed to rest) and knowing i am late for a meeting, my phone selects my best transport option (taxi) and begins hailing a cab for me.
It will be the combination of the cognitive networking with the cognitive apps that will truly make cognitive devices a game changer.  We are closer than you may think.