hurricanemaxi
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Joined: 17 Sep 2011
Posts: 48
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 Posted: Thu Dec 08, 2011 9:15 am Post subject: Top Technology Trends for 2012 |
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Well, it is December, when sugar plums fill children's heads and analysts look into their crystal balls to see what the new year will bring. Assuming the world doesn't end, 2012 should be a watershed year for personal technology, showcasing the beginning and end for a lot of companies, as well as major transitions for those that are left.
Overall, you'll find technology more social, more connected, and increasingly more voice-controlled. You'll also see the beginning of real convergence, the next phases of consumerization, and the blurring of lines between tablets and laptops.
I'll close with my product of the week: Slacker on Sonos. Yes, two of my favorite products got married.
Voice Command
The success of Siri is clearly driving a lot of folks to create similar offerings, so expect this type of technology to make it over to other handset makers and into tablets next year.
PCs should get it as well, and I expect some of the implementations will probably suck. I expect someone will try this in places it won't work, or use technology that doesn't work very well, with a lot of knockoffs coming out of China.
Look for Siri-like interfaces in websites, as well to help you navigate. I'd expect you to see something like this tied to Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG) ecosystem, given how much Google likes to copy Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL).
Email Decline
This has actually been going on for a while, with reports that kids coming out of school don't have email accounts anymore and live on social networks and in messaging products.
Files are getting too large to send in email anyway, for the most part, and downloading services that allow you to share links are vastly quicker and often more smartphone/tablet friendly.
Cable Box Decline
The traditional cable box will increasingly be replaced by game consoles and smart TVs next year. This has been going on in Europe for some time, with systems like the Xbox, and Verizon just started a similar effort with that product here for FIOS customers.
This provides the advantage of both a richer and less-complex experience for the user, as well as a cheaper experience for the cable company, and it appears to be resonating with both groups.
Hosted Services
Google started the ball rolling with apps, and OnLive lit a fire under this with games. As we move into 2012, more and more of what we access will be hosted.
Already, movies are streamed rather than downloaded, and it won't be long until most of our applications exist on the Internet and don't run locally. I expect a big push in this direction in 2012.
App Stores
This trend continues and accelerates into 2012 with the launch of Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) app store and the expected death of packaged software products.
As for the software you run locally, you'll increasingly buy it from a trusted app store, though that store may be offered by Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) or your laptop supplier.
Windows 8 - Touch
This product is a trend in and of itself, and it represents the biggest bet that Steve Ballmer's Microsoft has ever made. The company is going to singlehandedly blur the lines between PCs and tablets and hope that users don't get confused.
This will bring touch into the mainstream of the PC market and narrow the gap between notebooks and tablets.
Türen
general grabber tyres |
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