Saturday, January 1, 2011

Tech Predictions 2011

Welcome 2011! Here are some of my thoughts and predictions as to where tech will be going in the next few quarters. Thank you all for reading! Hope you have continued success and happiness in the year, and years to come!

1.) Tablets. (The obvious one)

In short: The iPad broke tech grounds in 2010 selling 3 million devices in 80 days. Expect 2011 to have an influx of tablet options. Also, prediction- expect none of them to come close to touching the iPad. (Although it should be noted though that the Galaxy Tab is doing well at a strong 2 hitting the 1M mark in less than two months)


*Market research group iSuppli forecasts sales of the iPad to reach 13.8 million by the end of 2010.
*Expect version 2.0 of the iPad out early this year with a front and rear-facing camera only making it harder for other brands to compete
*Microsoft, Motorola, Blackberry PlayBook tablets unveils at CES (Consumer Electronics Show this week) and an estimated 50 tablets total will be announced in addition.


2.) Smartphones.

In short: From hot hardware to apps to features– the phone has become our most powerful device and the one that is on us nearly 24/7. iPhone4 vs Windows vs Android … let the battle continue but worth noting that Android grabbed 25% of market share by October.

*Expect an iPhone from Verizon (announcement at CES is a trending rumor)
*Tired of hearing about 4G? Get use to it.

3.) Video Conferencing.

In short: Face to face connectivity is becoming a new norm.
This was sort of a coming out year for better video conferencing on numerous platforms and expect it to carry over into 2011. Videoconferencing was championed by Skype years ago and now we’re seeing even better quality options with devices like the Cisco Umi, iPhone4, EVO and even tablets like the Galaxy Tab.

*Expect more inexpensive solutions and better quality as competition flourishes and as we phase out of early adopter mode. (Cisco UMI comes at a hefty near $600 price tag and $25 monthly service for telepresence through the TV while a choppy, often unreliable Skype is free – more happy medium options will come on board)

4.) Businesses further integrate onto multiple social platforms.

In short: Surprise, surprise. Social networking and creative digital marketing was instrumental in so many businesses especially in this past year – but due to the successes expect it to become even more in your face in 2011 and budgets shifting to accommodate. (In many cases creative options are way more budget friendly anyhow.)

*Old Spice videos reached over 110 million individuals and doubled sales for the brand and also notably “surpassing the reach of traditional broadcast.”

*Expect more brands to allocate more dollars to the social web as opposed to TV. Ex: Proctor and Gamble recently moved most of their 77 year TV budget from soap operas to social media.

*Gap is a great example of Groupon success was seen via a one-day promotion at the Gap where the company sold 441,000 Groupon netted about $11 million just from this deal.

5.) 3D.

In short: 3D gained major hype at CES (Consumer Electronic Show) last year. And while it is still considered pretty novel and niche don’t expect it to go anywhere.

Not so active shutter. Nintendo will unveil its 3DS console that doesn’t need glasses, Sony’s Move will have 3D gaming and many big brands like Vizio will be offering ‘passive’ 3D models. Passive gets rid of the big clunky active shutter glasses and uses frames similar to the ones found in movie theatres. This helps get rid of some clunk and also takes the price per pair down. Expect this to also help with proprietary issues.

TECH PREDICTION FOR LATE 2011 and BEYOND.

6.) Smart Enabled Devices leading to sustainability and efficiency.

In short: What if our homes and cities could tell us how we could use our appliances more efficiently and also upgrade themselves? What if your dishwasher could connect to the company when it has a service issue and pinpoint the problem? Or maybe it could download a new wash cycle that is more eco friendly for the amount of dishes you’ve put in. Enter embedded smart services – intelligent devices, connected homes.

*We’ve seen a lot of this in GPS. Let for monthly fees you can upgrade new maps and features. Your device isn’t then behind the curve in a year.

*More homes will have automated features giving them more control of their output and costs.

*Also expect to see more connected cities using the same principals. Example - Dubuque, Iowa uses smart meters saving $144,000 per year eliminating manual reads they also implemented a system for smarter parking where parking garage lights are monitored over the web and light only when the system senses motion. Sustainability and efficiency.

4 comments:

  1. What is the size of the Blackberry PlayBook? What can any tablet do that a laptop can't? And, what makes Apple king when it decides what people can and cannot see or do on its devices?

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  2. Hi - its a 7"LCD screen. Theyve put up some good specs on http://us.blackberry.com/playbook-tablet/.

    Tablets are great for portability - I take my iPad or Tab just about everywhere and have 3G access so its very convenient.

    Yes, a continual complaint on Apple being so proprietary.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hello. Thanks for the link. I owned a Blackberry before my switch to the Mytouch3g Slide.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I predict the continued slow death of the traditional ipod. Dedicated music devices are antiquated. Who needs one when your phone can play tunes and more. I continue to use my shuffle because it's paperclip light and I refuse to carry my cell phone on a walk or a jog. I'm sure someone else has already said this, but what the heck.

    ReplyDelete

 

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