('Tis the season for predictions for 2014. Follow the tag "Future" for such as I encounter them.)
The mobile consultancy Juniper Research has released its top ten technology predictions for 2014:
- 2014: When Cities Get Smarter -- what with even broader deployment of sensors and cloud-based apps connecting transportation, healthcare, lighting, etc.
- mAgri to Build on mPayment Success in Developing Markets -- mAgri = "mobile agriculture" supporting crop management, yield, and product tracking; mPayment = "mobile payment" infrastructure enabling banking and financing, which is especially apt in the developing world
- The Watershed Year for Wearables -- Google Glass and other smart glasses, smartwatches
- iPads & Tablets Flourish in Educational Settings
- Mobile Fitness Devices Diversify into mHealth Arenas
- Global 4G LTE Subscribers to double in 2014, as 4G LTE-Advanced roll out increases
- Context Awareness in Mobile Computing Gathers Pace -- as devices and applications get smarter about providing information given where we are
- Disruption in the Home Gaming Market -- with Ouya and other "microconsoles"
- The Cloud Becomes Personal -- particularly given the revelations regarding the NSA, folks will stand up their own personal clouds via domestic network-attached storage devices
- 3D Printer Shipments to Surge
Juniper's press release is here; the full report is available here (free registration required). Business Insider's summary is here.