2013: Future Technology

It is the time of year for "prediction" lists. Here are two from a source I respect -- IDG's TechHive (IDG is the publisher of PCWorld and Macworld) -- about mobiles (smartphones) and tablets. 

Future Tech 2013: Phones -- wireless charging (already have with my Droid 4), quad-core (http://www.william-garrity.com/blog/2012/12/27/quad-core-mobiles.html), bigger screens, and near field communication. 

Future Tech 2013: Tablets -- 

Tablets have evolved at a lightning-fast pace. And for 2013, we expect another year of rapid and significant change in areas ranging from performance and displays to battery life and price.

Just two years ago, the tablet market that is so large today was in its infancy, dominated by Apple’s first-generation iPad. Android tablets were barely getting off the ground, and were saddled with an inappropriate cell-phone operating system slapped into a tablet’s larger case.

Today, we have competition and diversity. Apple’s iOS-based fourth-gen iPad and iPad mini still dominate, but Android-based tablets are finally making inroads. Leading the way is Google’s own Nexus lineup, consisting of the affordable 7-inch Nexus 7 (which starts at $199 and goes up to $299 with HSPA+ mobile broadband connectivity), and the 10.1-inch Nexus 10 (with its crazy-high resolution). Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD, a competing $199 tablet built around Amazon’s media and services and running Android apps sold through Amazon’s own store, has done well, too. And now Windows 8–based tablets are here, led by Microsoft’s own Surface With Windows RT tablet.

So what lies ahead? Big growth, for one thing: Research firm IDC expects worldwide tablet shipments to hit 165.9 million units in 2013, up from 117.1 million in 2012. And by 2016, IDC says, worldwide shipments should reach 261.4 million units. This growth will come at the ex­­pense of traditional laptops and desktops, and it will foster a growing acceptance of tablets as tools in everyday life, whether as a “second screen” to accompany your TV viewing, as an e-reader, or as a productivity tool.

Continued at link

Update on Monday, December 31, 2012 at 06:03AM by williamgarrity

More from TechHive: 

• http://www.techhive.com/article/2021500/future-tech-2013-cameras.html
• http://www.techhive.com/article/2021498/future-tech-2013-tvs-and-digital-entertainment.html

Technology Future Trends

This is a good list -- edgier and less conventional than the ones typical at year end.

"20 Tech Trends That Will Define 2013, Selected By Frog," via Fast Company's Co.DESIGN. 

Yes, it’s already that transitional time when our current year ends and another begins, and today and tomorrow are quickly changing hands. Rather than look back at significant trends of the past 366 days (2012 was a leap year, remember?), we asked a wide variety of technologists, designers, and strategists across frog’s studios around the world to take a look to the future. The near future, that is. “Near” in that 2013 is not only upon us, but also “near” in that these technologies are highly feasible, commercially viable, and are bubbling up to the surface of the global zeitgeist. We believe you’ll be hearing a lot more about these trends within the next 12 months, and possibly be experiencing them in some form, too.

No manifestly obvious predictions like, "Mobility will be prevalent," or "Search will be social," but, rather, items such as 

• "We embrace a new type of patina" --

Devices on our bodies will multiply. Sensors, cameras, input methods, and displays will work their way into our clothing. They’ll listen for commands and whisper in our ears. Our environment will respond to us in new and interesting ways. The proliferation of large displays and projection technologies will relegate the small display on our phone to private or a constrained set of tasks. A new layered interaction model of touch, voice, and gesture will emerge as important as consumption: the continuous exchange of what we are doing, where we are, and who we are with. This will again work into the collective memory, attaching to our legacy--bringing in a new type of patina effect. It won’t be the same as physical degradation yet will offer fresh stimuli that allow for more meaningful navigation and recall.

• "Faces become interfaces" -- 

Ubiquitous cameras in retail displays, in hotels, in the palms of our hands via our smartphones, point toward our faces. Soon, algorithms will match them with photos, and then connect us with related personal and professional information on us available online. In 2013, as faces increasingly become interfaces, we will begin dealing with new questions around the loss of physical anonymity. And some professions--researchers, undercover cops, spies, journalists--whose livelihoods depends on not being recognizable, are in for a bumpy ride. While such careers will be destroyed by real-time recognition, others will be enabled, as there will be new legions of people that will become the true “faces” of brands.

Trends in Digital Sevices

Via Fast Company's Co.Design, Fjord's Olof Schybergson writes about "5 Trends That Will Shape Digital Services In 2013." (Fjord ". . . is a service design consultancy. We create useful, effective, and desirable digital services that people love.")

1. The "Personal Ecosystem" -- devices and sensors interconnecting to form a support network for their owner -- 2013 will begin the "battle for the wrist." 
2. K.I.S.S. -- "Keep It Simple, Stupid" -- always good advice. 
3. Access instead of ownership -- why have the hassle of owning a car, for instance, when companies like Zipcar can give you access to one when you need one? 
4. Contention about use of personal data. 
5. Personal shopping -- "A statistic to strike fear into the heart of any retailer: Almost half of U.S. smartphone users have used their devices in-store, and more than half of those have gone on to abandon their in-store purchase. For smartphone users, the distinction between online and in-store shopping has all but disappeared."