Here’s my summary and commentary of Pete Cashmore’s article that appeared on CNN for Top 10 Tech Trends for 2012:
1. Touch Computing
With users now heavily exposed to touch screens via smartphones and tablets and also heavy support in new OSs including Windows 8 and Mac OS X Lion, all signs are pointing to a world of touch interaction with the world around us. Look forward to renewed market opportunities for gloves and glass cleaner.
2. Social Gestures
Simply put, social gestures automate much of the social app updating we do on a daily basis once the appropriate applications are approved by the user. This creates a “frictionless sharing” environment that virtually eliminates the need for clicking (no pun intended).
3. NFC and Mobile Payments
With many countries having significantly more mobile users than bank accounts and credit cards, mobile money seems to be an ideal place to focus for Big IT. Devices with embedded NFC will be the norm in the near future to simplify many payment transactions while heavy hitters like Google and Visa will lead the application development.
By 2013, 1 in 5 cellphones are expected to be NFC-equipped. Early contenders include Google Wallet, Visa Wallet, Serve (by American Express) and ISIS.
4. Beyond the iPad
The last 2 years has seen it’s fair share of stumbles when it comes to tablet technology with Apple clearly securing its leadership however faster chips, better screens, and slicker innovation will lead to increasingly stiff competition for top dog with sexy high-end tablets as well as more cost effective options for the mobile masses.
5. TV Everywhere
Every telco in the world is scrambling to figure out how to monetize video as it makes up close to 85% of all bandwidth consumed (including torrents). To succeed this means extending video beyond the livingroom and onto every screen possible. ”Video anywhere” subscriptions will be the norm enabled by faster data connections, cloud computing, and more powerful mobile devices. Finally video in the bathroom is a reality.
6. Voice Control
Siri and Evi will mark the start of true voice interaction with devices which will lead to new ways to control other devices as well. Companies that have for years tried to evolve the livingroom with keyboard controlled TVs know all too well that something more is needed to kickstart the transformation and voice control is the likely mechanism of choice for channel flipping of the future.
7. Spatial Gestures
Perhaps waving your arms like a baboon doesn’t sound appealing to return to your favorite channel or increase the TV volume but like it or not Playstation Move and Microsoft’s Kinect are setting the tone of interactions for the next generation of couch potatoes.
8. Second-Screen Experiences
Essentially this combines one screen for what you are actually doing, complemented by a second screen to keep you distracted with info pertaining to the first screen which you are apparently ignoring. Already technology is available to sample the audio track of a song or movie and return data about artist, actor, plot, and even spoilers for those too unfocused to sit through a 22 minute sitcom.
9. Flexible Screens
Bendable screen technology has been around for awhile but finding a realistic mass market application has been tricky. Not sure I agree with Pete on this one. With the other interaction technologies available last thing I need is my phone doing strange things and making more butt calls in my pocket as I walk.
10. HTML5
This one is a no brainer. With support from everywhere, HTML5 is set to accelerate even more in 2012 perhaps finally putting an end to Flash as we know it.
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