My 5 predictions for a digital 2010

So we’ve hit 2010, a year that if you’d asked me 10 years ago, I would have said silver jumpsuits would be a norm and hover would be the catchword for the kids.ie “..I just parked my hoverbike in the hoverpark and am off to play hoverball…”

Alas, technology is evolving more organically and function precedes fantasy. Aptly, there has never been more need for innovation in technology as resources are being realized as no longer a bottomless well to be pumped. So I’m going to put my Zultan turban on and take my opportunity to give my 5 trends to watch for in 2010.

1. The tablet wars begin

Yes you may have seen the Amazon Kindle, and there were a few decent tablets available in the naughties, but 2010 will bring the rise of the super tablet, the tablet to rival the laptop. A big screen with touch sensitivity, like a big iPhone really, will have consumers clamouring to buy these glorified monitors. Microsoft’s Courier Tablet will compete with Apple’s Tablet offering (to be launched on 27th January) and HP, Wacom, Nokia and Acer will be among the other parties vying to wipe the slate with their tablet competition.

 

2. Friends will be found with geo-socialization

Peter Gabriel sung about games without frontiers and wars without tears, well I think we’ll certainly get far more social in the way we game in 2010 and we’ll making connections along the way. Online, foursquare will lead the social play while Microsoft and Playstation will increase their domination as social media works it’s way into the gaming arena. Social gaming will really take off.

 

3. People will no longer be saying ‘What the hell is Google Wave’

Google wave will enter the online dictum, though many will still ask, “..isn’t this just a repackaged chatroom?”

People will ‘get it’ and start to embrace the wave. Facebook will once again tweak its interface to mimic the look and feel of Google Wave in the same way it copied Twitter’s feed style.

 

4. Applications reach Saturation – consolidation follows

As Doctor Seuss might say, “ I have no hesitation in the assertation that applications will hit  saturation”. As users start to cull the number of applications on their devices in the same way that they unfriend their Facebook acquaintances, developers will start to talk about how to integrate applications and build more powerful apps by fusing features and functionality. As Darwin might say, only the strongest will survive in the apps arena.

 

5. Mini  Projectors become the new must-have gadget

By the end of the year the buzz will be for projectors such as the Light Touch. Users will use them to view shows, play games and view photos from mobile phones. The minority report interface will be one step closer and mobile phones will be adopting the projectors as the new generation feature.

 

If you have any predictions for 2010. Add them in the comments field.

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