The start of a new year is a good time to look ahead and review trends. Everyone seems to have a set of predictions for the year. I am also going to throw my hat in the ring. But rather than focus on a specific set of predictions for the year, I want to step back and review some of the tech trends that we are seeing. Life and business are a continuum, so there is nothing really special about a new year which changes trends!
Here are my 11 trends. I will discuss each of them, along with comments from others.
1. The Four Screens in our life are being transformed.
2. The Internet is becoming computings centre.
3. Mobiles are becoming the next platform.
4. The digital home is the next big technology battleground.
5. Search is at the heart of the rise of online advertising.
6. Networks are becoming higher speed and ubiquitous.
7. Peer production and syndication are at the heart of the new Web.
8. Multimedia on the Web is coming into its own.
9. Voice calls are becoming free.
10. Software-as-a-service is happening.
11. Emerging markets are where the action is.
Let us begin with the first one.
1. The Four Screens in our life are being transformed.
Television is becoming on-demand and high-definition. Computing is becoming centralised, with the computer screen becoming a multimedia window not just to whats on the local network but the Internet. The big screen (in movie theatres) is becoming digital and the primary way entertainment is being consumed in countries like India with the proliferation of multiplexes. The mobile screen is becoming colourful, media-rich, and a gateway to the Web. It is these four screens around which our life and work revolves. The changes in whats behind these screens is perhaps the most important trend that we are seeing around us.
BBC News: “Sales of flat panel TV such as plasma and LCD will continue to rise, as people continue to be willing to pay a little more for a TV set with better picture quality. New technologies such as surface conduction electron emitter (SED) and organic light emitting diodes (OLED) will be launched in the near future, offering even better picture quality.”
Swannis 2006 Predictions: Plasma TV ‘Enhanced-Definition’ Prices Will Hit $1,000 By the 2006 Holidays, With Plasma HDTVs Falling Below $1,500.
Tomorrow: Internet at Centre
