We have seen a lot of new (and some old and rehashed) technologies in 2011 and 2012 won’t be dissimilar. What new technologies are we bound to see this year?
1. LTE. Whilst not entirely a new technology for 2012 (it is so 2011!), but expect the two local companies, Globe and Smart, battling each other in offering this service to the public. They have shown what the technology can do in the summer of 2011, but both are slowly rolling out the tech. Personally, I am testing Smart’s LTE service and it shows a lot of promise (where can you get 60+Mbps of download speed?). However, pricing is still not available (I guess the telcos are both playing the waiting game until they are confident enough that their infra can handle it) and coverage is very limited.
2. Android. The Android juggernaut continues its stride and gets more marketshare. Whilst it eats up a small portion of the iOS market, Android is more positioned to affect the shares of RIM’s Blackberry, Microsoft’s Windows Phone and the feature phones. In addition, 2012 will usher to a Google sanctioned (and co-designed) tablet. Rumored to take on Apple’s iPad, but I believe that it will take on Amazon’s Kindle Fire more.
However, I am *still* pessimistic about how fast OS updates trickle to non-Nexus phones, if it even trickles at all. I also expect the overall user experience on this platform to improve, not due to an overhaul of its underlying OS design, but because of the faster and better underlying hardware (quad core!).
3. Mobile Messaging. SMS-based mobile messaging will continue to be the primary messaging platform for the masses. However, non-telco controlled messaging system will continue to threaten it. iMessage, Facebook Messenger, Google+ Message and WhatsApp, among others, will replace the text-only SMS. Smart’s SmartNet service won’t help SMS either (rather it fast tracks SMS’s death) — imagine being able to send Facebook and Twitter messages for free!
Yes, telcos have their unlimited SMS services — but consider this, sending SMS to your family and friends overseas is not included. You say RIM’s BBM? Well, like iMessage, it is not cross-platform!
4. TV. ABS-CBN pioneered, AFAIK, internet-based live TV in the country with its IWanTV service. I am sure that the other TV networks are cooking up their own. 2012 will be witness to the start of cable-cutting possibilities (if you haven’t done so yet!). Streaming will be more prevalent — YouTube Live, Bloomberg TV, iwantv are just the start. I just hope that they start realizing that Flash is a dying technology — use HTML5 or develop apps for iOS and Android.
5. Tablets. The market for netbooks is rapidly being eaten away by smartphones and tablets and this trend applies in the country as well. With the likes of Apple and Samsung offering both high-end and affordable tablets, and not to forget the home-grown Cherry Mobile tablets and Ionics tablets, more Filipinos will be using tablets to access online services.
Whilst PC manufacturers bank on ultra-books to be the next segment of computing after the netbooks, tablets will still be more popular as tablet processors going dual/quad-core, mobile OS getting more advanced and online services optimized for mobile platforms, desktop OS on ultra-books will no longer be the norm. 2012 will show us this trend.
Do you see these trends happening in 2012?
(Source: Manila Bulletin)
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