The technology trends that will transform our world this year
Published: 22:00 GMT, 5 January 2013 ... عرض المزيدThe technology trends that will transform our world this year
Published: 22:00 GMT, 5 January 2013 | Updated: 08:30
GMT, 8 February 2013
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This Christmas, tablet computers went mainstream.
No more are they an easy way to spot spoilt teenagers, preening early adopters and desperate parents who would pay ANYTHING for a gadget that could silence their
squalling brood with tranquillising doses of Spongebob and Angry Birds Star Wars.
In fact, it's predicted that 7in tablets will account for one-third of the tablet market this year, as sub-£200 machines tempt non-nerds into the exciting new techno-wonderland of looking up things on the internet while watching TV.
Apple's iPad Mini is expected to rule the roost, despite Google and Amazon nipping at
its heels
Apple's iPad Mini is expected to rule the roost, despite Google and Amazon nipping at its
heels, and - please stop reading if you got one this Christmas
- an updated model with a sharper Retina screen could well arrive as soon as
this spring...
So what other techno tricks does 2013 have in store for us?
Here are four trends to look out for.
OUR HOMES WILL BE APP-CONTROLLED
Nest's app-controlled thermostat will bring app control to heating
Sadly, this year will not see the arrival of camp robots who shimmer through our home with Martinis...
but the ‘home of the future' will be a step closer, as lighting, door locks and heating
are controlled by apps.
Nest's app-controlled thermostat - designed by one of the creators of the iPod - will
bring app control to heating, while lighting will be controlled by Philips and Belkin systems.
Lockitron will let us all lock and open our front doors with
the click of an app...
WE ALL STOP TEXTING
Apps offer cheaper, more flexible ways to stay in touch
Texting has permanently altered the English language over the past 20 years, dictating the 140-character length of Twitter messages, and making
even sane adults fluent in gibberish.
But the rise of apps such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger will see the SMS message begin a slow process of dying off next year, as apps offer
cheaper, more flexible ways to stay in touch.
OUR PHONES WILL BE INDESTRUCTIBLE
Good news for everyone bar those in the phone-insurance industry -
our phones could become indestructible this year.
Samsung has repeatedly dangled the idea of flexible phone screens, and is widely expected
to show off models at tech expo CES this week.
Good news for everyone bar those in the phone-insurance industry - our phones could become indestructible this year
The point is not that you can bend your phone like a Highland Toffee bar, but that the
phone's screen won't shatter.
An end to people talking on phones with spider-webs
of broken glass on screen? We can but hope.
WE ALL STOP BUYING MUSIC AND FILMS
Cheap, subscription-based services will start to bite into
pay-per-download services
This year will mark the moment I have to stop explaining what Spotify is every time
I mention it in public - or at least, I fervently hope so, as I tend to bore people about it
at every opportunity.
Cheap, subscription-based services such as Spotify (you pay £10 a month, get 17 million songs
to access wherever you are) and Netflix (£6 a month, and you'll never
need to buy a DVD again), will start to bite into
pay-per-download services.
And slowly but surely, the idea of actually owning music and films will begin to seem a rather quaint,
20th-century idea.
Feel free to visit my blog post; Luckatron
MH
Maxwell Huey
يعيش في Compton Bishop, بوروندي.
منفصل.
نبذة مختصرة
The technology trends that will transform our world this year
Published: 22:00 GMT, 5 January 2013 ... عرض المزيد