The first part of the year is now over and
gadget manufacturers have already hinted if not already released to the public
their new products and technologies. And as we usher in the second half of the
year, let’s take note of a few things that will probably be the trend in the IT
world in the months to come.
TABLETS
Tablets have obviously swept the market by
storm, especially now that other players and platforms have entered the battle
field. Apple, with its iPad, is no longer the lone player in the tablet
industry. Android OS has made it possible for other manufacturers to join the
race in producing the best tablet for consumers. So far, Asus, with its Transformer
Prime line and the recently announced Google Nexus 7 brought us the best droid
tablets in this market segment.
Microsoft’s hand is also already in the
ring. Their upcoming Windows Surface tablet which will run the latest version
of Windows will ship before this year ends. Amazon is also rumoured to announce
a new Kindle Fire, while an iPad mini is reportedly in the works.
ULTRABOOKS
Intel’s Ivy bridge processors have made it
possible to cram incredible amounts of computing power in small form factor devices.
Ultrabooks are probably the best example of the application of this technology.
As of now, almost every known PC
manufacturer has announced or released an ultrabook. Prices have also been
observed to slowly drop as more and more ultrabooks are made.
ILC
(INTERCHANGEABLE LENS CAMERAS)
The little but not necessarily less
powerful brother of the DSLR camera is slowly gaining popularity among
professional and sub-professional photographers. Their less bulky bodies make
ILC units make them handier and easier to handle compared to the beefier DSRLs.
Sony and Olympus were the pioneers in this
market, but other brands, such as Canon, Nikon and Panasonic have their own
offerings as well.
SMARTPHONES
Smartphone use and ownership will probably
increase even further this year as consumers are treated with more price
flexible array of smartphones. Android phones for example have now entry-level
units that can fit people with tight budgets.
Hardware specifications are also likely to
improve in the future. Entry level phones nowadays, have specs that are worthy
for a mid-range phone from last year. Multi-core phones will also likely become
a norm in smart phones especially with SoC manufacturers like Intel, Qualcomm
and Nvidia are working hard to bring to consumers the best mobile experience.
Battery capacity for smartphones is also
looking good in the future. Higher capacity batteries like that of the 2500mAh
battery of the Lenovo P700 and that of the Philips W732 smartphone are leading
the way for phones with longer battery life.
CLOUD
SERVICES
Cloud services are not something new, but
it was only late last year that the technology has been commercialized. The
convenience of having your data available on any device at any time has made
the technology really popular especially in this age of seamless data transfer.
Cloud services like Apple’s iCloud, Asus’s
WebStorage, Google’s Google Drive, Microsoft’s Sky Drive and Drop Box are all
readily available on smartphones and computers. And this year, we’re also seeing
that their capacity is slowly increasing and their features improving.
And these are the things that we should
look forward to in the months to come. Whether or not they become a hit to
people, is still a question if something new and better will come our way. But
for now, all the signs are pointing to a bright future. J
