Even as the world celebrates the arrival of a New Year, we decided to get into prediction mode and work out the things that are likely to happen. We know that we are going out on a limb with some of these predictions and that while some will seem routine, others might sound a bit daft. What we can assure you is that they are sincere and made with no sort of prejudice whatsoever. So, here’s a very happy new year from all of us, and what we think will happen in it:
Android will grow, but will remain splintered:
We cannot see the Android surge stopping, and 2011 will see it get closer to knocking Symbian off its perch. That said, we cannot see any solution to different versions of Android floating around in the market, and users being largely dependent on the manufacturers’ whims and fancies to updating their handets and tablets to the latest version of Android.
LG will return to the phone game, big time:
It has had a very quiet couple of years, but we are expecting LG to return to big time phone business, if what we have seen in the Optimus range is an indicator. No, its return won’t be as dramatic as Motorola’s last year but we expect the company to be in the news with some high-profile handsets.
iPhone 5 will not be as radical as 4:
This might annoy Apple supporters but while the iPhone 5 will be one of the most anticipated handsets of the year, we do not think it will be a radical departure from the iPhone 4 and will be more in the form of an upgrade, with better specs and a few touch-ups.
Nokia will fight back with MeeGo:
We are betting that Nokia will finally serve up a worthy answer to the iPhone-Android wave. And it will do so through MeeGo. From what we have seen of the OS, it definitely is streets ahead of Symbian ^3. Now, if only Nokia backs it up with good hardware.
iPad will remain king of the tabs:
All right, you do not need to be a genius to figure this one out, but we cannot see a single device coming out to beat the iPad in the tablet section yet. Android will sell more tablets, but they will spread across more models. As for the RIM PlayBook, let us just say that we are not over-optimistic at the moment, given all the news coming to us.
No major gaming innovation:
After an overdose of gaming innovation in 2010, courtesy Kinect and Move, 2011 is going to be relatively quiet. We expect the Kinect vs Move tussle to get more intense, but that apart, we do not expect anything radical to happen. Nope, truth be told, we do not expect the Nintendo 3DS, the Sony Ericsson PS phone, or anything else to create waves the way Kinect and Move did last year. We really hope we are wrong on this one!
The 3D revolution is unlikely to happen:
Forget what the pundits are saying – 3D is not going to become a major part of our tech lives yet. There is not enough content and glasses and hardware are way too expensive. ’nuff said!
The Kindle will get a makeover:
Amazon has not tampered much with the basic structure of the Kindle but we expect that to change this year, simply because the competition is going to get really tough in this department, especially with the entrance of Google. What the changes will be, we cannot say, but we have a feeling that come summer, a very different Kindle will be up for sale at Amazon.com.
The Netbook will return, courtesy Chrome:
Chrome OS was for many of us the biggest absentee of 2010. But we expect Google’s OS to not just return but also provide a fantastic counter to tablets, serving up netbooks that work at a blazing speed and yet do not cost the earth.
Terrific new ThinkPad:
While Dell and HP work out their tablet strategies this year, we are expecting something terrific from Lenovo in the ThinkPad line. Judging by some of the prototypes we have seen, the ThinkPad line might just get back to notebook centrestage this year, giving the Macs some sorely-needed competition.
Apple got a patent for 3D viewing without glasses…maybe that will kick the 3D section alive 😀
Unlikely in 2011 dear!
in 2011, we’ll see affordable glass-less 3d in devices that have small screens and only require one angle of view (smartphones, possibly tablets too) also cameras allowing 3d shots possibly in phones should make it this year.
chrome strategy is different. while chrome os will be pushed on new hardware (laptops, maybe tablets too), another strategy is pushing the same google chrome browser experience to existing systems (windows, mac, android). it’s easier to conquer browser market than os market and the tricky part is that in this case, the line between the browser and os is blury