As 2008 is coming to a close, we look back and should be proud of what we witnessed. In the end, I think it was once again the year of the cell phone, particularly the iPhone. With the release of their 3G phone, GPS and their App Store, the iPhone took the Blue Ribbon by far, with Google’ Android phone taking a distant 2nd place. We saw the takeoff of electric cars from Tesla, we saw Facebook taking the forefront in Social communication and we saw thousands more Web 2.0 websites hitting the dance floor.
I am only naming a few for 2008, because the real subject of my post is 2009. What are some of things we have to look forward to in 2009? Here are the Top 3 on my radar…
1. Where will the iPhone go next?…and What will the competitors bring?
There is no doubt that the iPhone is well on it’s way to becoming easily the most popular smart phone on the planet. It’s ease of use, it’s feature rich environment, it’s Microsoft Exchange sync ability, and it’s incredible internet speeds, are making it the must have phone of 2009. Competitors such as the Blackberry Storm and Google G1 have hit the shelves with lukewarm reviews. From all indications, they aren’t that much closer to the iPhone, as they are to a lame Windows Mobile phone. Of course the Nokia fanboys will probably argue, but I honestly think the App Store is the real killer here.
2009 will see the iPhone bring turn-by-turn directions, a larger landscape of 3G coverage, possibly 50,000 more apps and hopefully somehow, much longer battery life. Some expect a completely new phone to come out in 2009, but most do not. We’ll likely see several different firmware releases over the course of the year, with many additional feature rich capabilities.
We will continue to see lackluster competitors show up in 2009. Google release their second version of Android, more providers will continue to pick-up their cellular phone operating system, but they still won’t come close to the iPhone. The marketing, the look, the ease of use and the coverage will take the iPhone above and beyond its competitors. Unless Apple completely screws it up with one of their firmware releases, I don’t see it faltering, anytime soon.
Long live the iPhone…
2. More streaming/VOD movies
The fact is, with the release of Netflix streaming capable devices, it won’t be long before there are many online streaming competitors that release many different pieces of hardware with Blu-Ray and DVD capability as well. We are already seeing it with the XBOX 360 and Roku Player, and it won’t be long before the PS3 has the same. I think at some point in the next five years, we may see ALL movies in streaming form. This will be the only fool proof way of protecting DVD piracy. We will continue to see boot-legged feature films from the theater, but those will never have the affect that DVD pirates, overseas and otherwise have on the industry.
I may be completely off on that, but there is no doubt that streaming movies are well on their way to becoming the best way of watching films.
3. HDTV slowly becomes SDTV
With the kill of over the air broadcast analog television in February 2009. Our definition of standard definition television is slowly becoming the black-and-white television of old. Soon we will begin to see all forms of television communication in high definition form. Commercials, news, cartoons, and of course sports will ALL be available in HDTV. High Definition will become our present day definition of Standard definition, and we’ll vomit at the look of ‘old school’ television. Of course, the old version will still be readily available in all forms, due to lack of capability with older TVs, but I foresee every arena having some type of HD available in 2009.
Long Shot Honorable Mentions
The Death of Blu-Ray – Five Reasons why I think Blu-Ray is dieing
-The cost of the players
-The cost of the movies.
-The non-savy movie watcher, who just doesn’t understand the difference.
-Streaming HD
-The picture difference between a standard DVD and Blu-Ray, is almost inconceivable.
I know it’s a small list, and I know a lot doesn’t regard the web, but these are three big items I foresee being huge topics in 2009.
What are yours?
I can say number 3 is coming true sooner than later
I can say number 3 is coming true sooner than later
We can also look forward to having a GPS chip in every mobile phone. Their size and power are improving each year. With GPS penetration increasing we are going to see more location based services available to utilize them. Think about things like doing a search “nearest starbucks” on your mobile then getting directions to get there.
We can also look forward to having a GPS chip in every mobile phone. Their size and power are improving each year. With GPS penetration increasing we are going to see more location based services available to utilize them. Think about things like doing a search “nearest starbucks” on your mobile then getting directions to get there.