16 tech trends for 2010

So you might have already read our experts’ views on the big trends of 2009, but what about 2010? Will social media continue its spectacular rise and which consumer gadgets will get us all talking? Here’s what our panle of top journalists think will be big in 2010:

Charles Arthur, Technology Editor, the Guardian

1. Crunch time for Windows Mobile – can it survive?
2. Trend towards paid-for – an end to widespread “free” in all sorts of things

Peter Judge, Editor eWeek Europe

3. At the pocket level, Droid will fail but in a flood of Android phones a few diamonds will emerge
4. At the pan-business level, carbon accounting packages and add-ons designed to meet the CRC laws will appear – but too many companies will miss the point, use Excel and fall foul of the regulations (and yes, that’s a plug for our CRC seminar)

Sean Hannam, online editor, ERT

5. 3DTV will be the big CE buzzword – with household brands such as Sony and Panasonic planning on bringing in 3D-enabled home theatre systems and TVs. Sky has also confirmed it will be launching a 3DTV channel next year
6. Internet/wi-fi radio will go mainstream – driven by innovative products like the Pure Sensia, which combines iPhone-like touch-screen functionality with the benefits of radio, social networking sites and ‘apps’

Paul Carr, TechCrunch, Freelance

7. The first assassination of a public figure, facilitated by Twitter
8. Still no hoverboards

Chris Lake, Editor in Chief, Econsultancy

9. Goodbye acquisition, hello loyalty – I firmly believe that this past decade has been all about customer acquisition, whereas the future – for the smarter operators – will be about improving customer service, satisfaction, loyalty and retention. The recent shift towards public customer service (via social media platforms), transparency and brand management will focus minds on keeping customers happy
10. Testing, testing 1-2-3 – We’re also going to see widespread adoption of site optimisation tools, such as multivariate testing technology. The best performing websites will have teams of people who obsess over this kind of thing. Web managers who insist on making constant iterations to improve the user experience will seek out higher conversion rates, and they’ll *know* what makes conversion rates increase. No need for guesswork! Their users will tell them: all they need to do is watch

Jim Martin, Deputy Editor, Computer Shopper

11. SSD uptake – solid-state disks look set to become mainstream (particularly for laptops) in 2010, as prices fall thanks to better manufacturing efficiency. As price falls, capacity will increase – 1TB SSDs are already on the horizon
12. Cloud computing – online apps also look like they’re going to become popular. Google Docs is a great example, as the benefits for consumers are immense: no need to invest in Microsoft Office, you can access your documents and calendar from any internet-connected device, plus collaborate in real-time with others on the same documents

Sean Hargrave, Freelance

13. Apple vs Google – in the mobile world is going to be massive as a raft of Android phones hit the market and Google launches its own branded phone. The mobile net really will take off as more flat rate data packages will be offered and so smartphones and unlimited data gain traction beyond media and tech types. The question nobody dare ask is what will the consumer experience be in peak times. Will the crowded mobile networks be able to cope?
14. To pay or not to pay - 2010 will be a defining moment for the web as we see what media companies do to end this farce of giving away the content we produce for nothing. Idiots online say anyone who wants to charge doesn’t ‘get digital’, my advice to them is give away your web devving skills or give free legal advice online. Everybody thinks journalists should work for free. This is not only unfair it will just mean that sponsors will step in, if consumers aren’t paying, and people won’t be able to trust news. 2010 will see the emergence of pay walls and towards the end of the year we’ll realise it’s not the wall that’s the issue, it’s what’s behind it

Gareth Beavis, Tech Radar
15. Mobiles, especially smartphones, will get bigger – we’ve seen a couple of post 4-inch devices, and a larger number in the 3.5- to 4-inch category springing up
16. Cloud computing – we’ll likely see something on this from Google, as well as Microsoft and maybe even Apple opening up mainstream services to allow users to store content wherever and stream it on multiple devices

Related posts:

1. 16 journalist tech highlights of 2009 As another year comes to an end, we’ve asked the...
2. Gartner’s IT predictions for 2010 and beyond Leading analyst firm Gartner has revealed it’s IT and...
3. Another one bites the dust: Guardian Tech It’s no secret that the traditional media industry is...
4. 10 PR predictions for 2010 The last ten years or so have been extremely...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.