In
which direction is the market heading? What technologies are most
likely to succeed? We present five, most important technological trends
that have been discussed in our Newsletters and, according to us, will
be growing in the next years.
1. Internet of Things - the nervous system of our planet
Internet of Things (IoT) is a vision in which everyday objects communicate with each other and the users via the Internet, infrared, and radio waves. Appropriately programmed devices and appliances will become "intelligent", eliminating many of the chores consuming our time - the fridge will organize shopping of food products, the air conditioning system will adjust to environmental conditions based on local weather data etc. The number of possible applications is infinite - the technology implemented "in the background" can penetrate all aspects of our material world. The IoT scope will be limited only by the imagination of the manufacturers.
According
to Cisco, IoT was born in 2009, when the number of devices connected to
the Internet became higher than the population of people living on
Earth. However, the year 2012 initiated a new way of thinking about this
potential, both in the case of industry and consumers.
2. Cloud computing
Cloud computing
is a model of providing IT solutions and services via the Internet,
where client computers have continuous access to resources and computing
power of servers around the world. This functionality is defined as a
service accessible via web software and the necessary infrastructure,
giving the users "added value". This means no need for the users to
purchase and manage the extensive versions of the software that should
be normally installed on their workstations. The main advantages are
cost savings associated with moving the computing power from client
computers to the servers, the ease of access to services ("everywhere
and on everything"), and improved safety.
3. Touch, gesture and voice control
Touch
screen market is growing at a very fast pace, much faster than the
market of standard screens. A large part of it make smartphones and
tablets, the increasing popularity of touch control interface has been
even noticed by Microsoft in its new operating system - Windows 8. The
system fully supports modern laptops and tablets equipped with such
screens.
Voice control also becomes a standard functionality of many electronic devices. The voice recognition software is constantly developed to improve "understanding". An example is the Siri software from Apple. Such programs are used not only in smartphones. At this year's CES, speech recognition functions were demonstrated in TVs, laptops and additional remote controls.
4. High-speed streaming
LTE/4G
networks offer a revolutionary speed of mobile Internet (download rates
up to 150 Mbps). This technology allows users ultra-fast access to
websites with multimedia and games on the Internet. LTE and popular
streaming applications enable them to watch video in a good quality on
the go. There are available first smartphones equipped with LTE modems.
5. TV market is moving to the Internet
Streaming
of television channels via the Internet instead of using dedicated
broadcasting networks ensures openness and versatility - the programming
can be received on all devices that allow access the Internet
(computers, smartphones, televisions equipped with network cards). The
year 2012 was quite revolutionary in this respect - almost every new
television had network interface and offered access to video on demand
and social networking sites. The introduction of the Internet to TVs is
also popularizing such services like HbbTV (Hybrid TV) and "Second
Screen" supplementing broadcast content with multimedia applications
available on other devices (tablets, smartphones, laptops etc).
Will we observe rapid development of the trends in 2013? Or new ones will emerge, with equally great potential, which may affect the shape of the technology and media industries and even change our daily lives? In today's world we may be sure of that.
