Editor’s Note: With 2013 now upon us, RCR Wireless News has gathered predictions from leading industry analysts and executives on what they expect to see in the new year.
Gazing into our crystal ball – or crystal-ball app, rather – we’re taking a peek into what the state of mobile tech will look like a year from now. What will IT departments be focused on – or will they exist at all? What devices will we be using? Who will be the game changer for the enterprise?
As we know, the tech world is a rapidly changing landscape. But there are a few ideas and trends we’re looking forward to in the next year. Herewith, a roundup of predictions for 2013:
BYO – ID
Continuing the trend of “bring-your-own”-everything, many analysts expect worker identification and login access to be the next IT function to get outsourced – or perhaps, more accurately, crowd-sourced – to end-users. By utilizing employees’ existing social network login credentials, organizations can eliminate one more function from IT, while minimizing login “friction.” As to how this will play with all the “Marys” in IT, we’ll just have to wait and see.
A cheaper iPhone
How much bigger can Apple get? According to predictions from Capital Markets analyst Adnaan Ahmad, as quoted in Forbes, there’s simply not much room left for the company to grow – unless Apple starts targeting a different market segment. Perhaps a lower-cost iPhone could be in the work to address the hundreds of millions of pre-paid phone users on the market, he suggests.
Holographic conference calls
Until we all get the long-awaited Tupac posthumous hologram tour, we’ll be skeptical. But if Will.i.am can tell us who’s won a presidential election on CNN as a hologram, it’s not hard to imagine a ”Star Wars”-style conference call in the near future.
Bigger phones, smaller tablets
The iPhone 5 has a 4-inch screen. The Galaxy Note II has a 5.5-inch screen. In fact, of all the Android devices sold in the last three months, nearly one-third had a screen size over 4.5 inches. Meanwhile, among tablets it’s a race to get smaller – the Amazon Kindle Fire, Google Nexus 7 and Apple iPad Mini each clock in at 7 inches or so, a sweet spot of sorts in that burgeoning market.
Big data as business intelligence (again)
The term that was everywhere in 2012 won’t go away in 2013. Scott Yara, a SVP with EMC Greenplum, noted that in 2011, venture capital firms poured $2.47 billion into big data-related startups. Expect that investment to start churning out some results. “The combined effects of social and mobile technologies, the constant need for driving improved competitive advantage and the pervasiveness of analytics software and services will change the way vendors and end users consumer information,” he wrote.
Mobile Web to overtake PC Web
Sarah Quinn, a marketing manager with OnDevice Research, tells us 2013 will be the year that mobile Web usage will overtake PC Web usage globally. IDC predicts that tipping point to come closer to 2015.
Mobile commerce will (finally) become, like, a thing
The growing popularity of near-field communications chips in smartphones, QR codes and the growth of services like Google Wallet and Square suggest 2013 could be the moment mobile commerce makes a real boom.
Wireless charging will power up
The technology for wireless battery charging already exists. But in 2013, expect to see its popularity take off, Quinn says. Whether by setting phones down on charging pads, or coupling phones with other devices, such as a laptop, it’s likely you won’t be needing your cord by year-end.
