Comments on: Tech predictions- what we’ll see in 2009

By: callingcards4you

callingcards4you — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 03:54:59 +0000

What I believe is that touch and Tablets are not compatible as far as inking goes. Passive digitizers, the cheap ones currently used, do not allow good inking. Capacitive digitizers do not allow inking at all. A dual digitizer must be employed to provide good touch and good inking. That keeps the price way up and does not help break out of the niche mode. I hope I’m wrong but I don’t see it.

By: R.Wenzel

R.Wenzel — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 08:10:36 +0000

James,
I agree, tablets will continue to serve vertical markets. I also think ink is very useful in tablets/laptops, while touch is useful in either small (e.g. iphone) or very large screens.

In related news, did you see the Wired blog (http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/12/rumor-large-for.html)about the rumors of a touchscreen Mac tablet coming fall 2009?

By: nomo

nomo — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 05:19:51 +0000

Trend: Netbook VPNs

Netbook users wary of keeping their personal data in the cloud will use Virtual Private Network protocols to access files from their home computers.

By: nomo

nomo — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 04:54:20 +0000

Trend: Build your own laptop.

“Intel’s vision for the channel mobile is centered on building a mobile ecosystem based on common ingredients such as mobile motherboards. These two new Intel-branded mobile motherboards take us closer to helping system integrators and ultimately end-users build their own notebooks.”

http://www.intel.cc/pressroom/kits/centrino2/RC2_MB_FactSheet.pdf
http://www.intel.com/products/notebook/boards/index.htm?iid=mbd_body+mb_all

By: Neoxeekhrobe

Neoxeekhrobe — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 00:38:49 +0000

“We add this category RELUCTANTLY because it is clear that it is DEAD as a product line.”

Ouch! that was way too much painful and probably that was the reason why you just had to talk about it in a way you just did. Few words about it as if saying goodbye before it leaves us.

Before it leaves us…

By: nomo

nomo — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 23:31:34 +0000

The growth of laptops over desktops and the continued convergence of audio/video and computer technologies will lead to 1) dual-HDD laptops with onboard mobo RAID, 2) built-in A/V input terminals, and 3) high bandwidth digital outputs.

For business notebooks I expect to see more 10″-12″ ultraportables with increased power. As a niche prosumer product look for rack-mounted RAID workstations for tapeless video capture and editing.

By: James Kendrick

James Kendrick — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 12:15:25 +0000

Tablets will continue to serve vertical markets, that’s what I mean by staying a niche market like in 2008.

By: R.Wenzel

R.Wenzel — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 08:16:51 +0000

As someone who has been using pen interface since I got my first PDA during the 90′s and currently using UMPCs and Tablet PCs, I hope you are wrong on your predictions for this segment. I think tablet PCs still represent a new and somewhat unknown niche that is starting being discovered by many users. Some days ago, for example, the NYT presented an article about the use of tablets (and IT) on Health Care (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/27/business/27record.html?_r=2&scp=1&sq=tablet&st=cse). As the clinic’s chief executive described, “It’s been a fabulous journey from physicians being reluctant to now being unable to live without this technology”…
Happy New Year!!!

By: batterylife

batterylife — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 17:26:57 +0000

While battery life itself may not be extended in 2009, the same effect may be present if the OLPC display developer (Pixel Qi) hits the market in the 2nd half of 2009 with very low energy use displays.

Bring on those 20 to 40 hour battery life laptops and netbooks with this new efficient display technology in 2009 !

By: MicroAngelo

MicroAngelo — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 16:01:46 +0000

I’d agree with Tal that tablets will sneak their way into the mainstream via cheap touch netbooks.

I also predict Linux will continue its silent move to being used by most users without anyone even noticing via InstantOn style instant OS ROMs.

It’s a Kansas City Shuffle, and the big boys have been caught looking the wrong way; continuing to try to sell bigger, faster stronger to a market that has finally realised that you don’t need a 4Ghz processor and 8Gb of RAM for web browsing, sending email and the occassional bit of word processing.

The game’s changed: It’s quality vs. quantity. In 2009 the maxim will be “Do less, well.”

By: Richard

Richard — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 15:22:17 +0000

What about iPhone with other carriers in U.S,? Its obvious that Apple wants more market share than an exclusive with ATT can provide. My guess is we’ll see it on Sprint and some regionals but not on Verizon. Another pssibility is that the iPhone Nano will be the device that Apple makes available on anyone but ATT.

By: tal

tal — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 11:45:34 +0000

u must b kidding about tablets and touch. the 2nd gen of netbooks in 09 will present a swivel-touch combination (like the m912 or p1630).

By: Virtuous

Virtuous — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 09:07:20 +0000

ASUS and Samsung will throw in the towel on UMPCs. MIDs will disappear from the market.

By: Richard

Richard — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 07:44:10 +0000

Always fun to guess ahead..what about the Apple/ATT iPhone agreement? Will the iPhone become available from other U.S. carriers? My prediction is yes. Apple wants more penetration and that means deals with Sprint plus some regional operators like Union. I don’t see one with Verizon though.

By: Jerry

Jerry — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 05:52:23 +0000

Is Android supported by LifeInPocket(LifeInPocket.com) one of the most popular mobile app. If it does, then it will be more attractive than iPhone.

By: Luscious

Luscious — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 04:34:31 +0000

What you’ll see in 2009 is the second generation of netbooks emerge, a slew of high-end 17″ notebooks come out with the mobile Core i7, a bigger penetration of SSD drives in notebooks, a rush for set-top boxes in February, and a mad dash by enthusiasts to grab copies of XP when Win7 is released.

That’s just the condensed version, but I’m sure you guys here are on top of it.