We are at the end of another amazing year in Technology. Apple has released the iPad and the rest of the computer manufacturers have scrambled to produce something that can compete. We have seen the iPhone 4 and have already heard rumors for the iPhone 4G (?) as well as the iPad 2; which is not a surprise since Apple has not changed their release schedule since 2007 when they released the iPhone. Those release dates make sense and I don’t see them changing.
HTC and Samsung have also produced the most compelling second tier SmartPhones. I have to admit that the I wish I had the cash to buy and test these other devices. I have seen the HTC Incredible and it is a compelling SmartPhone, I would also have liked to see the Droid X, HTC Evo, and the Galaxy S phones up close.
We have seen false starts [JooJoo – discontinued] and demo’s [PlayBook]; however, only one company has a compelling Slate [or Tablet] product. Samsung has released the Galaxy Tab, the only real contender in the Slate market. I would love to have one of these to test and use for a month or two. I really like the form and think that it could be a very useful and usable device. I also think that its 7″ and 16:9 screen size is a useful size. In other places … Archos has a few devices yet, because they do not have the same footprint or power in the US market, they have gone mostly unnoticed by the populace.
We have several other Slate devices that are rumored to be coming soon; however, all I am seeing is VaporWare.
The desktop computer market is becoming old hat. I will agree that they are needed in the business world, but I can actually see more people moving to a Slate PC for everyday usage. I know that I could go Slate for 85% to 95% of the things that I do, if I have a 3G [or4G] connection. I have to admit that with a few specialized Apps and more HTML5-based websites … I could be quite happy. I don’t have a problem syncing my Slate to a central or main PC, especially if it provides a full hard drive back up. I would love to see Wi-Fi Syncing for everything but OS updates.
I believe the Touch Interface will start to migrate into a whole lot of places and many of them will be places it doesn’t belong. A few places I would like to see a Touch Interface is on a fridge with weather and some other applications – grocery lists and meal planning options to name a two more. Another place could be bathroom mirrors with a built in floor scale and historical medical data. I would be happy to stand on a scale/device that could read Weight, BMI, Blood Pressure, among other bio-readings.
Well, 2011 dawns and 2010 has waned. What will happen this year in Technology … is anybody’s guess … unless you work for Apple!
iron wil
