Smartphone Trends Expectations in 2011
As of now, Android has been installed on devices manufactured by the likes of LG, Motorola, Samsung, Huawei Technologies Company and Sony Ericsson while iOS runs the iPhone 4, iPod touch and iPad. Local giant Nokia, Microsoft powered Windows Phone 7 and RIM's BlackBerry will also be part of the mix. Google and Apple appear to be in the lead in innovation and trendsetting. Romours have it that there will be another iPhone by mid year this year. Many analysts expect Apple to raise the bar a notch higher. Google's Nexus S which is slimmer and powerful could turn out to be the main competitor to the current iPhone 4.
Also this year there will be more Android devices from high-end market to low end market handsets targeting the developing world. Many will fully capitalise mobile web on its local content and leverage mobile technology as a distribution medium. Mainstream newspaper publishers will start charging their online content to readers but they are likely to get a thorough beating from social media outlets like facebook, Jaiku and Twitter. Most of the content created is not equal and most consumers willing to pay for clearly distilled content unlike most crap content found on most sites. This has worked well with the likes of Wall street journal and Financial times and The Times both of UK to mention but a few.
The smart phone sales are skyrocketing by the day and there is need to do "smart" stuff. There is growing appreciation for standard and smartphone mobile application developers as they create relevant applications. This year I expect most businesses to embrace mobile applications to create more interesting and compelling interactions with their consumers especially in US, Canada, Europe and Australia. Mobile gaming is also expected to grow threefold this year. Handful of innovation in the mobile gaming space is expected with game publishers especially here in Finland, the global market leader in game publishing. In emerging markets like India, Brazil and Turkey game developers will be making headway by creating localized game titles.
Speculation has been growing for months about a PlayStation Phone, with tech publications and analysts saying they are almost certain Sony is working on a smartphone project codenamed "Zeus", the phone is expected to be released in 2011 not by Christmas as I had earlier anticipated. It's expected to run on Android 3.0 Gingerbread, contain a Micro SD slot with 8GB of internal memory and come with a 3.8″ display. While the notion of a PlayStation Phone may seem relatively quirky, it makes sense with the most popular applications downloaded in the Android and App Store markets being games.
There are still rumours milling around about iPhone 5 with one indicating the iPhone 5 may contain NFC technology, which would allow users to make contactless payments. An upgraded camera, along with a new front-facing camera, is always a good option, while an improved battery is also likely on the cards. There are always plenty of improvements mobile developers like me can wish for, but until some leaks start appearing next year it's a mystery as to what the iPhone 5 has to offer. And it's safe to assume by now that Apple is hard at work on a new iPhone.
