3. NFC and mobile payments
Next year is likely to
be the year when mobile payments blossom. While we've seen a great deal
of innovation in mobile payments technology this year -- including the
success of Square's iPhone dongle, allowing anyone to accept credit card payments -- 2012 is the year of NFC.
What's that, you ask?
Near Field Communication essentially lets you replace your credit cards
with your phone: Wave an NFC-enabled phone near the credit card reader
in a store (or taxi cab), and the money is deducted from your account.
By 2013, 1 in 5 cellphones are expected to be NFC-equipped. Early contenders include Google Wallet, Visa Wallet, Serve (by American Express) and ISIS.
4. Beyond the iPad
If touch computing is
the future, then the iPad is surely king. And yet the iPad came up
against serious competition in the latter part of 2011: As I wrote
previously, I expect the new Amazon Kindle Fire to outsell the iPad in 2012. Why? Simply put, the iPad costs $499 while the Fire costs $199.
Amazon's advantages
don't stop at the price point, however: The company owns an entire
content store of movies, e-books, TV shows and other media. With tablet
devices, the hardware is somewhat important but the content available
for the device is absolutely critical: With plenty of media available
for the Fire right away, it's an appealing proposition.
Why does one device
constitute an entire trend? Well, as a true competitor to the iPad
emerges, content producers, distributors and even app developers may
have an entirely new platform on which to push their wares. (And yes,
the Kindle Fire does indeed run Google's Android operating system, but
Amazon's version is so unlike other Android tablets that neither users
nor app developers will perceive it as "yet another Android device" --
it's a whole new platform.)
5. TV Everywhere
So you thought you'd be
able to watch all your favorite shows online and get rid of your cable
subscription for good? Not so fast!
The cable companies have
a cunning plan: They'll let you watch live TV, plus on-demand movies
and TV shows, on your connected devices if you keep your cable
subscription. Dish Network, Time Warner and Comcast are among those
offering the service.
TV Everywhere has been
buzzed about since 2010, of course, and could be a dud -- but the rise
of tablet devices would seem to create increased demand for a "TV in
your hands."
No comments:
Post a Comment