2010 Heralds The ‘Planet of the Apps’

‘Apps, apps’ everywhere
3 –billion downloaded and headed for a download rate of 1-billion per month… no question Apple has kick started a new modality. Expect to see apps everywhere…

Smart TVs
Suddenly the humble television set is sexy again… and not just for DStv or the SABC. Expect to see television redefined with online content, interactivity and exploration. You know how you are watching a movie and you think, hmm… wonder what the buzz on this is. You pick up your phone or laptop and head over to metacritic.com or imdb.com to see what others think or download some trivia. Well you’ll now be able to do that on your TV. No phone or computer needed. So yes, those “apps” will be on your television as well.

Location, location, location
Geeks and marketers are going to sound like estate agents.
The proliferation of devices kitted out with every sensor imaginable, means that our phones are capable of situating us in 3D space. That will allow for the exploration of services and content in a specific geographic location in new and exciting ways. Augmented reality will also allow for the overlay and merging of cyberspace with the real world… cool!

Boxee
The software set top box that you can install on anything… Derived from the XBMC project, Boxee is a social media content service that merges Internet content, broadcast and info all in one. Install it onto your PC and you can dip into CNN on demand and YouTube etc on your computer or TV screen. Download at www.boxee.tv

Apple
Expect Apple to be at the ‘nexus’ of almost every significant development in tech. This stems from their uncanny ability to tune into what consumers actually want (perhaps they have proved the irrelevance of market research, can a consumer really know what they want, if they don’t know what is possible?). The other reason is that they have built a foundation for the assembled brainpower of a planet to innovate on. The iPhone is a dream device bristling with every sensor imaginable and a powerful development environment. We’re already taking some of this jaw dropping innovation for granted and there’s a ton more coming.

Goodbye Nokia, hello Android
Expect Nokia to ship an Android phone. Their lawsuit against Apple is a last gasp of desperation. They have gazed at the product pipeline and realised that they simply cannot compete. Their friends in the networks are also telling them consumers want one of these new “app” phones. The problem is there is space for two, maybe three major players in the new mobile eco-system. Apple is king of the hill with the iTunes Store, digital distribution and the iPhone OS. Google is a worthy competitor, albeit it with a different philosophy to Apple. The last slot has Palm, Motorola and RIM seeing if they can lock it in. But it’s too late for Nokia. The best way to get into the game is to flavour Android (Google’s open mobile operating system) to their handsets and offer the networks a phone they can compete with. That’s what Motorola did and the ‘Droid’ is keeping them in the game.

Show me your existentialist angst
People will tweet and blog mundane details of their boring lives in greater and greater detail. How ridiculous is it getting? Well, let me direct you to the growing phenomenon of suicidal thoughts and depression brought on by the ‘unobtainium-ness’ of them ever living in a world like Avatar’s Pandora. I mean, can’t these people get a real life?

Mom still won’t answer her phone
Sorry, technology, or as Ali G said, ‘techmology’ can only go so far. We can get that lump of plastic to emit ear-splitting sounds, but your Mother/wife/girlfriend will be just as oblivious.

Just because it’s digital, doesn’t mean it’s different
Maybe 2010 will be the year that the industry realises that it doesn’t matter if new media breaks the news. Someone still has to fly the chase helicopter, interview the bystanders etc. Print media in particular must realise that it’s not in the business of printing and distribution but rather in the business of content creation. Give people what they want and they will pay for quality and convenience.