...the team share their thoughts.
Ceri's estimations...
iPad Clones
2010 was undoubtedly the year of the iPad, Apple managing to succeed with their touch screen tablet device in a market where numerous others had failed to make an impact. My prediction is that 2011 will be the year that iPad clones bring tablet computing to the wider (i.e. cheaper) consumer market, and in doing so, cement the iPad's position at the top of the pile.
A note of caution though: the current interest in the tablet form factor is reminiscent of the popularity of netbooks a couple of years ago, a market which looks to be in decline. Will the tablet go the same way? Only time will tell. One thing is for sure though - web designers need to ensure their layouts are as flexible as possible to target the multitude of browsing form factors that now exist.
Location, Location, Location
Location aware computing (think Foursquare, Gowalla, Facebook Places, etc) has been around a while, but I predict that 2011 might be the year that it really takes off for mainstream users. In part due to the ever increasing ubiquity of smartphones and the spiralling use of mobile data networks; but also as a result of a more relaxed attitude (not welcomed by some) towards online privacy. I say might because there are many campaigners, vocal and powerful, who would like to see a reversal of this relaxed attitude towards privacy.
Watch this space...
Google Chrome OS
Chrome OS, Google's new desktop operating system was one of my predictions for last year. Well 2010 is almost over, and still no sign of Chrome OS! It's currently scheduled for release sometime early 2011, but the more interesting question is how will Google position Chrome OS now that their Android mobile operating system has proved so successful? Many believed that Chrome OS would target the netbook ecosystem, but with touch screen tablet devices proving so popular, doesn't that make Android the natural choice? And with netbook popularity in decline, will Chrome OS's market have disappeared before it has even arrived?
Stephanie's thoughts...
Mobile Marketing Set To Take Off
Mobile marketing has been around for a while but it will really take off in 2011. Advances in hardware and software and a more widespread ownership of smartphones is creating a more demanding audience. With the possibilities of location based marketing, augmented reality, apps, barcodes/QR codes and SMS marketing all becoming more advanced an increasing number of brands will look to adopt these methods to talk to their customers. Budget allocations will be tweaked in 2011 to see more focus on mobile.
Consolidation of online brands
How and where you represent yourself online is always changing. Hands-up those that used to have a MySpace account? When was the last time you looked at your Friends Reunited account? As well as this our time is precious and we don’t have the time or the inclination to be updating numerous sites on what we’ve been up to. As certain social networks – ok Facebook - become more advanced and allow us to do more, for example the recent introduction of places, there is less of a need to feature on other networks. The decline of Twitter and FourSquare seem inevitable.
However, LinkedIn is growing still and will continue to do so. This is the one to keep an eye on in 2011. More and more companies will see this site as a useful recruitment tool so your presence on there will be essential in 2011
Jon's predictions...
eBooks
Whilst Sony's Reader was widely available last Christmas, Amazon's Kindle was only launched in UK at the end of August. And although Apple's iPad isn't a dedicated reader it's certainly an attractive platform for purchasing titles. The iPad was released in the UK at the end of May a new version of the iPad is expected early 2011.
The free copy of Winnie-The-Pooh bundled with the iPad disappointed me, it seemed a missed opportunity to show off the possibilities and I couldn't see what it offered beyond a PDF. However, publishers are finding their feet, formats are being ironed out and I expect in 2011 we'll see interactivity and added extras creating much more immersive eBook experiences.
For a taste of things to come here's a video showing off Oliver Jeffers Heart and the Bottle from Harper Collins
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wc3fghSJvBM
Cookie Legislation
By May 2011 EU legislation regarding cookies will have changed. The updated legislation, voted through in 2009, means that a site will need to obtain a user's consent before serving up cookies, unless, and this is the muddy bit, the cookie is "strictly necessary" to provide a service which has been "explicitly requested" by the user. The implications this will have isn't entirely clear, many sites rely on cookies for functionality such as login state and shopping baskets, however advertisers also use cookies. Here are a couple of articles on the subject:
http://www.out-law.com/page-5486
http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/opinion/the-cookie-crumbles/3015652.article
http://www.out-law.com/page-10510
Tim's musings...
Shop till you(r internet connection) drops
In figures announced this week, Vodafone are estimating that a quarter of people now have internet enabled phones but amongst 16 to 24 year olds this figure is much higher at an estimated 45% What the research carried out by Vodafone seems to indicate though is a change in shopping habits - shoppers are now using their smartphone to send pictures of clothes they are trying on in the dressing room to their friends for opinions, checking prices against competitors and downloading voucher codes (http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/dec/10/smartphones-changing-way-we-shop?INTCMP=SRCH).
While the jury is still out on whether we'll see an explosion in m-commerce in 2011 to overtake e-commerce on home or office machines there's no doubt in my mind that we're going to see retailers fighting back and attempting to exploit the market and wrestle the advantage back from the shopper to the retailer.
A Flash in the pan
Back in April, Smashing Magazine published an article regarding the gradual disappearance of flash websites (http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/04/12/the-gradual-disappearance-of-flash-websites/) which spawned a huge discussion in the online community. While it's pretty safe to assume that Adobe will continue to push Flash to as many devices as possible it's not looking likely that they'll manage to convince Steve Jobs and Apple to allow Flash on either the iPhone or the iPad.
For years Flash has been the accepted standard way to embed video on the web and while the support of Apple alone might not be enough to dent it's usage, the support for HTML5 in the latest wave of browsers might.There's no getting away from the fact it's the only way to serve video content to older browsers but could 2011 see the userbase with Flash installed decline even further? It's a close call but one thing for certain is that Adobe haven't given up the fight yet - 2011 is going to be a make or break year for Flash.
Danielle's deliberations...
Web Fonts and the @font-face rule
Although sIFR is one of the most popular ways of implementing rich fonts on the web, I for one am looking forward to an alternative. There has been quite a bit of buzz this year around the @font-face rule. Until now, implementation of the @font-face rule has been limited to design portfolios and industry blogs, where the audience is assumed to be using a modern browser and a modern OS. In fact we're already using it on our site via TypeKit. Apart from having to use dedicated hosting services like Typekit, another barrier it's had in gaining mainstream popularity has been the limited support in Internet Explorer.
Remarkably, IE has supported @font-face for over ten years, but IE9 will be its first implementation of the @font-face rule as described in CSS3. Thankfully, IE9 preview releases already have markedly improved font rendering as well as support for EOT, WOFF and raw font formats. Although Microsoft hasn't committed to a release date for IE9, next year seems realistic and with improved cross-browser compatibility, Web Fonts might gain mainstream popularity. As well as looking forward to being able to use a new catalogue of commercial fonts, I for one wont be mourning the loss of sIFR for long!
James' judgements...
Cloud Computing
The appearance and wider adoption of tablet and smart phones has meant that people are starting to explore and use several cloud based platforms. Syncing to cloud means that you always have access to your files anywhere you have an Internet connection. The combination of iPad, iPhone and laptop mean that currently I use these cloud based services:
http://www.evernote.com/, http://www.rememberthemilk.com/, http://www.spotify.com/, http://www.dropbox.com/, http://lastpass.com/, http://www.instapaper.com/ and http://docs.google.com/
I think that we’ll all be using far more cloud based platforms next year. Microsoft is rolling out a web based office product to combat Google Docs. Onlive is a new games service that streams the game to a small box under your TV, replacing the need for a console. The one problem will be the extra strain on the networks and if they’ll be able to cope.
Interactive TV
There has been a slow movement towards interactive TV, but the Red Button never did cut it. Google have launched Google TV in the US but it hasn’t gone down that well and seems to be too complicated for most users. I think that interactivity will be seen more and more people will begin to use the social networks in combination with TV programs. Whether this is with apps that work in real time with programs allowing fans to interact as they watch on mobile devices or on the new Tivo boxes remains to be seen.