Tech Speak: What I Want To See In The Tech Scene In 2011

2010 was not a very exciting year for technology. We had the new iPhone 4, 3D technology, tablets coming up, but that's about it. I wouldn't even say the iPad was a good innovation because tablets existed long ago. Apple just knew how to market it. There were many things which were supposed to be hyped up but were not as impressive in the end. Things like Microsoft Kin phones, Google TV, more tablets (which ultimately were delayed till this year), Nvidia GT400 series, Google Chrome OS (which is delayed as well), were kinda failures, or didn't come as soon as I'd like. Here's a list of what I really anticipate or will like to see in 2011.

What will/should be happening (if there are no hiccups)

1) Mainstream ULV processors in laptops (Nvidia Ion 2 also can). It's hard to spot a laptop with Core i5 460UM these days. Now that the new architecture Sandy Bridge is up, I hope more manufacturers embrace the idea of relatively powerful mobile chips which has low power consumption.

2) Nintendo 3DS. Portable 3D goodness. Now that's something. However given Nintendo's track record of lower than desired graphics capabilities, it'll be a shame if it turn out to be some half baked product.

3) Android 2.3 Honeycomb. There's much hype about Honeycomb which is Google's answer to iPad. Right now, tablets like Samsung Galaxy Tab and ViewPad uses Android version 2.2 which is not exactly ideal as a tablet operating system. I'll never understand why Apple and other companies jumped to the tablet market without having a ready technology. I've seen what Honeycomb can do and hopefully it'll make tablets much more appealing. I look forward to MSI's Wind Tablet.

4) Chrome OS. Open source and free. It'll be cool for a laptop to be optimised for on-the-go usage. Chrome OS is basically a browser based operating system that emphasize on connectivity. There's a problem of what happens when there's no 3G or wifi and I have yet to see how Google is managing this problem. There's also rumours saying that Chrome OS will eventually be absorbed and integrated into Android. I doubt that will happen this year but it's still exciting to see how that can be developed.

5) Integration of Zune, Windows 7 Mobile and Windows 7. This is a biased want, as I own a Zune HD. But it's sad to see how disintegrated Zune is with Windows 7 and how even Zune and Windows 7 Mobile are so different. I mean, my Zune HD can't even play games meant for Windows 7 Mobile. That seems kind of ridiculous. And the Zune software crashes on my laptop lately. Really sad.

6) Wireless 802.11az standards. New wireless standards are underway and I hope to see them soon. These wireless standards are said to be better than wireless N and there are different versions. I remember reading about a wireless AB and a wireless Z or something. There was one which is supposed to be adhoc based (meaning a network between a device and another device). If this comes along, then the days of iPhone hating Android and thus cannot connect using bluetooth will be over. That said I look forward to Bluetooth 4.0 too (whatever happened to bluetooth 3.0? i dunnoe).

New technology I want to see happening

7) Better Li-Ion batteries. Dual core mobile chips are coming up. Intel processors are getting faster every year. It's a real pity that battery technology isn't catching fast enough. Battery life is often sacrificed for the sake of faster speeds.

8) Mozilla Seabird. Check it out here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG3tLxEQEdg Nuff said. I will jump ship to Mozilla immediately.

9) Better energy saving screens/dual screens. Who prefers to read an e-book on their LCD/LED screen over a Kindle's E-ink screen? Better widespread usage of LED screens would be better too, if they ever can be utilised in capacitive screens. It'll be great if regular lightbulbs use LED technology as well. Actually they already do, but they are quite expensive.

How many of these will actually happen?