TORONTO – What would the start of a new year be without predictions?
According to David Neale, chief futurist and SVP strategic content and services for Telus, here are the top five mobility trends for 2010.
1) Your contacts make the call, not your phone.
Phones will no longer be organized around functions, but holistically around contacts.
It’s not about tasks anymore, it’s about people. Instead of categorizing communications by function such as text, voice and email, smart phone interactions will be centred around contacts, offering the flexibility to communicate however you wish, seamlessly, and to view your interactions with them without switching applications. With more people-centric applications, smart phones will become more in-tune with the way we live, work and interact with others.
2) Entertainment-on-demand.
Farewell to TV guides, video-on-demand is about to take over.
In 2010, the Internet and broadband access will be the way consumers will enjoy television programming and entertainment of all kinds, available when you want it and where you want it, over television and the Internet. Your viewing experience will even be flexible enough to move with you from room to room. With 21% of Canadians currently using on-demand entertainment, and 57% of Canadians saying that pre-recorded video brings them closer to their families, it’s a trend that’s sure to grow. (* Stats based on Telus’ Canadians and Technology survey, released in September, 2009.)
3) Have the posse follow you.
Social networks are no longer a destination that we go to. Rather, they have evolved to being so integrated in our lives, that they follow us throughout the day.
No longer seen as a separate activity to e-mail and voice messaging, social networking in 2010 will be a primary means of communication, with smart phones being the vehicle that brings all of these channels together in one place. It doesn’t matter if you’re communicating through Twitter, Facebook, MySpace or IM – it’s all streamlined. Emerging applications will let your posse come to you, instead of the other way around.
4) Where you at? GPS is your new best friend.
The question “where are you?” will become a thing of the past.
Advanced social networking mediums and GPS-based applications now allow you to pinpoint the location of your contacts in real-time, adding a new dimension to social networking, and offering users new ways of connecting with contacts, even facilitating face-to-face contact. Canadian mobile phone habits found that smart phone penetration jumped from a quarter of the wireless population to one-third in one year, meaning that more Canadians will be joining the connected community. (*Stat according to J.D. Power & Associates).
5) Phones become the ‘can do’ device.
In 2010, phones will go from being devices you ‘could’ use as music players or cameras, to all-in-one entertainment hubs where you can acquire and play your favourite music, while capturing memories in high resolution on built-in cameras. Functions that were once secondary to smart phones will become just as important as communication, creating the ultimate user experience.
