The marketing research firm Gartner has identified eight mobile technologies it believes will evolve significantly over the next 12 to 24 months. The firm believes companies developing a mobile strategy need to be aware of this pace of evolution and adjust their short-term plans and policies accordingly.
In summary, Gartner claims:
- The specification release of Bluetooth 3.0 will happen in 2009 and will enable many new mobile devices to be connected.
- Mobile User Interfaces will become an intense area for competition with vendors positioning their UIs to differentiate their handsets and platforms.
- Location awareness will make mobile applications more powerful and useful, making location technology a key component of contextual applications.
- 802.11n boosts Wi-Fi data rates to between 100Mbps and 300Mbps, with MIMO offering the potential for better coverage and likely making .11n a long-term standard.
- Mobile displays will be impacted by several new technologies, including active pixel displays, passive displays and pico projectors.
- Mobile Web and Widgets will emerge as a low-cost way to deliver simple mobile applications to a range of devices.
- HSPA is starting to provide adequate connectivity to replace Wi-Fi hot spots. The availability of mature chipsets will promote further uptake of Netbooks with built-in cellular modules.
- NFC is emerging as a leading standard for applications such as mobile payment and will provide a simple and secure way for handsets to communicate over distances of a centimetre or two.
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