This year is all set to be disruptive, at least as far as newer technologies and their adoption are concerned. We look at 15 important developments—each will have a direct impact on how you interact with gadgets, software and services.
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Google Fiber in India?
The Google Fiber broadband service, available in certain US cities, offers 1,000 Mbps speed. Users can add on TV channels and live TV recorder capabilities. For example, in Kansas City, $70 (around Rs.4,200) a month gives the subscriber 1,000 Mbps broadband speed with unlimited usage and 1 TB of storage across Gmail, Drive and Google+ Photos. And for $120 a month, the TV service is added on, with 150 channels, including more than 25 HD channels. Google has approached the Union government to try and start Fiber services here. At the moment, Google doesn’t have a telecom licence, a requirement for broadband services, or a cable operator or direct-to-home (DTH) licence to be able to carry channels on its network. If this works out, it will be a revolution in the Indian broadband space.
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More wearables
Samsung’s successor to the Gear S watch will add even more features. LG tasted success last year with G Watch, and will build on that. And Motorola will definitely follow up on the 360 watch with a better design and perfect circle display.
Fitness bands were a rage in 2014, and that trend will continue. Microsoft’s Band will be launched in more countries, including India; the dates are not yet confirmed.
Intel showed off the Mica (My Intelligent Communications Accessory) wearable in November, describing it as “a feminine fashion accessory with communications capabilities”. It could be heading to our shores later in the year.
The funding success of projects such as the MOTA ring indicates that smart jewellery could be the next big thing. MOTA can be worn on the finger, just like any other ring. It is Bluetooth-enabled, pairs with your phone, and gives you a notification when a new call, message or mail pops up in your phone.
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4G mobile networks
Last year, the 4G network began to roll out in some cities. It will gather speed this year.
In a December report, research consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers has predicted that the country will have about 15 million 4G users before the end of this year.
Airtel already has a 4G network in parts of Punjab, Karnataka, West Bengal and Maharashtra. Aircel’s 4G roll out has begun to roll out in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Odisha, Assam and Jammu and Kashmir. Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd is expected to start services in the first quarter.
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IoT
For consumers, the Internet of Things (IoT) is all about smart gadgets which connect to the Internet, log user data, and can share it over the network with connected devices and apps. The entire concept allows you to decrypt that information, and make sense of it.
Some of the products that are expected in the coming months: a Bluetooth-enabled weighing scale for the kitchen that can measure ingredients, in accordance with the recipe you are accessing on your iPad, and a smart water bottle that can log your liquid intake and raise a flag in case it is too low or high. Many more projects are expected to tap the Kickstarter and the Indiegogo crowd-funding platforms.
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Cost of mobile telephony
February will see the first set of mobile spectrum auctions. The 800 MHz, 900 MHz and 1,800 MHz will be up for re-auction, with a target of fetching at least Rs.64,840 crore. The critical point is that in case an operator does not win at least the same amount of spectrum that it currently has in each circle, it will have to shut shop since it won’t have any bandwidth to run a mobile network on.
The second stage of the auction will be later in the year, for the 2,100 MHz band, some of which is currently with the defence ministry. All in all, mobile operators will pay a lot of money to continue offering services in each telecom circle, and that cost will eventually be borne by the consumer.
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Windows’ last mighty swing
With the Windows 10 operating system (OS), the unification drive is in full swing—the same OS will work on the PC, laptop, hybrid, tablet, smartphone and Xbox console. The code is written in such a way that apps work across platforms, and on different screen sizes and resolutions. This is the last big release of Windows, as Microsoft calls it, because of the logical conversion to a constantly updating OS that will offer new features and performance updates as and when needed. The pricing structure and possible variants of Windows 10, pegged for release in the fourth quarter, have not been announced. Microsoft hopes Windows 10 will replicate the success of Windows XP and Windows 7, particularly after the tepid response to Windows 8.
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Slimmer laptops
Intel’s fourth-generation Haswell processors focused on reduced power consumption while improving performance. The fifth generation, known as Core M, takes that a step further. These ultra-low power-use processors will allow laptop makers to introduce very slim form-factor portables (laptops, hybrids, etc.). They won’t need fans to cool them and battery life will improve further. Expect all the major laptop makers—HP, Dell, Lenovo, Acer, etc.—to launch models based on this hardware, through the year.
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Microsoft Office suite revamp
Microsoft has been on a massive reconfiguration spree with products, services and organizational structure. A touch-screen friendly version for laptops and hybrids is in the works. The Office for iPad apps will get a refresh. The Mac version hasn’t been updated for a couple of years now, and people toting MacBooks will get an update this year. All these updates will be in place before the Windows 10 roll out.
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LG’s updated webOS
Last year’s webOS-based smart TVs from LG were really impressive—with excellent performance and an intuitive, beautiful interface. LG has already hinted at faster performance and some new features, such as UltraHD video streaming from online sources. And the smartness quotient will go up a notch, with the favourite channels feature now compatible with broadcast, cable or set-top box channels. The TV line-up with the updated OS should be available in India around summer.
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New smartphones
The third iteration of HTC’s One smartphone (code-named Hima) is expected to have the M8’s excellent build quality, with a 5.2-inch screen and a toss-up between Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 805 and Snapdragon 810 chip-set. Expect this around March.
Samsung is said to be working on the Galaxy S5’s successor, and on a new version of its custom Android interface, TouchWiz. Expect this in the first half of 2015. The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is already leading the display resolution battle, packing in 2,560x1,440 pixels. The next logical upgrade will be a proper 4K screen. Expect the Note 5 around October.
BlackBerry will rely on the Classic to wean back corporate and business users, but pricing will be critical.
Chinese smartphone company OnePlus took the world by storm with the fully loaded One smartphone at a rather affordable price. The next iteration is in the works.
Sony has the Xperia Z4 up its sleeve, while Motorola will have a busy second half of 2015—there will be new variants for the Nexus 6, the Moto G and the Moto X. Xiaomi’s Mi and Redmi smartphone line-ups will also see new avatars. Microsoft Devices’ big focus will be on the Lumia 1020’s successor, with the critical aspect being to improve what is currently the best smartphone camera. Affordable Lumia phones, below the Rs.15,000 price point, will remain the moneymakers for the company.
Bowing to pressure from rivals and consumers, Apple increased the screen size of the new iPhones (6 has a 4.7-inch screen and 6 Plus has a 5.5-inch screen). However, not everyone has appreciated the change—iPhone 5s was considered the last to have a sensible screen size. Apple could end up showing off three phones this year—successors of the 6 and 6 Plus, and a 4-inch or 4.3-inch iPhone “Mini” . This would allow the Cupertino company a second shot at an affordable iPhone, after the iPhone 5c bombed. Apple’s update cycle suggests an announcement about the new iPhones will happen in September.
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Apple Watch
The smartwatch is, in case you haven’t noticed, the first new category Apple has added since Tim Cook took over as chief executive officer. Shown last year, when the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were unveiled, it will hit stores in the first half of this year. The early glimpse was impressive enough to keep us interested. Apple is currently fine-tuning the software. Do expect a pretty strong app and accessory ecosystem to be in place—but the smart watch will cost a lot of money.
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Games
The plot of ‘Batman: Arkham Knight’ is set one year after the events of 2011’s ‘Batman: Arkham City’ title. The new game follows Batman as he confronts the Scarecrow, who has returned to Gotham City to unite Batman’s enemies and kill the Dark Knight. It is expected to release in June for Sony’s PlayStation 4, Microsoft’s Xbox One and PC.
The other game to look forward to is ‘Dying Light’ by Polish game developer Techland, best known for developing ‘Call Of Juarez’. The new game is set in the Turkish city of Urfa, and the rather exciting plot revolves around a zombie apocalypse. The game will be available by the end of this month, for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and the PC.
These two are just the tip of the iceberg, with many more interesting games releasing for the gaming platform of your choice—be it the console or the PC.
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Smarter cars
Google will also be releasing the Android Auto platform, which will enable the installation of Android as the basic software in infotainment systems. This would mean better integration of smartphone functionality and built-in navigation, and do away with the need for accessories that help your phone connect to the car’s music system. It will not take long for car accessory makers to adopt better software for their products, which will eventually spread to factory-fitted equipment as well. Apple is working on a similar product, called CarPlay.
The contours are becoming clear. Bentley, Maserati, Renault, Seat, Škoda and Volkswagen are deploying Android Auto; BMW, Citroën, Ferrari, Jaguar-Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Peugeot and Toyota have signed up for Apple’s solution. The likes of Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Fiat, Chevrolet, Volvo and Suzuki will be working with both solutions, customized for different offerings in their line-up. Auto and CarPlay should be available in new cars launched here in the second half of the year.
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Curved phones
“We will secure production capacity of 30,000-40,000 flexible displays each month by the end of next year,” said Lee Chang-Hoon, vice-president of the business strategic team, Samsung Display, during the Investor Forum in November in New York, US. Clearly, it wouldn’t be outlandish to expect a curved smartphone featuring a properly bent display. The Galaxy Note Edge, with a flexible display, is already a step in that direction.
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Safer cars?
In January 2014, the Global New Car Assessment Programme (GNCAP) released the crash test results of the Maruti Alto 800, Tata Nano, Ford Figo and Volkswagen Polo. The four popular cars got a score of zero. As soon as these results were declared, Volkswagen India announced that two airbags would be fitted in all Polo hatchbacks; the test score went up to 4 (the maximum score is 5.). A second round of tests, in November, saw the Maruti Swift and the Datsun Go hatchbacks also scoring a zero in safety tests.
As we enter 2015, Toyota has announced that all cars in its line-up here will get at least one airbag for the base variants, and two or more in the higher priced versions. The Union government plans to have a New Car Assessment Programme test facility operational before the end of January, and has suggested that it is considering amending the Motor Vehicles Act to make it compulsory for car manufacturers to incorporate airbags, anti-brake lock systems, etc., in all cars. Will protesting car makers fall in line?
