2011 was the year of the Android-branded smartphones, the iPad 2 and "cloud computing". What will 2012 have in store for us on the constantly evolving high tech scene? Here are some predictions for the months to come.
– Apple will revolutionize the TV market. While some historical competitors such as Philips throw in the towel, the landing of the company founded by Steve Jobs in the world of television seems ever closer, through an Apple TV or, more likely as the bitten apple trademark dictates, the Apple iTV. Once again, everyone from Cupertino will be amazed: it won't be a simple TV, but a screen connected to voice commands, like the iPhone. The release is scheduled for mid-year, e will sanction a sensational partnership: with Sharp but above all with the bitter rivals of Samsung (which in the year that ends with the Galaxy has surpassed the iPhone in sales) for the supply of some pieces. Google is warned: while the Google TV project is struggling to take off, Steve Jobs' students have already launched the challenge.
– Facebook will be listed on the Stock Exchange. The highly anticipated Mark Zuckerberg's entry into the stock markets it will be done: it is scheduled for April-May with a record 100 billion dollar IPO, and will probably mark the apotheosis of a new internet bubble linked to the universe of social networks, after the entry, among others, of LinkedIn and recently of Zynga. Meanwhile, one thing is already certain: seven years after its creation, the most widespread social network in the world (800 million users to date) will exceed the threshold of one billion subscribers.
– Social shopping will take off. There are now dozens of clones of Groupon, world leader (115 million users) in the offer of goods or services at particularly advantageous prices on the internet through the principle of group sales, and he too recently landed on the stock market with a700 million IPO of dollars. Number two, LivingSocial, is already in the sights of Google and Amazon.
– The Canadian RIM adventure will end. According to many analysts, the manufacturer of the famous Blackberry, long since plunged into a well-known crisis, will be forced to close its doors after yet another flop, that of the PlayBook tablet. At the window would be Amazon and the Microsoft-Nokia tandem.
– Microsoft will challenge Apple on music. The computer giant, after the unsuccessful experience of the Zune player, which has never even worried the leadership of the iPod, does not give up: it would be detecting the Swedish music streaming site, Spotify, which has 2,5 million subscribers and an estimated value of between $1 and $2 billion.
