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At the beginning of this year, analyst firm Gartner released a report that highlights eight up-and-coming mobile technologies which they predict will impact the mobile industry over the course of the next two years. According to Nick Jones, vice president and analyst at the firm, the technologies they’ve identified will evolve quickly and will likely pose issues that will have to be addressed by short term strategies.

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Editor’s note: This story is part of a series we call Redux, where we’ll re-publish some of our best posts of 2009. As we look back at the year – and ahead to what next year holds – we think these are the stories that deserve a second glance. It’s not just a best-of list, it’s also a collection of posts that examine the fundamental issues that continue to shape the Web. We hope you enjoy reading them again and we look forward to bringing you more Web products and trends analysis in 2010. Happy holidays from Team ReadWriteWeb!

The eight technologies identified include the following:

Bluetooth 3.0

This is one of the no-brainers on the list. The Bluetooth 3.0 specification will be released this year and devices will start to hit the shelves by 2010. At this point, it’s expected that the 3.0 spec will include faster speeds, reportedly transferring files at 480 megabits per second in close proximity and 100 megabits per second at 10 meters. It will also feature an ultra-low-power mode that Gartner predicts will enable new peripherals, sensors, and applications, such as health monitoring. The technology will be backwards compatible, allowing old devices to communicate with new ones, so there’s no reason for it not take off in the upcoming years.

Mobile User Interfaces + Mobile Web/Widgets

Mobile user interfaces and mobile web/widgets were listed separately, accounting for two items on the list, but we think they can be lumped together. They all point to how mobile computing is rapidly becoming a new platform for everything from consumer mobile apps to B2E (business-to-employee) and B2C (business-to-customer). (Gartner did not include B2B on their list.) Modern day smartphones like the iPhone, Android, Blackberry, the upcoming Pre, and others deliver better interfaces for browsing the web, thus making it accessible to more people. Widget-like applications, including those that replicate thin client technology, will become more common especially in B2C strategies. Yet the mobile web still has challenges ahead. For example, there are no standards for browser access to handset services like the camera or GPS, the report notes.

Location Awareness

Location sensing, powered by GPS as well as Wi-Fi and triangulation, opens up new possibilities for mobile social networking and presence applications. Technology’s earliest adopters are already familiar with social networks like Brightkite and Loopt which let you reveal your location to a network of friends. But we’re still on the tip of this iceberg. Take for example, the iPhone IM client Palringo, they’re just now adding location services to their application. This allows users to see how far away their contacts are, introducing a whole new dimension to mobile communication. Over the next year or two, this sort of technology is expected to become more commonplace, but it will also raise questions about privacy. Will you want your network of online friends and acquaintances to really know your exact location? Will turning off location awareness signal that you’re up to something sneaky (so asks the suspicious wife, husband, boss, etc.)? As a society, we will have to answer these questions and more in the near future.

Near Field Communication (NFC)

NFC is a technology that provides a way for consumers to use their mobile phones for making payments, among other things. It’s something that has taken off in many countries worldwide, but certainly not all, and definitely not in the United States just yet. Unfortunately, Gartner predicts that the move towards mobile payment systems will still not occur this year or the next in mature markets like the U.S. and Western Europe. Instead, NFC is more likely to take off in emerging markets. Other uses of the technology, such as the ability to transfer photos from phone to digital photo frames, will also remain elusive to more developed markets.

802.11n & Cellular Broadband

802.11n, a specification for wireless local area networks (WLANs), initially gave us pause. Although not ratified as an official standard yet, the technology is already commonplace. However, until it “goes gold” so to speak, it won’t really infiltrate the mobile world. Even the ubiquitous iPhone only supports 802.11 b/g at the moment. 

On the flip side, the other Internet connection technology, cellular broadband, has the potential to make Wi-Fi almost unnecessary, at least for achieving high speeds. In addition to mobile phones, laptop makers will likely continue to incorporate this technology into their netbooks and notebooks using modern chipsets that provide superior performance to our current crop of add-on cards and dongles.

Display Technologies

Display technologies will also see improvements in the upcoming years. New technologies like active pixel displays, passive displays and pico projectors will have an impact. Pico projectors – the tiny portable projectors we saw being introduced at this year’s CES – will enable new mobile use cases. Instant presentations in informal settings could become more common when there isn’t large, cumbersome equipment to set up. The different types of display technologies introduced in 2009 and 2010 will become important differentiators between devices and will impact user selection criterion, says Gartner.

For more information on these above technologies, you can read through the full report available here on Gartner’s web site.

Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments on how you think the mobile space will be impacted in the future.

Discuss

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This news came out a little while ago but I didn’t cover it at the time, and it’s cool enough that it deserves to be covered. I got it from my friends with NASA’s Fermi satellite outreach group. I used to work on Fermi outreach before the satellite launched and was still called GLAST (Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope), and it was fun trying to come up with lesson plans and educational efforts based on gamma rays (the Hulk came up a lot).

Anyway, one thing Fermi can do is measure the exact time when high-energy gamma rays hit its detectors. Not too long ago, photons from a distant explosion slammed into Fermi, and it found that all these photons arrived essentially simultaneously from the event, irrespective of their energies.

So what? So, Einstein was right. Check it out for yourself:

Basically, the idea is that some quantum mechanics theories propose that space is irregular, foamy, and bumpy on incredibly small scales, and this means the speed at which photons travel may change very slightly if they are more or less energetic. The difference is so small that it takes very long trips to detect it — imagine two cars traveling at 50 versus 50.5 kph: after a few seconds you’ll hardly see any difference, but over an hour they’re separated by half a kilometer. So the longer the trip, the easier it is to measure.

After 7 billion years, if those specific QM theories are right, two photons should arrive at very different times, but Fermi found that the high energy gamma rays hit Fermi less than a second after the low energy ones. This means that space really is smooth, or at smooth at scales smaller than predicted by those quantum theories. QM is still a solid model for the Universe — after all, solar panels, computers, and nuclear bombs do work — but this means that we need to rethink certain aspects of them.

I love hearing stuff like this. We have lots of ideas on how the Universe works, but we need observations of the Universe to know if we’re traveling down the correct path or not. Fermi has shown us that some of these paths lead to dead ends, and we need to look elsewhere for our journey to continue. And I will guarantee that not only will that journey go on, but we’ll find ever-more roads to investigate as we travel.

From swine flu to obesity to dangerous plastics, many issues that affect children’s health garnered media attention in the year 2009. Here’s a rundown of the some of the biggest and most important stories:

H1N1

This is the story that caught the most attention—for good reason. Not only is the H1N1 influenza virus very contagious, it appears to particularly affect young people. H1N1 caused more pediatric hospitalizations and deaths than we usually see with the seasonal influenza virus, which is very scary for parents (and pediatricians!). The virus led to countless school closings—sometimes to control the spread, and sometimes because there weren’t enough teachers left to teach!

We’ve had some good news recently: The vaccine, which appears to be effective and safe, is now plentiful. While there was some concern about resistance, H1N1 is still generally treatable with medication (although it’s rarely necessary). And the number of new cases is steadily dropping—but it’s important not to let our guard down completely, because nobody knows for sure what this new virus will do next.

Bottom line: Keep washing your hands, and get vaccinated.

Health Care Reform

We all know that our health care system costs too much money, and doesn’t reach everyone. But how do we fix it? That’s the question President Obama and others have been struggling with. There are no easy answers, and lots of competing stakeholders. It’s very clear that the response will need to be multifaceted and built on compromise.

Children’s Hospital Boston has been doing its part not only to help, such as by working with insurers to cut costs and improve care, but to make sure that the needs of children aren’t lost in the debate. Dr. Judy Palfrey, the current president of the American Academy of Pediatrics and a staff member of Children’s since 1974, has spoken and written eloquently about the health care needs of children.

Bottom line: This is an important issue that will affect each one of us. Stay informed—and talk to your elected officials!

Media, Technology and Kids

The media and technology are playing an increasing role in the lives of US children, and researchers are raising some red flags. Here are just a few of them:
•    Children who spend more than two hours a day in front of screens are more likely to be obese
•    Exposure to sexual content on TV has been linked to early initiation of sex—and multiple studies have shown that media exposure leads to more sexualized behavior in girls, and more dissatisfaction with their bodies
•    The more children are exposed to violence in the media, the more likely they are to have aggressive behavior
•    Excessive TV viewing is associated with poorer grades—and attentional problems
•    Some studies have linked early TV viewing (before age 3) with lower developmental scores
•    Teens who are addicted to the Internet are more likely to harm themselves
•    According to a Pew study, half of teens 16 and 17 have talked on a cell phone while driving, and a third of them have texted behind the wheel

The ramifications of all this for our children are tremendous—and scary.

Bottom line: Pay attention to the media and technology use of your child. Set limits—and enforce them.

Obesity and kids

Since 1980, childhood obesity rates have tripled. Right now, a third of US children are overweight or obese—and numbers are steadily rising. That’s an awful lot of kids destined to have heart disease and diabetes and all the other health (and social!) consequences of obesity.

Legislators and advocates are taking action, and we are seeing progress. More restaurants list calories, soda is coming out of more school lunchrooms, some companies are decreasing the sugar content of their foods and awareness is rising about the effect of ads for junk food and soda on children.

It’s a start, but it’s not enough; we’re going to need a grass-roots, comprehensive strategy to save our kids. That strategy needs to start at home; with two-thirds of U.S. adults either obese or overweight, grownups are hardly setting a good example.

Bottom line: Don’t ignore that “baby fat” or assume your child will slim down when he’s older.  Make exercise and healthy eating part of your family’s everyday life—now.

Dangerous plastics

This year, many states raised concern about Bisphenol-A (BPA), a chemical used in many plastics, including baby bottles. Scientists have been concerned for years about possible health effects, especially for infants and pregnant women. In fact, Canada and the European Union have banned the use of BPA in products used by infants and small children.

To avoid BPA, look for the number 7 inside a triangle on the product; if you see that, don’t use it. While you’re at it, avoid 3 and 6; they contain phthalates, which are also possibly dangerous. 1, 2, 4 and 5 are better. Try not to use plastic containers when you heat things in the microwave, and wash them by hand instead of putting them in the dishwasher, as heat releases more chemicals.

Bottom line: As we figure out which plastics are dangerous and just how dangerous they are, try to use less plastic in general. Use glass, ceramic, and metal instead. Buy fewer plastic toys.

What pediatric health issues were you talking about this year? Are there any pediatric health issues (or general health issues) that people weren’t talking enough about in 2009? Look into your crystal ball: What do you see as the big health stories of 2010?

While you’re here, check out U.S.News & World Report’s listing of the top 10 health stories from 2009.

LCD TVs have taken over the world. Market research firm DisplaySearch estimates in a new report that of the 205 million total TVs shipped in 2009, 140.5 million, or 69 percent, were LCD TVs (the rest were plasma and CRTs). In 2010, that percentage is forecast to rise to 78 percent for LCD TVs, when total shipments will rise to 218 million.

Total TV shipments have actually been on the decline since mid-2008 as demand for older CRT TVs plummeted. Only in the third quarter did the increase in shipments of LCD TVs make up for the decline in other kinds of TVs. For the year as a whole, DisplaySearch still expects a 1 percent decline in shipments in 2009, followed by a 6 percent increase in 2010.

Worldwide TV revenues fell an estimated 10 percent to $101 billion, from $112 billion in 2008.  But revenues are expected to rise in the first quarter of 2010 for the first time in six quarters.

As LCD TVs take over, the extreme price erosion they go through puts a lot of downward pressure on the industry’s revenues.  For instance, the average price of LCD TVs in 2009 is expected to see a 24 percent decline, which is counterbalanced by the increase in demand.  But after all is said and done, LCD TV revenues are only expected to rise 1 percent in 2009.

Total TV shipments in Q3’09 were up Y/Y on a unit basis for the first time in a year, and DisplaySearch now expects that global TV revenues will rise Y/Y in Q1’10—the first time in 6 quarters. As shown in the latest DisplaySearch Advanced Quarterly Global TV Shipment and Forecast Report, total TV shipments will rise from 205 million units in 2009 to 218 million units in 2010, a 6% increase following 2009’s 1% shipment decline.

As flat-panel TVs dip below $500, that triggers a whole new surge in demand both in the U.S. and abroad.  Much of the growth in TV demand is actually coming from China.  TVs have always been a tough business, and LCD TVs turn up the volume on the commodity aspects of the business.  But there are always new advances around the corner such as LED and “3D” TVs which will keep prices up at the high end.

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We recently wrote about the alpha launch of Spreezio, a platform that makes it easier for shoppers to make deals with local merchants. Today, the shopping engine has launched a new version of the site with a complete redesign and more intelligent technology.

Here’s how Spreezio works: you sign up as a shopper, and browse Spreezio’s product database, which includes over 35 million items, to find what you’re looking for, using the category icons or search bar. Once you’ve found a corresponding item, you can indicate how much you’d be willing to pay for it or what percentage of discount you’d expect in order to get you to go out and buy it from the merchants who can supply it. You then can send out your deal proposal to the local merchants (which Spreezio will locate on a map) and once they get back to you accepting or rejecting your proposal, you can decide if you want to make a short trip and purchase the item(s) either way.

Consumers get a more intelligent engine to not only bargain with local merchants for their desired items, but also local merchants get qualified leads from the inquiries (without the added expense of sales and advertising). The new interface has been upgraded to return only the best accepted or counteroffered deals from local merchants, weeding out some of the less attractive or expensive deals. And to increase the value of their offer, local merchants are allowed to offer “freebies” like free gift wrapping, free delivery, and more in their responses to win customer business, so it is not just based on price.

Of course, in order for the shopping engine to be appealing to consumers, it needs a large amount of retailers to sign up. In the past few months, Spreezio has accumulated a list of over 100 national, well-known retailers to accept or counter shoppers’ offers, including Macy’s, Nordstroms, Best Buy, Target, and Sears.

Marketed as an antidote to the recession, the shopping engine could work if enough consumers and merchants engage with the site. The idea is sound but the startup’s biggest hurdle will be gaining a loyal following in an already crowded online shopping engine field.

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It manages to never actually call out the device by name, but T-Mobile’s thrown up some internal verbiage mentioning that “Google… is scheduled to launch a new Android device in early January.” That would line up with information we’d previously received reporting to some sort of January 5 launch, and we can only assume they’re talking about the Nexus One here — though the name could still change by the time this hits retail channels. Interestingly, T-Mobile calls out that Google and HTC will be directly responsible for support on the handset, bypassing T-Mobile for everything other than wireless service — the great “dumb pipe” dream, realized. Stay tuned, because it looks like this is all about to get real.

T-Mobile makes internal mention of Nexus One (sort of) for ‘early January’ release originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Dec 2009 11:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The slow drip of Nexus One info continues at the FCC — just a day after we saw the Bluetooth desktop dock hit the database, the Bluetooth car dock we’d also seen floating around has turned up for inpection. And what’s this? The list of ancillary testing equipment used says the phone’s “trade name” is “Google Phone,” which is the first time we’ve seen that name used in a semi-official fashion. It’s particularly notable since this form was prepared by HTC employees and the phone is called the Nexus One elsewhere in the document, so you’d think they’d just put either HTC or Nexus One in that space. Of course, it’s also entirely possible that whoever filled out this form just got a little carried away, but c’mon — you wouldn’t lie to the government, now would you? Titillating wireframe pic of the car dock after the break.

Continue reading HTC Nexus One Bluetooth car dock hits the FCC; Nexus One trade name listed as ‘Google Phone’

HTC Nexus One Bluetooth car dock hits the FCC; Nexus One trade name listed as ‘Google Phone’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Dec 2009 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading Vestax Spin DJ controller gets reviewed, much approved (video)

Vestax Spin DJ controller gets reviewed, much approved (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Dec 2009 10:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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An internal T-Mobile memo from 12/29,

Google, with support from T-Mobile, is scheduled to launch a new Android device in early January. The Google Android phone will be sold solely by Google via the Web.

That pretty much says it. Now, how about a confirmation on the $199 price rumor?

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Saints head coach Sean Payton has officially declared his intention to treat Week 17 as a must-win. This from the Times-Picayune:

"I think it’s a good time for us to go on the road and put a good week
of work in and play a good Carolina team. So our plan is to play this game just like it would be the last game to get in or out of the playoffs, and that can’t be any more clear."

Of course that statement was made on Monday, long before the Bears toppled the Vikings (led by a receiver Chicago apparently didn’t need in the first 13 weeks). After the Vikes’ loss, New Orleans has now clinched everything that’s worth clinching in the NFC.

We’re still expecting Payton to follow through on his commitment, though. The Saints have lost consecutive games and their offense suddenly can’t manage to top 17 points. If you’re going to slide New Orleans skill position players down the ranks for the week ahead, do it because A) they’re struggling and B) over the past three weeks, Carolina has limited New England, Minnesota and New York to just 36 total points.

Payton may choose to rest Pierre Thomas(notes) (bruised ribs) and Jeremy Shockey(notes) (toe), but the other key pieces of his offense appear relatively safe.

• As for Carolina’s plans, head coach John Fox reportedly "has reason to believe there’s a chance leading rusher DeAngelo Williams(notes) might be able to play in next Sunday’s season finale." That’s hardly a guarantee, obviously. (Reason to believe there’s a chance Williams might, etc). But it’s a concern for any fantasy owner who’s been carried by Jonathan Stewart(notes) over the past two weeks. [Charlotte Observer]

• The Bengals are likely to rest starters to some extent in Week 17, but head coach Marvin Lewis hasn’t yet been specific. Cincinnati will face the Jets on Sunday night, and it’s a play-in game for New York. There’s a decent chance those teams will see each other again in the first round of the playoffs, so Lewis finds himself in a terrific tactical position. [Cincinnati Enquirer]

• The Cardinals still have a chance to earn the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs, but they’ll need both the Vikings and Eagles to lose in Week 17. (We’re no longer in the business of predicting Minnesota wins around here, just for the record). By the time Arizona takes the field on Sunday, the team might be eliminated from the race for a bye. If that’s the case, don’t expect much from your Cardinals or your Packers. [Green Bay Press Gazette]

• We don’t feel any better about this bullet than you do, but we’re duty-bound to report something on Texans running back Arian Foster(notes):

[Foster’s] effort Sunday was about production, a season-high 97 yards on 19 carries, and he said last week’s fumble against the Rams was far from his mind.

"I know I can play this game, and I feel the coaches know I can play this game," he said. "They put me on the field and I do what I need to do."

Coach Gary Kubiak was impressed. "Good players respond," Kubiak said.

Foster should have a significant role in Houston’s must-win home matchup against New England. Unless he fumbles, in which case he’ll have no role. [Houston Chronicle]

• The Patriots have clinched the AFC East title, they have no shot at a playoff bye, and they won’t be in a position to hand-pick their first round opponent. They could certainly choose to rest starters at some early point in Week 17. Predictably, Bill Belichick is not disclosing any information to the fantasy community: "I do what’s best for our football team. That’s my philosophy."

Got it. Thanks, coach. A case could be made that the best thing for his team is to angle for a second round playoff matchup with the Colts, not the Chargers. Or a case could be made that the best thing is to ride the momentum from last week’s win. Or a case can be made that Tom Brady’s(notes) health cannot be risked in game that New England doesn’t need.

We can only wait on Belichick’s decision, which will not be announced. As Brady told WEEI on Monday, "I’m sure Coach will have his own ideas. Down in Foxboro, it’s not like it’s a democracy. We don’t sit around and take votes." [Boston Herald]

• For the final time this season, we present you with the Rams Report Card. St. Louis’ secondary somehow avoided an "F." Bill Coats is a forgiving grader, but we understand he’s a strict disciplinarian. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]

—

Photo via US Presswire

The jury has spoken: She’s hot, but she couldn’t act her way out of a speeding ticket……

Megan Fox may Hollywood’s hottest “It Girl,” but the brunette stunner is also the silver screen’s worst actress.

The silver screen stinker outfoxed lackluster entertainers like Bandslam’s Vanessa Hudgens and the big screen’s Bella, Kristen Stewart, for the title of “Worst Actress of 2009,” according to a new year-end poll from AOL’s Moviefone.com.

The bombshell gave the worst performance of the year in the blockbuster summer sequel Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen — a film that earned the titles of Best Action Film of 2009 and Worst Film of the Year in this week’s poll. (Sidebar: Recession-era drama Up In The Air was named “Best Film.”)

Even the famously straight-forward Megan was critical of her performance in the first installment of the series in 2007, branding her now critically-certified bad acting “terrible.”

“I’m terrible in it,” the star told Entertainment Weekly last June. “It’s my first real movie, and it’s not honest and not realistic. The movie wasn’t bad; I just wasn’t proud about what I did.”

Perhaps not surprisingly, Megan also nabbed the title of the year’s “Sexiest Female.”

Filed under: Car Buying, Pontiac, Saturn

You’ve seen the dealer commercials before. “Now is the time to buy…. year end sale!” Well, if you want the Pontiac or Saturn of your dreams, this really is the best ever time to deal because it’s literally the last chance to get a new vehicle from these brands. The Wall Street Journal reports that General Motors is offering dealers $7,000 in cash for each new Saturn or Pontiac model sold until the deal ends January 4. Edmunds reportedly told the WSJ that it expects GM will have about 4,200 Saturn and Pontiac models by January 1.

That $7,000 in cash goes straight to dealers, meaning that a dealer can give you all or only some of the $7,000 off the vehicle if they so choose. But if you do get the entire $7,000 rebate, it could amount to 46 percent off the price of a new Pontiac G3 – you know, if driving a rebadged Chevrolet Aveo is your idea of excitement. But hey, how many new cars can you buy for $8,000 outside of India? A more compelling deal could be $7,000 off the price of a Saturn Astra. Getting a brand-new Astra with tons of options and a $13,000 price tag could be considered a steal.

The catch to the sale is that the vehicle will be sold as used since dealers will officially be the first owners of the vehicle. That could effect customers’ ability to purchase a new vehicle with a GM employee or supplier discount, but in the majority of cases, the $7,000 would likely be the better deal. Hat tip to Keerthi!

[Source: The Wall Street Journal | Image: Justin Sullivan/Getty]

REPORT: GM may let dealers sell remaining “non-core” vehicles as used with big discounts originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 29 Dec 2009 11:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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