Tech trends ahead
Energy efficiency and mobility will be the focus of technology this year, says Prasanto K. Roy

The year that went by set the foundation for those technologies that are expected to take off in 2009, with focus on energy efficiency and mobility — a bit greener and much faster. Here are some of them to watch out for this year:

Global positioning system and connectivity will take off in a big way — Illustration: Taranpreet

With India’s mobile telecom network expected to grow from more than 300 million subscribers presently to more than 400 million by the end of 2009, mobile applications (m-apps) will become central to entertainment, information, banking and other services — and, of course, revenues for telecom companies. You’ll see many m-payment services, and banks will urge you to use m-banking. The mobile will drive a host of applications: global positioning system (GPS), digital photography and music distribution. These started off earlier, but will really take off in 2009. Your phone will be at the centre of a converged, digital universe. With 3G technology, and 16 GB of storage, it’ll be your storehouse, your credit card, your identity.

The world is energy-starved, and this influences product development. Especially with mobile devices, which need to stretch battery life to handle 3G and multimedia. Laptops are moving from a four-hour battery life to eight hours. Low-power processors and displays, flash memory, and newer software will help more laptops move to the high-battery-life band. The ‘Energy Star’ logo will adorn appliances and adapters. There willbe stricter energy standards for appliances, and e-waste and disposal laws. But the disappointment will come from batteries, as this tech won’t see a quantum leap.

Lighting will shift to compact fluorescent lamps (CFL). They consume less power and last longer, and you spend less on backup. Their high cost means that we’ll see more power utilities subsidising CFLs. You’ll also see more LED lighting. Already popular for traffic lights and pocket torches, they’ll enter areas where long life and low power offset high initial cost: vehicle and aircraft cabins, and some homes and offices. One will also see electro-luminescence or EL, which has for years lit aircraft cockpits and Indiglo watches. EL panels cover large areas — backlighting a ceiling or wall, drawing less power than a small light bulb.

The oil price swings of 2008 were a gift for our planet. They forced the world to re-look at fuel-efficient cars. Even in the US, buyers bought smaller cars and hybrids. In India, the quirky Reva electric car generated interest again, and the Civic Hybrid was sold out on a discount scheme. The car tech of 2009 will centre around fuel efficiency. You’ll see more hybrids in India, and a range of electric vehicles — from buses to two-wheelers. The fuel cell will power some car models, globally. Other car tech for 2009 will include night vision, head-up displays, fog-penetrating laser scanners and an advanced anti-collision system from Mercedes.

GPS entered the Indian market in 2007 with maps. In 2009, GPS will enter sub-Rs 10,000 mobile phones and mid-range cars. Up ahead will be 3D GPS landmarks. Nokia Maps 3.0 is testing this for its devices. And new tech will combine real-time video with turn-by-turn directions, as with Blaupunkt’s TravelPilot 500 "SafeDrive" navigation. The iPhone may also integrate Google Street View images with satellite data, to provide a similar interface.

Till 2008, India was stuck with second-generation mobile tech. 3G, which Japan launched in 2001, came to India very recenty. It was launched by the state-run MTNL in Delhi. It will roll out in other parts of India, first from BSNL and then from Airtel, Vodafone and others by around mid-2009. 3G allows fast internet access on the move and fixed access in hard-to-reach areas, without cabling. It spurs new services like mobile video and multimedia. You’ll see PCs and laptops with built-in 3G. Many mid-range handsets are already 3G-ready, so you may not need to change your handset. But don’t expect WiMax taking off.

The way we interact with devices is changing. Touch is supplementing the keyboard. The iPhone’s multi-touch is reaching laptops. Lucid touch will let you point and touch from behind the display (so that your fingers don’t block the screen). Non-contact interfaces (remember Tom Cruise in Minority Report?) will emerge. And folding displays, and e-paper. But the disappointment is that speech recognition is still impractical.

High Definition TV sets are in many homes, but there’s no HD content. While Blu-Ray movie titles come in slowly (expect price cuts late in 2009), DTH operators will start off a few HD channels. The real move to HDTV will be around the Delhi Commonwealth Games next year. But the first HD push will come in at Indian Premier League 2009. — IANS