Top 10 Personal Tech Trends for 2008

35 kilometers wrote: "Year after year, personal technologies such as mobile phones and players have become better, smaller, and cheaper. The iPhone of 2007 made this year extraordinary. Don't rush, in 2008, there will be more developments in personal technology. Here are the top ten trends in personal technology for 2008.

1. Ultra-portable computers based on flash memory

Ultra-mobile PCs (UMPCs) are not unfamiliar, but their high prices make ordinary people hesitate. Asus's Eee PC will change all that. Based on Linux and flash memory, it costs around $300, has a beautiful design, and due to the use of low-energy consumption CPUs and solid-state hard drives, this device is very quiet. Asus's reputation in the Western market is not yet high enough, but it can be imagined that Apple and Dell will quickly follow up in this field.

2. Free internet access

Amazon and Sony both produce e-book readers, but Amazon's Kindle has a function that Sony does not possess: free wireless access. You can directly use this device to connect to the Amazon.com website to purchase and download books. Also, places including airports, Starbucks, and McDonald's will provide more free Wifi access.

3. Home robots

We've seen too many robots on TV and in movies. We should admit, many people hope to have a robot around to help with chores. But current robots are either too expensive or too clumsy. The current robot market mainly focuses on specialized industrial robots and robot toys. In 2008, we will see leaps in robot technology because someone proposed using wifi to connect robots with computers, allowing the computer to act as the powerful processor for the robot. This way, the robot can be very cheap but very smart.

4. Broad connectivity

People want more of their devices to be connected to the Internet, not just computers and mobile phones, but also MP3 players, e-books, digital cameras, watches, and even cars. In 2008, we can see increasingly broad Internet connectivity. The trend of broad connectivity was overshadowed by the iPhone and Kindle in 2007. Eye-Fi is a Wi-Fi access card that can be inserted into the SD slot of a digital camera, allowing the camera to instantly send photos to the Internet. In 2008, we will see more digital cameras that support wireless connectivity.

5. Multi-touch year

The sudden emergence of Apple's iPhone brought new interface technology to people: multi-touch. This technology allows touch screens to accept multiple inputs simultaneously. Multi-touch, combined with real substance simulation technology (screen-display objects move according to their actual weight, quality, and inertia), gesture recognition technology, will undoubtedly become a new human-computer interface trend in the coming years. In 2008, we will at least be able to buy two devices that use multi-touch technology: the next-generation iPhone and Dell's tablet computer equipped with software-based multi-touch technology.

6. Location, location, location

GPS has already become small and cheap. Beyond GPS, other positioning solutions are continuously emerging, including mobile transmission tower-based positioning technology (which Google Mobile Maps is already using), making it increasingly easy to display your location on Earth. In 2008, operators and Web2.0 providers will continuously launch new services to help you enjoy extended applications after position awareness. Social networks will integrate into the real world; for example, friends in your social network will sense that you are near them.

7. Electronic reading

More and more newspapers, books, and magazines will shift to electronic consumption modes. The most obvious example is that thanks to the enlargement of mobile phone screens, most mobile phone reading experiences will become increasingly pleasant, let alone the iPhone. Amazon's Kindle will bring electronic reading into the mainstream, and technologies like electronic ink will accelerate this trend. Meanwhile, the Internet's invasion of traditional media, such as Craigslist's impact on newspaper classified ads, will increasingly bind people to their screens.

8. Ubiquitous socialization

A group of teenagers with poor taste no longer need to wander around in gangs. Social networks will provide them with new venues. Google's OpenSocial will dismantle the barriers between different social networks. Social networks will be so ubiquitous that people will forget their existence. Some real-time social network services, like Twitter, will allow you to stay in touch with your family and friends at all times. Continuously emerging new services will engage more people in social networking.

9. Haptic feedback

Force feedback technology used in gaming has been applied in many fields. This technology allows you to truly feel the mechanical response of screen events through your joystick, such as flying, explosions, and shooting. Haptic feedback will also be applied to mobile devices like phones. You can touch the virtual keyboard on the screen and feel the strength of a real keyboard. Haptic feedback can also be applied to mobile device games. Early in 2008, you will see two phones supporting haptic feedback: Motorola RAZR2 V8 and LG Voyager. By the end of the year, you will see dozens of kinds.

10. Mobile phone TV

In 2008, watching TV on mobile phones will enter the mainstream. Apple's iPhone can display video streams well, and Apple's iTunes store sells TV programs. The upcoming Internet video advertising will make mobile phone TV profitable."