Technology Trends in 2009

While everyone has been coming out with their predictions for technolgies in 2009 the major theme has been common the rise of the websurfing on mobile and the coming of age of enterprise 2.0.Gartner's top technology predictions for Enterprise are enterprise mashups,cloud computing, web oriented architecture, unified communications and Green IT.But its PCMag which has come out with some very optimistic trends for technology for consumers in general in 2009 thats worth taking a look

1. Windows 7 (image above) will bring tech out of the doldrums. Sales of PCs and other tech will be down in the first half of 2009, but when Microsoft delivers Windows 7 by Q3 (as many expect), it could catalyze the tech economy. This new OS will drive businesses and consumers to new PC and notebook purchases by Q4.
2. The tech industry will be the first to recover. While the real estate and auto markets will be very slow to come back, the tech industry will recover fastest and be moving forward again by Q3.
3. The unemployed will start small businesses to survive—and will need PCs to make a living. We saw this happen during the last recession and also when some of the big companies downsized. Many of those laid off are professionals who could start specialty consulting services as well as new businesses of various types just to survive.
4. Netbook sales will double in 2009. People want cheaper laptops, ones that provide more mobility. Manufacturers should sell about 18 million netbooks this year, and at least another 36 to 38 million worldwide in 2009.
5. Smartphones will gain market share. By 2012, 75 percent of all phones sold in the US will be smartphones. Earlier this year sales of cell phones and smartphones grew, but under the current economic climate, sales for the latter part of the year seem stalled. Still, about 1.2 billion cell phones will have been sold worldwide in 2008.
   
6. Android will expand its reach. When we talk about Android today, we mostly discuss its role inside a "Google phone" such as the T-Mobile G1. Indeed, in the near term, Android's focus will continue to be smartphones. But by next holiday season we should see it in set-top boxes, digital televisions, and Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs)—and perhaps even desktop terminals.
   
7. Apple market share in PCs and smartphones will grow. Even in a downturn, Apple will grow its market share by at least 2 points in 2009. The ease-of-use message and the complete ecosystem are attracting more new customers to Apple stores, and the company will gain new Mac users at the expense of Windows vendors.
   
8. Microsoft makes a play to purchase RIM. If the Apple iPhone makes any serious inroads into the enterprise, Microsoft will make a bid for RIM and use it to enhance and solidify the company's enterprise smartphone position.