Top 8 Mobile Trends of 2010

By: @Hilzfuld

As a person who spends a lot of his time on Twitter (follow me here), I read about all the latest rumors circulating the Web. However,  while there are always rumors about the next big thing, since the beginning of the new decade, things are really starting to heat up. Where do I start? The Apple Tablet, Microsoft’s iPhone killer, the iPhone 4.0, Google’s plans for Android, the list doesn’t end. I tried to make a little sense of the endless rumors and see if they all fall under certain categories. Seems like there are some very clear trends forming and a lot is going to change in 2010.

The following is a list of the top eight trends we should expect to see in 2010:

1. Apps, apps, apps: I don’t think there is a single person out there who has not noticed the shift in the mobile market. No  more “who can make the thinnest phone?” It is now “How many apps does this phone’s App Store have again?” Numbers have become increasingly significant, and from what anyone can tell, that is not going to change anytime soon. Want proof? Just watch Apple’s iPhone commercials. No mention of the hardware, nothing about the UI, all they focus on are apps, apps, and more apps.
2. Location-Based Services: They are all over the place. Foursquare, GoWalla, Yelp, and many more. I have to be honest, I have not yet caught on to this viral trend, but anyone who is anyone in the tech space is predicting that these services are in for a big year. If you are not yet familiar, these are apps on various mobile platforms that update your followers/friends about your current location. As soon as you “check in” to the local grocery store, your Twitter followers will know about it. Of course, if you check in to that store enough times, you become the Mayor (sounds silly, huh? I can’t make this stuff up). If I am judging by the number of tweets I see like this on a daily basis, this trend is taking off.
3. Augmented Reality: This is one of the cooler technologies out there. How we will actually use it is a different story. Right now, with apps like Layar, it is nothing more than a nice and very futuristic toy. I am not exactly sure how this is going to be implemented in 2010 to make it a practical tool. What I do know however, is that Augmented Reality is on the lips of all mobile developers, and we can expect to see a lot of it in the coming year.
4. 3D: Since CES or better yet, since Avatar, everyone is talking about it as the next big thing. There are those that claim that 3D has no future, and then there are those that claim that it IS the future. Whatever the case, there is no one that debates that all the big companies in the consumer electronics industry are trying to make use of this hot trend by introducing 3D products. Whether it is a TV, a camcorder, or a mobile app, 3D is huge right now, and we most definitely have not seen or heard the end of it for 2010.
5. Android Dominance: While we just said apps are the determining factor for consumers, Android is the fastest growing mobile OS on the planet, and its numbers do not seem to be slowing down either. Almost all the major phone companies have been jumping on the Android bandwagon and more are jumping in the ring every day. I am not sure what Google’s strategy is by releasing the Nexus One, which in theory, competes with other Android phones, but what is for sure, we are going to be seeing and hearing a lot more about Google’s mobile OS in 2010.
6. Tablets Galore: I do not recall so much hype surrounding the announcement of a product in a long time. When I say a “Long time”, I of course mean since Apple’s last major product release, the iPhone. There are of course many different variations of what this mysterious tablet will be called, what size screen it will have. and what features it will support. Then there are of course the rumors about the competing companies releasing their own tablet. What is for sure (well not for sure, but assuming there is some basis to the millions of rumors), we will be reading our magazines and books on tablets by the end of 2010.
7. Mobile Clouds: While cloud computing might scare some, since we are essentially trusting one of the world’s largest corporations with our most personal information (sounds like a Will Smith movie, which does NOT end well for us consumers), there is no ignoring the trend. Google was the pioneer in this space when they offered pretty much all services you once used natively, a replacement in the cloud. So, Google knows what you are reading (Google Reader), what you are doing every day (Google Calendar), what you are doing every minute (Google Tasks), where you are located every second (Google Turn by Turn Navigation), and even what you , your friends, and family look like (Picasa). However, Google is not alone now. Apple seems to be working on some cloud based solutions themselves, something that became apparent when they acquired Lala. Let’s just say that by the end of 2010, in addition to everything I just mentioned, there is a good chance your iTunes music will be stored in the cloud as well.
8. Interesting Alliances: Apple, Microsoft, and Google. Who are the good guys and who are the bad guys? Who is on whose team? Well that depends on the day. The latest developments are that Apple and Microsoft are holding hands (who would have ever believed such a thing could happen?) in order to beat their joined arch enemy, Google. Google started off as a small search engine, and became a company whose hand can be seen in almost any industry in one way or another. That did not bother Apple and Google until Google started stepping on their feet. This pretty much started with Google entering the mobile space with Android, and has not stopped with Chrome, Chrome OS, and the Nexus One. Basically, any product (software or hardware) offered by Microsoft or Apple has a competitor by Google. The latest rumors are that Apple is in advanced negotiations with Microsoft to make Bing the default search engine on the iPhone. However, as important as such a development might be to the consumer, the big question is what it means about the patterns and trends of these three tech giants in the coming year.

OK, these are the top eight trends as I see them for 2010. Almost all of them apply to the mobile industry as well as the entire tech space. Let’s meet back here at the end of the year and see how many of my predictions were accurate. For better or worse, I have a strong feeling almost all, if not all of them are spot on.

What do you think will be some other mobile trends of 2010? Please let us know in the comments.

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Hillel Fuld

Hillel is a tech blogger at TechNmarketing.com as well as an active Twitter personality @hilzfuld. He writes for many other sites including Mashable.com, Bitrebels.com, and works as the Content Manager of Dailyforex.com.