As 2008 wraps up and we get ready for 2009, I've spent a lot of time wondering what kind of technology trends we'll see in 2009.
What technologies will thrive? What will falter? Will there be anything truly ground breaking next year?
The Future of Blu-ray
Toshiba-backed HD DVD has been dead for around one year now, but Sony's Blu-ray format has greatly struggled despite being the lone HD format on the market.
What to expect from Blu-ray in 2009? Even though manufacturers have cut prices, and more players have streaming capability, don't expect impressive sales figures for the first half of 2009. The current economic trouble and availability of DVD upconverters will help continue stifling global Blu-ray sales.
Despite the fact that DVD is an entrenched competitor to Blu-ray, I expect to see a sales boost take place at some point in 2009 -- likely in the second half of the year.
HDD vs. SSD
HDDs remain the most popular storage device used in our PCs and in the enterprise, but the rise of SSD technology is on the horizon. HDDs are cheaper and have larger storage capacities -- but SSDs are more reliable and run at cooler temperatures, but are expensive -- which one will win in the end?
I'll admit I'm a fan of SSD technology. Although there is such a high price gap between SSDs and HDDs, the performance advantage and reliability of the drives simply cannot be ignored.
Even so, don't expect SSDs to knock off HDDs in 2009, as it's going to take a couple more years of progression and price cuts before we see more SSDs in PCs and notebooks.
Please don't get me wrong: I'd love to have an SSD in each of my PCs, but it simply isn't feasible at this time! I'm going to wait for the price to drop and storage capacity to increase before making any purchasing decisions.
Expect all major storage makers to introduce at least one SSD product in 2009, even the companies waiting to see how the SSD market develops.
Console
The Nintendo Wii has dominated two Christmas seasons, and will likely dominate throughout 2009. Microsoft will continue to sell a decent number of Xbox 360 units, while the Sony PlayStation 3 will continue struggling despite the built-in Blu-ray player and superior hardware.
Now that the holiday shopping season is over, expect to see Wiis on store shelves, but as expected, go see more PS3 and Xbox 360 units available on store shelves.
Further price cuts for the Xbox 360 and PS3 could happen, although analysts are unsure how much further Sony or Microsoft will cut prices.
I could have probably written all day about different technologies that will likely have a good 2009, but chose just a few some of you would be interested in. Touch screen phones, OLEDs, higher capacity MP3 players, and similar CE devices should convince you to break out the check book next year.
What kind of tech-related news are you awaiting in 2009?
