Predictions for 2005?
Yep, it's the very first day of 2005, which means it's time to open yourself up to plenty of potential ridicule and embarrassment a year from now and make your predictions about what the year ahead holds for the world of gadgets and electronics. Is this finally the year Apple comes out with a video iPod? Will the Xbox 2 actually make it out on time? Does 3G take off? Will TiVo still be in business? You get the picture.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Mr. Fluffles @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
It looks like 2005 might be the year of PCI Express, even though they've been saying so for a while now. But at least we actually have some PCI-E boards on the market now.
Lenny @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
FIREFOX is going to get much bigger
theWHIPPINGboy @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
hmmm... well, i don't see a video iPod just yet, but on the other hand, the iPod mini will receive 5gb and other minor updates, creating the 2G iPod mini.
Ringback tones will be all the rage.
We will see more cars with built in bluetooth technology for hands-free cell phones.
Gmail will finally go mainstream
RAMOO @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
the ipod meets its challenge and sales begin to steady!? eh
Kyle Hayes @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
Cell phones will utilize the video technology for live conversations between two video enabled cell phones.
James @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
You know you want that Carbon Fibre Apple Powerbook G5...
ty @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
my prediction, apple will partner or buy tivo. either way tivo WILL stay in business.they are just getting started. can u say google of tv land
Permanent4 @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
More PDAs will come equipped with 1.0" or 1.8" hard drives for MP3 and movie playback. Archos will lead the way with the PMA400, and others will follow, which may be troublesome for every 5GB MP3 player that's not an iPod. Meanwhile, someone will port MAME to that same PMA400, but a PalmOS port of MAME will remain vaporware.
More smartphones will compete with the Treo with their own full-alphabet mini-keyboards. Brisk sales of Both Treo 650 and BenQ P50 will fuel this trend. Someone will finally give us a good Symbian phone with a full keyboard that isn't as lame tack-on like the SE P910's keyboard.
PalmSource still won't finish PalmOS 6 this year, so the next-gen Treo that emerges next November will have only incremental, evolutionary changes -- like more memory, a faster CPU and pseudo-multitasking that will actually let you catch an incoming call while running some other app.
Verizon's EV-DO will go nationwide and be a big hit, but they still won't reduce the prices on their data plans.
Someone big will buy Vonage. Another big player will buy out Netflix.
Neither the Red Sox nor the Patriots will repeat.
ABC will finally cancel "Alias," freeing up Jennifer Garner for a movie career. Then she'll drop Affleck faster than Microsoft dropped Bob.
Jonathan Marks @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
1. The year for Skype and skype gadgets/phones
2. Real Networks will lose more marketshare, may be the BBC will see the light and drop this partner...can you ever find the free player version?
3. Podcasting may grow up - if there are handy interfaces for people to make their own "radio-style" podcast.
4. May be the Asian broadcasters will wake up to the fact that they must get a continent wide emergency broadcast network set up - many lives wand economies ould have been saved with warnings of those tidal waves.
5. 5 Megapixel UMTS phones reach Europe...cannot believe why Sony Ericsson are still selling the P910 with a VGA camera.
6. Engadget will become the world reference for those serious about practical gadgets.
Happy New Year
Brandon @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
The next gen video game consoles will steal A LOT of the spotlight.
Karan @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
Cell phone services will turn consumer friendly and the competition between providers will drive prices down....but maybe cellphone spam and viruses will wreck all the fun.
Artos @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
I would like to see continued success for Archos. They seem to just always be ahead of the pack, but still not a household name.
The return of the PDA to America would be nice.
Maybe Apple will branch out. Their designs are to good to be just used for computers and iPods. Apple design inspired lamp or atleast external harddrive.
And I think we all are excited to see the PSP come to the States.
My New Year's Resolution: 1024 x 768
ty @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
anyone think PS 3 will have tivo built in?
aj @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
I have a feeling Apple is going to bust out some custom-designed (not U2!) iPods by Yoshimoto Nara or Louis Vuitton or something like that.
If Adidas can charge $300 for limited edition designer sneakers, Apple can bust out a Fendi iPod.
charlie @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
The new "headless iMac" will turn out to be a media centre. That's why there is no screen and no G5 in there. The breakout box will be something to do with this.
Reaper @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
Home automation will be bigger then ever this year.
Lenny @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
MicroDrive-equipped video cameras will finally come into the mainstream, cheaper and more practical than ever imagined.
msafi @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
i think audible.com will become more popular and their shares will go up.
mcaitlin @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
2005- Year of the DVR. As hyped as it's been for so long, 2005 will finally be the year of mass adoption. See rollout by largest cable operator Comcast...
Jos?ngel Acosta @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
The new soft-gadget, the BGMask Privacy Enhancer becomes popular, because let's you to chromatically encode the GUI of most popular programs, hiding your personal secrets, but enabling you to see it through decoder glasses in real time, also encoding graphics and images to avoid embarrassing situations when you're in the wrong place.
Z @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
Predictions for 2005...
1) Fruits and vegetables will be BIG this year. Electronics will be modelled to look like fruits and vegetables.
2) Microsoft and Apple are going to join forces and get into the farming industry, because there's a lot of money there - like, everyone has to eat - so farming will be another... cash cow. Get it? Cash cow!
3) We'll all be walking around with those body shields everywhere we go, like you saw in the original movie "Dune".
4) Palm is going to forget about handhelds altogether and set their sights on the fashion industry: making taselled gloves - they'll be the new runway rage.
5) Bill Gates and Paris Hilton are going to become bestest friends, and as a result, Bill is going to decide that thongs are "it". He will begin to wear only a thong and flip-flops around the office each and every day.
Nostradamus @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
With the surprising new and sudden war with China over Taiwan, production of PCs, Macs, monitors, TVs and electronics grind to a halt. The US moves out of the Mid East, in order not to fight a war on two fronts. Korea and Japan also join the fray, with England and most of Europe staying out of it.
Needless to say, new technology for the consumer is at a standstill, and sales are stagnant. Whatever you got, keep it, and try to preserve it. It will be a long, conventional war.
BTW, forget the Internet. It will be not only dead, but it's use will be prohibited on any level, except by governmental officials and the military.
Much later, once this is all over, there will be a new Internet, utilizing ultra wideband, with no spam or spyware (such things carry a penalty of Capital Punishment). Also, ownership of copyrighted works will be almost non-existant, so numerous rental options will prevail.
Cheers! And Happy New Year!
N.
Andy @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
I'm with Lenny, Microdrives will be all the rage for camcorders, with 12G capable of holding 3 hours of DVD quality MPEG2 video.
I predict CES2004 will have lots of good stuff.
Nobody will figure out how to build a device capable of streaming DVD, HD, Audio... shy of a HTPC.
802.11N will be huge
David Anthony (founder Urban Dance) @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
PDA smartphones (like the Treo, Blackberry and Ben Q) will catch on like the cameraphones did in 2004.
Verizon and Sprint will aggressivley market PTT and EV-DO.
Most of your local salespeople at your favorite electronic stores will actually know what wi-fi and bluetooth is!
OSX on a Sony VAIO.
AMD FX processors on every dell, Gateway HP etc....64 bit will be mainstream
Alienware computer mod retail stores :)
mrmg @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
They will annouce that the Phantom will be shown at E3 2006.
Russell Christensen @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
While Nintendo and Sony fight over portables, Microsoft will introduce the Minix, an ultra portable of the XBox 2 that will also double as it's controller.
By the end of the year, Microsoft will own four planets, including Earth (Moon not included) and will have started the Intergalactic Space Exploration and Software Interpolation De-Humanizing Consortium Team.
steve @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
Sony will come out with their 5th, 6th and 7th announcements that they are meeting the challenge of the iPod.
Geek Squad will grow explosively as many Windows users recognize they need professional system administration at home.
The headless Mac will cost $599 and will be available with a $499 very sexy 17" white LCD if you like. Many people will. Others will go in looking for a cheap Mac and realize a 17" G5 iMac isn't *that* much more.
Phiref3nix @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
1) Bill Gates will grow ever greedier. Soon buying out China for cheap labor.
2) I will finally buy an iPod photo and give up minidisk for good.
3) Ethel Murman jams Russian radar...
4) Amish people will be spotted carrying Apple Newtons and Sony Walkmans (the tape player).
Riskable @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
Long-range fixed wireless will finally catch on. It will probably include Wi-Max and at least one competitor, but I wouldn't rule out proprietary vendors either (e.g. Clearwire). Deploying Wi-Max is a lot easier than deploying a fiber network, so I wouldn't be surprised to see at least 10 major cities with huge (long-range) Wifi rollouts. Upload speeds will still be a major dissapointment.
The Toyota Prius will still have an insane waiting list. Honda's Hybrid Accord won't sell as well as Honda hopes. At the tail end of 2005 we'll see the Smart car as the other impossible-to-get vehicle.
Printer manufacturers will see absolutely horrible sales as more & more online photo sharing services catch on. Apple's next gen iPod mini will probably include a camera (with flash)... All new colors =)
Bluetooth 1.2 (stereo) audio will finally take off.
Bluetooth 2.0 will still be vaporware.
Personal video recorders in the form of small PCs will flop (i.e. MS Media Center).
Personal video recorders (non-Tivo) in the form of dedicated devices (like a DVD player) will really take off. There will be at least one lawsuit against a manufacturer to release the GPL source code to their system.
A hard drive manufacturer will finally achieve a 3.5 inch terabyte hard drive (and have it for sale).
Cable companies will be forced by either lawsuits or the FCC to share their networks with competitors. It will be their own damn fault too for starting to offer telephone service.
That's it for now. I'm sure I'll think up more later tonight.
me @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
TiVo will release new servie[s] that deal with NetFlix, a company which goes by the name Apple with purchase TiVo or have a partnership with them like they have with Moto, rumours are that Apple will be making a Apple branded TiVo using the TiVo service[s] but aswell add to the device.
Motorola Phones will be the hottest phones to get since they will be running iTunes and prob have a nice design assited by apple or not.
Sirius Satelite Radio will be as HOT as iPod was when it first came out, and it will do for radio what iPod did for portable mp3 players...
theWHIPPINGboy @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
Oh yea, almost forgot:
IBM Thinkpad quality will dwindle from being the absolute best laptop in the world, to something that looks like it was made by dell. Corners will be cut and prices will fall. Soon, college students everywhere will have an IBM Thinkpad because they are so cheap, and we will see crappy dell-esque commercials on tv, advertising the thinkpad's ultra-low cost. No longer will businesses and top executives have IBM thinpads, because they just do not make the cut anymore. In fact, they won't know what to buy because there is just no way anyone can fill the hole that IBM created when they sold their pc business to lenovo.
anonymous @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
Apple will come out with FireWireless in response to Wireless USB. They'll hype it up for a while, then slowly resign to putting WUSB on all of their computers.
pedrot @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
mozilla will go public
Emu Tree @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
- Google unveils a messenger client and goes mainstream with Gmail and possibly FINALLY stops calling Google News a "beta"
- BIG year for Apple:
- new iPods
- iPhone with Motorola
- cheap Mac
- G5 Powerbooks
- new operating system
- Quicktime 7 with H.264avc makes movie trailers look even more stunning then Quicktime already does, people start to admit that yes, WMV DOES look like crap
- iTMS hits 500 million songs by the end of the year, has over 2 million available for download
- Skype adds amazing-quality video, reaches more cell phones and even offers the video service on one or two of these phones
- Microsoft announces features are being removed from Longhorn to allow it to meet the new deadline of 2007, and that it will basically be a nicer-looking version of Windows XP
- Some 3000 viruses are unleashed for Windows XP. In January. Gates promises this is why they're spending so much time on Longhorn. The next day, the first virus for the Longhorn beta is let out
- Nintendo intros their new video game console with a touch-sensitive controller, microphone, camera and modem. They launch the system at the end of the year with a bunch of titles that don't use any of these things. But could have.
- Sony undergoes serious quality control issues with the PSP, losing them even more money. But they sell well.
- The DS'll do fine, and take off after Mario Kart and Pokemon (NOT Pokemon Dash) games come out
- Sony and Microsoft both demo their next generation game console. Both cost +$300
- TiVo starts making nicer-looking (*cough*Appleish*cough*) boxes, and revamps their program to be not just a TiVo but a media server to compete with Windows Media Center
- Kazaa will pull a Napster, Limewire will take off
- The first Blu-Ray and HDVD players will come out. Average consumers will be confused and ask what's wrong with DVDs. A few early adopters who crave high-high definition will pick them out, then be outraged a year later when whichever they bought ends up losing out to the other one
- The Incredibles DVD will take the cake for best of the year
- Firefox's market share closes the year at somewhere between 20 and 40%
Mike Sklut @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
video ipod - yes
XBox 2 out on time - not a chance
3G - not popular.. too much wireless proliferation
TiVo in business - hopefully bought by Google or Apple.... yes: I own some shares :)
ChillyWilly @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
wireless iPod with 60gb drive will make it's debut later in the year.
iMac Mini will be a hit when it ships in June. People will keep their monitor from their PC and chuck the PC or donate it to charity.
Consultants will find a way to capitalize on the surge of new Mac users.
1gb USB keychains will be under $50 without having to send in any mail-in rebate.
Sprint will find the distrubance that's been around my house since July and return the 4 bars of service I used to get.
Brian Norton @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
Major backlash against gadget industry. Consumers will get fed up with the constant deluge of useless new technology and there will be a major swing back to simplicity. Only gadgets that can demonstrate an improvement in quality of life will survive/thrive. RIM goes under, at least one more major cellphone merger (after sprint/nextel) and NEW model phones with b/w displays for longer battery life.
alps @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
flying cars -- it is 2005
noone @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
Aibo will become self aware, August 3rd, 2pm EST, and begin the systematic annihilation of all life on earth.
Michael @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
Apple and Motorola are going to release an mp3 playing cell phone with 1gig capacity, and by the end of the year there will be 4 gig solid-state memory cell phones on the market.
Wireless Firewire will be released under the name WI-FI-FI-WI
Hi capacity DVD burners (in both formats) will be released for about 500 dollars. In three years they'll cost 50.
Damage @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
1. iPod will get larger HDs but not better battery life. Video iPod will be late 2k5 or 2k6 as iPod Flash becomes the centerpiece.
2. Sony does MP3s on all of its walkman line, from its new HiMD format down to the venerable DAT and Tape format. Rumors of iTunes for Sony will persist, Apple gets all of Sony/BMG's music library at its disposal and Sony gets iTunes for its Walkman. Rumors of iPod Walkmans will persist as well, both shocking and aweing the world.
3. Microsoft purchases a stake in Creative and releases Microsoft branded DAPs. This will also feature XBOX/2 connectivity. Sony will follow with the PS2 connectivity, but a fatal bug will wipe not only the memory card on the PS2 clean, but also the media on the player.
4. Netflix will be absorbed by ??? after having Hollywood Video for lunch.
5. Philips will sue the pants of EMI for its bugged CD and wins, EMI counters by calling its copy protected CDs... MDs (MusicDisks), then get its pants sued by Sony. Not really, but expect a new name for protected CD formats to avoid CD name scheme or whatever.
6. Matrix Online Game will be a hit for the first three months or so, then in a twist of irony, Crash horribly as one of the players who has been deemed the "one" does not return to the source code. All computers connected while this crash occurs will have its HD formatted, its CPU fry, and their iPods play music backwards, turning them into some sort of satanic cult members, at least this according to mainstream press. G4TechTV calls this a minor incident.
7. Nintendo becomes Sega, pulls out of hardware market after Revolution flounders. Sega buys Nintendo, debuts SoMari!
8. SNK re-releases its NeoGeo system in a plug and play ala Jakks' Plug Play system. King of Fighters 200X will still use sprites from 1994.
9. 3G Takes off in the US as P2P and/or Torrent sweeps the mobile market. Bulk of that traffic? What else? Porn and MP3s.
10. Apple buys Apple Records.
MaxMojo @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
1.) OLED display PDA's with a 20gig microdrive, & SVGA output.
2.) Nintendo will reveal a new absurdly cute nextgen pokemon marketing device/console with controllers that double as yet a third hand-held system.
3.) SNK and Sega team up on something.
4.) The Enix Side of Square/Enix will finally be absorbed/destroyed like that girl was absorbed into Akira, sort of a bloody screaming mass of Dragon Warrior(Quest) fans.
5.) The XBOX will finally take off in japan. But mostly in the first ever XBOX tossing contest, an American will come over and burninate the competition.
Galley @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
Opera 8 will be released in January or February, with it's new friendly license terms, and a special $24 sale price.
RealPlayer 11 will launch. The RealPlayer Music Store will continue to offer 192Kbps AAC files for sale, but will also offer "unlimited music rentals" for $12.99 per month as part of its new and improved Harmony technology.
Apple, feeling pressure from RealNetworks, finally begins to offer 192Kbps tracks, but only on new releases and newly added albums. (And you still won't be able to "browse the aisles" while previewing a track) D'oh!
Apple will license its dock connector to all of its competitors, so it quickly becomes the standard. Car stereos will come equipped with firewire ports so an iPod or similar device can easily be plugged in and controlled via the head unit. Auto manufacturers will begin to design autos with in-dash docks.
Someone, probably not Sony, will release the first SACD-compatible car stereo for less than $300.
The Sony PSP will be a huge success; Nintendo DS sales will plummet, although the Gameboy Advance SP will continue to sell decently. Nintendo shocks the world on Dec. 31, announcing that it will abandon the hardware market and become a software company, finally bringing Mario and Link to the PS3 and PSP.
PalmOne will release a Treo 700, running the Cobalt OS. It will be similar to the 650, but include WiFi.
WEA finally wakes up an begins to produce SACDs. Rhino prepares for the 40th anniversary of The Monkees in Sept. of 2006 by re-releasing all of their albums on hybrid SACDs. The Monkees are FINALLY inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. :-)
WEA, after listening to their customers, and seeing good sales of its "The Iron Giant - Special Edition" DVD, finally abandon the dreaded "snapper" case.
In Q3 2005 Apple will release a 5G 40GB iPod with a color screen, and Bluetooth 1.2 (or 2.0) and support for wireless headphones. The case is now made of aluminum, similar to the mini. It will sell for $299.99. An optional $69.99 LCD remote includes a scroll wheel with full control of the iPod. The remote will work on older iPods as well.
TiVo will drop their subscription fees to $4.95/month for every unit in the home, to match DirecTV's offer. Sales will skyrocket.
Ernesto @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
1. iPod will continue it's dominance, all models will be colour screen
2. PDAs are going to be "so 90's", smartphones are in
2.5. WLAN and full keyboards are going to be next big things in smartphones
3. Firefox and OpenOffice are going to own Microsoft
4. Apple and Linux gains little marketshare(not much, but little)
5. P2P will suffer because of goverment actions all over the planet
6. Nintendo DS is going to sell 4 times as much as Sony PSP
Orangefizzlebiz @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
The age of global communication will continue to advance and get faster and more complex, and a new era of mass storage will arise, leading to an eventual network of massive data files being rapidly sent/received
Riskable @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
The first TVs with embedded Linux will ship. They will support CableCards and have built-in hard drives. The next generation of these HDTVs will get things like instant weather reports and traffic updates.
Splenda will take off like nobody's business. They will complete their new manufacturing plant and the makers of Nutrisweet will lose thier lawsuit against Splenda. Splenda-based candy and desserts will be *EVERYWHERE*.
The Red Sox will not win the World Series.
A US carrier will finally start selling a Linux-based smartphone (probably Tmobile or Cingular). Mast likely made by Motorola.
XM and Sirius will have a new competitor: Cingular. Their new UMTS network will go live in a lot of cities and the new cell phones that support it will be able to stream Internet radio at 128kbps (maybe higher). People will hook up their phones to their car stereos and bask in the infiniteness of Internet radio.
The first cellphones with liquid lenses will debut giving us the first cameraphones with printable output.
Flash-based video cameras will finally take off as 4+ gig SD cards become available.
Ultralight laptops will be the inexpensive
ones. The expensive kind will be the ones with desktop processors and 17 inch displays.
OpenOffice 2.0 will debut and will finally start to seriously erode Microsoft's marketshare.
Solaris 10 will be a flop. Sun will spend the year wasting time with it instead of focussing their efforts on Java desktop--leaving it to stagnate.
The first devices with miniature projectors will debut. Probably cameras at first, followed up by cell phones and laptops.
Ringback tones won't be as big a hit as everyone expects.
Tablet PCs will finally coalesce with regular laptops as they become more laptop-like (with keyboards and trackpads).
LED lighting will start to really take off. Home Depot and Walmart will start selling plug-in LED lightbulbs that never expire and use up about half as much power as compact flourescents.
Linux will take off as the skill of choice for job listings. Related to this, Novell's SuSE Enterprise Server will take off as a replacement for Microsoft server products.
SoonerDude @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
Oklahoma will beat USC and win it's 8th National Championship on January 4th.
Alexis @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
The gap between the millions of people possibly concerned by new gadgets and the 4+ billions who will never get a chance to even approach them will continue to grow.
David @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
Tivo is here to stay and video phones is going to take off. XBox 2 coming out on time..... you got to be kidding.
Marian @ Dec 19th 2005 12:08AM
I hardly wait to see the new Apple computer - the 500$ one.