More mobile devices will be sold than ever before and exciting innovations will make the mobile industry sit up and take notice next year. That’s according to mobile and telecoms analyst group CCS Insight, in its top predictions for the mobile and telecoms industry in 2013.
“The mobile industry is in rude health, and we’re optimistic about the next 12 months,” said Shaun Collins, founder of CCS Insight.
“We expect more smartphones and more tablets to be sold than ever before, and exciting innovations to shake up parts of the industry. But that’s not the whole story – competition will be fierce and not every company will thrive.”
Smartphone usage
CCS Insight predicts that the look and feel of smartphones will become less important with consumers.
“The experience and the apps on a phone will increasingly be the things consumers care about most,” CSS Insight said.
“In 2013, we think some of the most innovative mobile phone experiences will come from newly launched platforms like BlackBerry OS 10 and newcomers like Firefox OS and Tizen. They’ll offer fresh ways of doing things with your phone that’ll move the whole industry forward. Their innovations will underline why experiences, not hardware, are the future of the smartphone business.”
E-commerce giant Amazon will move into smartphone territory in 2013, if CSS Insight is correct, and Amazon may work with HTC on a range of phone products.
Digital natives at work
By the end of next year, the average household in Western Europe and North America is expected to have seven connected devices.
Devices are becoming more affordable, and when combined with the development of mobile networks, including free public Wi-Fi and the launch of 4G services, demand is set to continue.
CSS Insight also foresees the use of mobile and web technologies in business and government increasing over the next three years, as senior positions are filled by digital natives – people who have grown up with smartphones and internet access. This will have a profound effect on business processes and policies.
During, this time, the quality of life in Europe and North America will become more and more dependent on levels of internet literacy. It will no longer be about who’s online and who isn’t, but who can take full advantage of online services and social networks.
Living room revolution
More and more people are watching films and TV programmes on their smartphones, tablets and smart TVs, and CCS Insight predicts sales of set-top boxes in many regions will fall into terminal decline by 2015. The availability of services like BBC iPlayer, Sky Go, Lovefilm and Netflix are driving this trend, as well.
Established companies won’t want to miss out on this change in the living room, either. CCS Insight expects Microsoft to buy TiVo by mid-2014 and integrate its technology in the next-generation Xbox.
Future of mobile image via Shutterstock
