The origin of all cutting edge technologies all begins in the eyes-eyes set on consumer life. Eyes observe consumer socializing. They then spot consumers connecting to the Internet for web surfing. So the messenger takes these two images to take them up to the "higher ups". The brain receives the information and says, "Can't we make them socialize in virtual space Play with this 'Internet' thing and see if it can allow users to socialize through it." This soon bears sensational products, and the roadmap of next few years of the market is drawn. Microsoft IT Trend 2010 report last year predicted the demands of cloud computing, green IT, new UX technology, and socialistic applications to name only a few. Reports of global leading companies, as expected, weren't so different from these conclusions.
Is Korea thinking what the World is thinking
Samsung SDS last year also selected 7 IT Mega Trends for 2010 via thorough research and studies. Executive Vice President of IT R&D Center, Park Seung-an stated that the lucky seven IT Mega Trends are ubiquitous collaboration, mobile platform, convergence in cloud, data privacy, and green by IT, immersive interface, and predictable intelligence. Samsung SDS has been announcing several keywords consistently for the past six years. Those keywords elaborated the picture of socialization of the IT world that enables interactivity for one. Another keyword of security and risk management has constantly been raised to back up the company's strength. High mobility and the combination of Web 2.0 and mobile, importance of eco-friendly technologies for sustainable growth, and cloud computing are the rest of the key factors that revisited the annual report of Samsung SDS' IT Mega Trends.
It is obvious that these seven seeds are already planted in IT valley. How will they grow into magnificent trees
Ubiquitous Collaboration
With the continuous development of technologies and services that facilitate communication and strengthen relationships among individuals, people will be able to produce creative information and perform their jobs efficiently through cooperation, anytime, anywhere, with any portable device.
Mobile Platform
Mobile devices that have been used for communication will be equipped with technologies including sensors, augmented reality, and Metaverse, and develop into the "contact point of user interface." As a result, they will grow into platforms that enable implementation of new mobile applications that did not exist in the desktop environment.
Convergence in Cloud
With the increasing awareness of cloud computing and the evolution of infrastructure and development environment, the existing IT area and traditional industries will converge based on cloud, which will give rise to more and more new services that can enjoy the benefits of cloud computing.
Data Privacy
The spread of high-performance mobile devices will increase mobility of data, and the introduction of cloud computing will transfer data into the cloud. As a result, greater importance will be placed on storage, preservation, recovery, and ownership/access management of data for protecting personal information and ensuring work continuity of organizations.
Green by IT
Going beyond Green IT, which is about reducing energy consumption by enhancing efficiency of IT itself, with an aim of curbing global warming and environmental pollution, there will be new attempts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by improving the non-IT area efficiently through IT. As a result, a leading role of IT in addressing environmental and energy issues will be more important.
Immersive Interface
With the growing importance of design and usage in differentiation of products and services, the development of virtual environment, augmented reality, and motion recognition technology will create an innovative user interface. The new form of user interfaces will provide easy access to users and will allow them to immerse themselves in the advanced technology.
Predictable Intelligence
The business environment is getting more unpredictable and complicated on the global network that was created with the development of transportation, logistics, and ICT. As a result, great importance will be placed on information processing technology that allows a proactive response to future environment by collecting and analyzing data of the past and present and producing reliable information for prediction.
Once these seeds grow into magnificent trees, they will have the stronger roots by then with new branches and fruits. "Key content does not always change every year, but keywords that constitute the mega trends are developed, divided, or connected.
The report for the outlook of 2011 mega trends is coming in a few months," Samsung spokesman continued, "Today, with the rapid development of technologies and the creation of a global network, the business environment is becoming more unpredictable. Under these circumstances, predicting the future of technologies and identifying key trends will help businesses remain competitive and make appropriate response to changes."
Seven Mega Trends and Smart Phones
Smart phones enable anytime anywhere interaction, encourage the development of mobile platforms as well as convergence in the cloud, and stimulate solutions of data privacy. Since smartphones function as everything from a notebook to a personal computer, they too promote green IT. Immersive interfaces also have a string attached to the development of smartphones. And last of all, statistics based on collected data, predictable intelligence is provided through mobiles in many cases. Therefore, smartphones fall into all seven categories of the mega trend as well.
Who's who among smart phones
They all are smart- the question is which one suits individual's preferences. Korea IT Times invited three early adopters to learn about the top five smart phones in the global market: BlackBerry, iPhone, Galaxy S, Desire, and Nexus One.
Ask Reviewers
"One of the great things about Galaxy S is the convenient file transfer from PC to a mobile phone via USB cable," said D.H. Kim. "So does my BlackBerry," said Y.H. Chang. After witnessing nearly an hour of early adopters' dissection of smart phones, one thing is for sure: Love is blind.
----------- editor -------
Blackberry for ubiquitous worker
Work at work, work at home, work at gym, work on the road- the story of a mad man begins with Y.H. Chang (Elliott) and his faithful partner BlackBerry. "I use board instead of touch. I'd say the distinct advantage of the BlackBerry is its QWERTY keyboard. The typing speed I get with the BlackBerry is not much different from a PC." Elliott commutes to work from a great distance. On each trip back and forth to work, he stores springing up ideas into his Blackberry. He has sent a column to a newspaper company once with his BlackBerry, created hundreds of documents that were eventually published as a book, and has written a countless number of emails.
Taking it a step further, BlackBerry upgraded Elliott to a ubiquitous worker by global standards. "I was quite amazed to see how I could do the same amount of work I did in Seoul on the other side of the world. During my business trip to the States, I used data roaming to do all business related data transfers and e-mail writing."
Little screen, web browsing speed, and image quality should be improved, however. Lack of a conversation mobile banking system for Korean users also has been compromisable for Elliott because of its QWERTY keyboard and help in job efficiency.
iPhone for Men of Wonder
Everyday is a new day with new applications for iPhone users. Users often don't mind its inability for personal settings because of its daily application shower. S.P. Hong said, "I myself spend a lot of time on the road, so iPhone is really the best smartphone to have. Sensational games, learning aids, and fitness training advisors are all downloadable within a few minute of the initial desire for them."
iPhone's sleek and thin design is also a good merit. Some positive reviews noted its glass not being easily scratched. Fast, menu-free, and dead simple operation are other strengths. For men of wonder who love trying new things, the iPhone is appealing.
One million iPhone users, however, are expecting iPhone to loosen up some serious limitations. S.P. Hong added, "It would be great if we could personalize the phone settings to our own taste. For Koreans, Korean keyboard input, like cheonjiin is preferred."
Android Phones for Freemen with a divine style
D.H. Kim has three phones: HTC Desire, Galaxy S, and Google Nexus One. "I like the idea of designing my phone to my personal taste. But such freedom equals responsibility as well. Constant upgrades for one and personalizing phone settings with the newest font style and background picture are the others. But I am not bothered by these responsibilities, because it's my phone, my masterpiece."
An android phone like Galaxy S in particular, doesn't require hacking to change UI since it can simply download the application. Galaxy S also has widget function that adds convenience to the users. "I am a sports lover, so DMB function of Galaxy S is one thing that I've really been waiting for in new smart phones. The screen is wide, which helps me to maximize the pleasure of watching flesh contents as well as live television programs," D.H. Kim continued, "Easy transaction of video files and multiple video file format are the other positives about Galaxy S."
All three Android phones provide fast Internet speed and access to a lot of content. HTC Desire and Google Nexus One have also been gradually increasing their sales record for those who prefer to be one of a kind.
