Dana "Rick" Richardson"I think it's going to disrupt the market much like the tablet did," he says. "Apple has figured out how to install control and utilize it without the geek squad. It will revolutionize home entertainment."
ITV is expected to utilize Siri, the personal assistant for the iPhone that is often the subject of amusement, if not ridicule. Richardson says Siri gets a bad rap because people expect too much of it. But with iTV, Siri's role is going to be "a very finite set of things" set as how to change channels and program a guide, maybe even create a person guide.
Viewers will be able to ask "Record this week's Notre Dame game" and the task will be accomplished, possibly some qualifying questions. Richardson says that can replace a process in which "People don't use the DVR's much because they don't know how" or deal with cables.
The major discussion on among publications and experts centers less on the technology than on Apple's ability to secure content. Richardson says the company's chances for success depends on "If they can provide entertinameint, local and national stuff and they provide an interface that really is simple."
And as technology continues to link to consumer devices, another big one emerging is Wi-Fi in motorized vehicles. Richardson predicts that all new cars will have embedded Wi-Fi in three to four years. A research firm, biResearch forecasts car system penetration is expected to increase from 11.4 percent in 2012 to 60.1 percent in 2017. Those are worldwide figures that are driven by an expected 80-percent penetration in the United States and Europe by 2017.
Richardson also touched on Wi-Fi in predicting that by 2015 25 percent of all Wi-Fi network traffic will be carried on 802.ac/ad networks. There is one kicker here in that this depends on Internet Service Providers souping up the speeds they provide since it would be pointless to have a Wi-Fi network operating at the 9.3 gigabits per second of data supported by the 802.ac standard with a slow ISP connection. Publications describe 802.ac as like 4G for home use.
Devices supporting 802.ac in the market "are there, but not in robust quantities," Richardson says. The publication Pocket-lint says that because of testing and actual hardware releases to market, it will not be a household standard until 2015. The speed, like most standards, can come down dramatically in the real world and the new standard requires new equipment.
And as to the other predictions? Here they are
*Rim and Blackberry will be acquired and disappear from landscape in three years
*Within two years smartphones and iPad-style slates surpass laptops as users primary computing device away from the home and office.
*With advances in Bluetooth within three years we will we see indoor navigation systems for large government and industry buildings.
*.CES like its predecessor Comdex will be marginalized within 4 years
*.Within two years, Google will embrace Apple's open-source Facetime chat protocol allowing Android users and iOS users to video chat
*8.Within three years, wireless carriers will offer network access to one person for use with several different devices
*By 2016, one half billion TV sets will be directly connected to the internet representing 20 percent of global TVs.
