1) Portable vs. Pocketable. In the dynamic spread of screen sizes between the 2~3inch smartphones to the large laptop and PC LCD displays at the 15 inch level, a new category of tablets have now emerged in what was the VOID of displays between the 5inch and 15inch level.  These are portable and the differences with the pocketable smartphones is a unique trend that has emerged in 2010 and will explode in 2011.  It has been over 18 months in the waiting of when Tablet devices will become main stream and Apple has led the way with this new category. Not only is this Void being filled but the sweet spot of  pricing In this trend there will be the following factors that were described by the CEA team.   1) Differenciation 2) Use Case Scenario’s 3) Integration of Sensors 4) Close Cousins with the eReaders… Collide or co-exist.

2) The intelligence of Things With connectivity, advances in processing power for these portable devices the trend of new found intelligence of devices will be key in 2011. They highlighted some key factors effecting the overall integration of intelligence.  1) GPS 2) Connectivity 3) Computing power 4) Network effect of the App Ecosystem. As smartphones and devices get more and more smarter, there will be a plethora of apps that link hardware to things…. for instance, connecting your smartphone to a thermometer to gage when your BBQ meat is ready, or using devices for health check and blood pressure monitors..

3) Miniaturization and Sensors Sensors are now going to make the key differences in connectivity and usage cases for new emerging content.  From pressure sensors being use to gage height as a complement for GPS, to all kinds of augmented usages. Augmented reality was not discussed in the press review, but it is something I do believe will be a key content area in 2011.

4) Applications Although we saw a boom for Apps in 2010, the evolution will mature with the business models of  the App publishers as they integrate into all different aspects of a users world. From Shopping/ Retail Apps to accessing the home network.  They will control multiple devices and have network effects creating a broader experience.  Four areas to keep an eye on; 1) Content Apps 2) Connectivity with the home 3) m-commerce 4) Apps enhancing the hardware experience. As Tablets and Smartphones continue to occupy the leading category of the CE world so will the volume of growth. CEA estimates that Tablets will hit 30Million units , with eReaders about 20M for a total of 50M devices in 2011

Some thoughts of key trends and areas of growth for 2010.

1) Facebook will move from the major online social media player to a very focused mobile application and developer platform.

Facebook Connect will take on new meanings.  Mobile Advertising will become the a key social media/ direct marketing/ brand monetization player in the mobile industry. Maybe even stronger then Google/Admob?

2) Smart Phone Critical Mass. Smart phone penetration will continue to accelerate with Apple again surprising us amongst the massive competitive releases from Google, Nokia, RIM and Palm.  2010 will leave us with >20% ( maybe >30% US)  of all devices in the market to become Smart Phones.  In 2009, about 17% of the US market had smart phones.  It has been predicted by Strategic Analytics and others that 50% of the market will be using smart phones by 2013.  So 2010 is the  turning point year in the industry as the massive transition will start as iPhone/ Android- Nexus One/ RIM/ Palm and Nokia devices compete like crazy that drives user adaption very quickly over the course of the year.

3) Mobile Ad Server and Mobile Ad Network convergence with Online will follow streamlining in the Agency and Marketing world. Mobile as a stand-alone media strategy and channel only will be less and less apparent… AdMob/ Quattro were the first to go, but the other mobile ad networks will be part of the continued M&A frenzy of the Online players looking to cross-over to mobile.

4) Cross-Border innovation and Cooperation will take a new form in the mobile space.  A spree of unexpected M&A from Asia to the US, and visa versa will solidify the need for operational interdependence in the mobile space. Regional Carriers and cross-boarder alliances…. I particularly feel this to be the case with  Korea, Japan and Taiwan first over China which will  happen a bit later.

5) Social Brand Marketing Innovation will continue to occur around the unique engagement and real-time platforms of Twitter, Google Wave and Bing, thus solidifying a more established budgeting process for brand marketers in digital with social media, search.  This could be the year of media buy transition from Traditional to Social. The rise of the social media agency and more association of engagement to pricing models… Intuition models? WOM models?

6) The innovation focus on Applications ( iPhone)  will continue, but there will be several new devices in the market that will begin to challenge this with the pure Web experience! Namely Nokia/ Android….HTML5? Flash light 3.1?  The App store frenzy will continue.

7) Real-time search will continue be a major topic and key to the “mobile moment”. We will see a unique convergence with entertainment and maybe event the music space.

8) Live streaming! We started the trend in 2009 with the U2 event and a variety of others, but live streaming now will ins 2010 become a basic requirement and model for events. Enabling increased revenue opportinities for the “mobile moment”.

9) Location will be a key factor in direct marketing performance pricing, and new innovative inventory opportunities will become mainstream.  Augmented Reality, Navigation Advertising,  Social Location….. map integration in media properties and publications will be standard.  It will take time for this to really evolve and fill as a true inventory source, but the critical foundation will be set it 2010.

10) User-Generated Content portals and Mash-ups will continue and verticalize.  There will be some big surprising new UGC solution portals for sale in 2010.