Wishes for the future often accompany the celebrations that ring in the start of a new year. And for technology fans, there's plenty to put on the wish list.
For while this year was a big year for product rollouts, in some ways it was transitional: offering us mere glimpses of the better things that might come. Here are a few.
● An iPhone for the rest of us
Apple's iPhone was clearly a hot item this year, but there was just one problem: only those with deep pockets could justify the splurge. In addition to paying around US$500 for this stylish, versatile device, some had to switch cell carriers, since Apple did not have agreements in place with most network providers.
Could we actually see a cheaper iPhone next year? Some think it's inevitable if Apple hopes to achieve wider market penetration. The company does, after all, have a history of making a hot product more affordable. The iPod MP3 player was followed-up by the less expensive Nano and other models. Why not an iPhone Nano?
● A better Vista
Here's to hoping next year is a "do over" year for Windows Vista. Although Microsoft's biggest product offering of this year is selling well, that's mostly because computer makers are delivering it by default on most new PCs and notebooks. Sales of Vista at the retail level and to corporations have been relatively weak. The reason: Vista just doesn't offer enough compelling features to warrant an upgrade from Windows XP.
To make matters worse, Vista's interface overhaul means that users need to put in some significant time relearning things that were second nature in XP. Performance and compatibility have also been widely criticized.
But Microsoft has a chance to make things better with Service Pack 1 of Vista, available now in a beta (pre-release) version. The final Service Pack 1 of Vista is due early next year and will reportedly address concerns about sluggishness and compatibility.
● Faster wireless
The 802.11n wireless networking protocol has not yet been ratified, but it's close. Next year is expected to be the year that 802.11n - which provides wireless networking speeds that easily rival those of today's common wired networks - is finally made official and interoperable products start appearing.
The advantages of 802.11n are significant. With ultra-fast wireless connections, users will not only be able to stream video and music from hot spots around the world, but worthwhile in-house networks can be formed that allow all computers to share files and be backed up safely and quickly. Current 802.11g wireless connections are good for checking e-mail and surfing the Internet, but not much more. May next year be the year that 802.11n truly frees networked computer users from wires.
● An end to the high-def wars
Blu-ray versus HD DVD: the war over a high-definition video standard has been raging for years now, and there's no apparent end in sight. The real victims are consumers with high-definition television sets but no affordable way of playing high-def DVDs on them. Buying a Blu-ray or HD DVD player means two things: locking yourself into one standard over the other and paying a big price premium for the privilege. A typical Blu-ray DVD player costs between US$600 and US$1,000, compared to your average DVD player of just around US$100.
It's true that hybrid Blu-ray/HD DVD players are starting to appear - but again at a price premium. Some pundits predict that the movie studios will pressure the players on either side of the standards war to come up with a single format next year, since no one believes that wide consumer adoption of players will occur until there's a unified standard. Here's to hoping those pundits are right.
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