It’s hard to believe that the original iPhone was released in 2007.  So much has changed in the fields of mobile technology and application development.  Now amidst rising competition and consumer demands both hardware and mobile software developers are under more pressure than ever to continually roll out new and improved products.  This year saw the introduction of Siri by Apple, the voice automated “personal assistant” that will surely revolutionize the mobile technology industry.  This being said, 2012 has a lot of new offerings coming down the hatch in 2012.

The IDC, a mobile technology research firm, is going so far as to call 2012 the year of ‘mobile ascendency.’  The IDC believes that mobile devices will surpass home computers in both spending and number of units sold in the coming year.  They also believe that mobile apps will generate more revenue than the traditional PC market.

It only makes sense that new hardware will always be an improvement over the last model.  While 2011 brought technologies like NFC (near field communications) there wasn’t much done to fix problems like battery life.  There is news that Apple has filed patent paper work for hydrogen cell batteries, but there is no telling when this technology will actually be available on the market.  One thing is for sure you will start seeing hardware manufacturers focusing in how to improve battery life.  Another big deal is the improvements on screen resolutions that will make 720p the standard resolution for most devices.  The trick here will be to make smaller screen with 720p resolution.  Other things for consumers to watch out for are changes in screen size and design.  There are even rumors that Apple will be taking part in these changes with the iPhone 5.

Changes are also in the air when it comes to the speed of the next generation of smartphones. Higher clock speeds and new processors are at the heart of these speed increases and we will see an arms race of sorts between hardware developers to see who can create the fastest devices.  With quad-core processors already on the market and more becoming available in 2012 you will see an increase in the speed of multitasking, web browsing, application performance, and more.

Something sure to put a smile on consumer’s faces is the probability of decreased smartphone prices.  With the iPhone 3GS staying at the price of $50 competitors will most likely be offering smartphones that are equal to or less than that price.  In fact it is believed that by 2015 67 percent of all open OS devices will average $300 or less.  As the battle rages on between hardware and mobile software developers, price reductions will become a big part of keeping consumers happy in the coming year.

While technology is always changing and improving it seems that 2012 will be a big year for the mobile technology industry.  A battle for the market share and consumer confidence is pushing developers harder than ever to produce top of the line products at a reasonable price.   It will be interesting to see just how far forward 2012 takes the smartphone.

On The GoWARE provides mobile app development and training services for Apple iPhone, iPad, Google Android, and BlackBerry platforms.

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