Coming new versions of Bluetooth, M2M and GPS have made it onto Gartner’s “technologies to watch” list for 2010 and 2011.
Bluetooth 3 and Bluetooth 4, due for release this year, should be on every operator’s radar, says Gartner.
“Bluetooth 3 will facilitate corporate and consumer functions demanding large bandwidth (e.g., downloading images and videos from handsets),” the research company said.
“Bluetooth LE [Bluetooth 4] will enable a range of new sensor-based business models in industries such as fitness, healthcare and environmental control.”
Gartner estimates that more than 75% of devices shipped in mature markets, such as Western Europe and Japan, will include a GPS by end-2011.
“Combining location and direction enables applications such as augmented reality viewers, which have started to emerge for tasks such as searching, social networking and tour guides.”
Gartner also predicts the cost of embedded M2M cellular modules will fall below €20 ($26.62) for large-volume purchases by the end of 2011.
“Although the M2M market is very fragmented, it's growing at over 30% per year,” says the research firm.
The mobile web should also be on operator hit lists, according to Gartner, which forecasts that over 85% of handsets shipped globally will include some form of browser by end-2011.
Mobile widgets are expected to also be important this year and next.
“Despite the lack of standards, widgets provide a convenient way to deliver simple, connected applications, especially those involving real-time data updates (such as weather forecasts, email notifications, marketing, blogs and information feeds),” Gartner states.
App stores will be a key short-term business driver. “App stores will be the primary (and, in some cases, the only) way to distribute applications to smartphones and other mobile devices,” says Gartner.
Platform-independent mobile app development tools, device-independent Security, HSPA/EV-DO and touchscreens are also Gartner’s top technology calls for 2010 and 2011.
However, it has dismissed Near Field Communication (NFC), which has been “displaced by other technologies that have become more significant in the short term.”