Top 10 Mobile Technologies

Gartner has identified 10 mobile technologies that it feels should be on every organization's radar. These technologies will evolve through 2011 and affect corporate strategies, are set to be adopted by a sizable number of customers and employees, and will tackle mobile challenges that organizations will face through 2011.


1. Bluetooth (3 and 4)


Two new Bluetooth versions will emerge by 2011: Bluetooth 3 will allow for data transmission, and Bluetooth 4 will introduce a new low-energy (LE) mode that will enable communication with external peripherals and sensors


2. The Mobile Web

The growth in smartphones with relatively large and high-resolution screens will encourage access to conventional websites, making it possible to deliver B2C applications using conventional Web tools without adaptation. In mature markets, the mobile Web, along with associated Web adaptation tools, will be a leading technology for B2C mobile applications through 2012, and should be part of every organization's B2C technology portfolio.

3. Mobile Widgets

Widgets exploit well-understood tools and technologies; have lower-entry barriers as compared to complex native applications. Thus, they can be a good first step to assess the demand for an application on a specific platform before undertaking expensive native development.

4.Platform-Independent Mobile AD Tools

Mobile platforms will become more diverse through 2012 five or more platforms may have a significant presence. Therefore, tools that can reduce the burden of delivering installable applications to several platforms will be very attractive.

5.App Stores

App stores will be the primary (and, in some cases, the only) way to distribute applications to smartphones and other mobile devices. Gartner believes that app stores will play many roles in an organization's B2C and B2E strategies.

7.Cellular Broadband

Continuous improvements in wireless broadband performance will increase the range of applications that no longer require fixed networking, and make cellular broadband a more effective fallback when fixed connections fail. Embedded cellular networking will become a standard feature of many corporate laptops, and will enable new types of network-connected devices and business models, such as e-books and media players

8.Touchscreens

Touchscreens are emerging as the dominant user interface for large-screen handsets, and will be included in over 60 percent of mobile devices shipped in Western Europe and North America in 2011. Organizations developing native handset applications may need to exploit single and multi-touch interfaces and haptics (tactile feedback technology that takes advantage of a user's sense of touch by applying forces, vibrations, and/or motions to the user) to give their applications a compelling and competitive user experience



10.M2M

Many network service providers increased their commitment to machine to machine (M2M) in 2009, so a good range of both national and multi-national M2M service options will be available in mature markets during 2010 and 2011. Key applications include smart grid, meter reading, security/surveillance, automotive systems, vending and point of sale, remote monitoring, and track and trace


10.Device-Independent Security

This isn't a single technology, but rather a collection of security technologies, application technologies and sourcing options that enable the provisioning of applications that are secure, but less tightly tied to specific devices and platforms, and that, in many cases, do not require security tools to be installed on the client.

For details, read the full article on Top 10 mobile technologies at the Gartner website.