Tech Directions - March 2009 - (Page 14) nected multimedia “smartphone” that not only lets you talk and exchange text messages with others but also do e-mail, surf the Web, take photos, listen to music, watch videos, play games, take notes, keep your schedule, do calculations, and more. Another popular smartphone with PC-like functionality is the BlackBerry (www.blackberry.com). As with personal computers, the biggest benefit to smartphones is their customizability. Independent software developers create programs, some free, some pay, that let you do more and more things, and the number of such programs available will only increase. ● Netbooks will increase in popularity. These low-cost, lightweight, energy-efficient, and ultra portable notebook computers occupy the space between smartphones and larger laptop and desktop computers. They’re designed primarily for e-mail and web surfing but can also run word processing and other office applications over the Internet using the cloud computing model. One popular line is ASUS’s Eee PC (eeepc.asus.com), while other manufacturers include Hewlett-Packard (www.hp.com), Dell (www.dell.com), and Lenovo (www.lenovo.com). ● Personal computers and televisions will continue to converge. This merging of PCs and TVs has been promised for more than a decade, with as yet only incremental steps being taken. More steps will be taken. An example is Yahoo’s Connected TV (connectedtv.yahoo.com), a project designed to let you view web sites at the bottom of your TV screen while watching TV programs or movies. Boxee (www.boxee.tv) is a startup project designed to let you watch TV shows on a laptop computer and streaming content web sites on a high-definition TV while communicating with friends through social networking features. Related to this report but independent of it, JWT’s web site (www. jwt.com) includes snapshot descriptions of 60 important trends it has identified regarding technology as well as other aspects of society. 14 techdirections ◆ MARCH 2009 http://www.chiefarchitect.com/FreeTrial http://www.blackberry.com http://www.chiefarchitect.com/FreeTrial http://eeepc.asus.com http://www.hp.com http://www.dell.com http://www.lenovo.com http://connectedtv.yahoo.com http://www.boxee.tv http://www.jwt.com http://www.industrialpress.com http://www.jwt.com http://www.industrialpress.com http://www.industrialpress.com
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