Gadget Reviews, Product News, Electronic Gadgets

iPad 3 - The much rumored next generation iPad should be coming sometime in March or April, and it promises to have a much higher resolution with an IGZO display, a better battery, and a faster A6 processor. There’s no telling if Apple will actually call this iteration the iPad 3, and there have been rumors of both a lower end and a smaller iPad.
iPhone 5 - There’s no set date for the iPhone 5, and it could be released as soon as summer 2012 or as late as fall 2012. What is certain is that the iPhone 5 will have a redesigned form factor and the same A6 processor as the iPad 3. It also may feature one of the new, thinner IGZO displays.
Kindle Fire 2 - Amazon is working on the next iteration of it’s bargain priced Kindle Fire, and a new version should fix many of the design issues that people had with the original. An update could add a camera, 3G, and a faster processor. Amazon is also working on a larger version of the Kindle Fire, and at least one of these tablets should come out at the same approximate time as the next generation iPad. Amazon will certainly be giving Apple some serious competition this year. Don’t get me wrong though – Apple will remain the king of tablets in 2012.
MacBook Air/Pro - There’s some hidden code in Lion that supports ultra high resolution displays, called “HiDPI.” The next generation MacBook Pro is expected to have a resolution of 2880×1800 (double the current resolution), and with HiDPI, it will have four times the number of pixels. The MacBook Pro refresh is rumored to be happening in the second quarter of 2012, and it stands to reason that future MacBook Air updates will also use this display. 2012 is also the year that Ivy Bridge processors will be added to both Airs and Pros.
Apple TV - An Apple branded television set has been the target of many rumors in late 2011, and while some speculation has the release coming in 2012, other information points to 2013. Given the lack of information on the product, 2013 is the more reasonable estimation, but we could see an Apple television set with Siri integration and App Store access as soon as late 2012 (but I doubt it).
Google Tablet - Google’s Eric Schmidt has said that we should expect a Google-branded tablet within the first six months of 2012. Whether this means a tablet developed, marketed, and sold by Google or a third party tablet integrated with Ice Cream Sandwich and advertised by Google remains unclear. Ice Cream Sandwich should make many Android tablets more appealing in 2012, and we may see viable iPad competitors besides Amazon by mid to late 2012.
Windows Mobile 8 Tablets - Windows 8 tablets are expected to be big in 2012, with a fast and fluid interface called “Metro,” that’s designed for touch input as well as mouse/keyboard input, which may give iOS and Android some serious competition. Samsung debuted a Windows 8 tablet at the Microsoft Build conference in September, HP has vowed to work on Windows 8 tablets, and both Dell and Nokia are expected to start creating tablets with the Windows OS. We may see the first of these around mid-2012, when Nokia plans on releasing its Windows 8 tablet. The Windows Phone will also see some growth this year, with Nokia phasing out Symbian (in favor of Windows) and RIM struggling.
RIM - 2012 should be a better year for Research In Motion. The BlackBerry PlayBook has been a huge money sink that the company isn’t ready to let go of, but BlackBerry 10 and a line of new phones may turn things around for the company. BlackBerry 10 is expected to be released for the PlayBook in February (PlayBook OS 2.0), but we won’t see new phones until the second half of 2012. The new OS will incorporate native email, BlackBerry Messenger, and other essential features that are currently missing from the PlayBook.
Home/device integration - We’ve already got ways to connect our iDevices to our cars and homes, but this is a trend that should see some growth in 2012, as it’s only increasing in popularity. We may see smartphone and tablet manufacturers scrambling to create ways to integrate devices into our homes in a greater capacity, with sensors and software for monitoring and other functionality. At some point in the future, you may be able to control your heating, alarm system, television, and other household systems from your phone or tablet.
Consoles - Nintendo’s Wii U (Wii successor) with its touch screen controller will be released in mid to late 2012. Microsoft is expected to release its next generation console in late 2012 or early 2013, though there isn’t a lot of information available at this point. We may see our first glimpse of it at E3 in June 2012.
The world - 2012 is the end of the Mayan calendar, so we’re going to be hearing a lot about the end of the world this year. Apocalypse, plague, famine, it’s all supposedly coming. We’ll probably see more end of the world themed movies (2011 was ripe with them too) and video games, and a crazy person or two on the local news. I think we’re going to be just fine, though.
What have I missed? Have any predictions for 2012? What do you think is coming? Let us know in the comments.
Via : Padgadget