TECHNOLOGY FOR CHANGE

5 Technologies That Could Change Your Life in 2010

R. Colin Johnson | Date: 12-28-09 | Comments

Even early adopters may be surprised by some of the technologies that become commonplace in 2010. Give us your comments and opinions as to whether you agree with our choices.

E-books on Everybody's Shelf

If you don't have an e-Book yet, such as Amazon's Kindle, Barnes & Noble's Nook, iRex's Digital Reader or Sony's e-Reader, then you probably will by the end of 2010. Next year Apple is rumored to be releasing an e-Book called iTablet, Plastic Logic will release its Que proReader and Spring Design will unveil a unique dual-screen design called Alex which combines a six-inch screen for reading and a second smaller screen to display web sites from links in books.

Touch Screens and Touch Panels on Everything

Touch screens and touch panels have been around for decades, but were propelled into popularity by Apple's iPhone and now everybody wants to capitalize on the "wow factor." Every mobile handset maker already has touch-screen models, but in 2010 every category of electronic device will start using touch--from watches to thermostats. Market researcher iSuppli predicts the market for touch sensitive devices will top $3 billion by 2011 when mobile phones alone will account for 400 million units.

Printable Electronics Get Flexible

In 2010 inkjet printers, such as those from Optomec, will mass produce smarter electronics that substitutes inexpensive plastic substrates for expensive silicon wafers. Printable electronics use low-temperature printing, in place of high-temperature semiconductor lithography, to print RFID tags, flexible circuitry and solar-panels. In 2010, Menippos plans paper-thin printed batteries, Seiko Epson promises printed computer displays, and Samsung will produce digital paper.

Picoprojectors Displacing Direct Displays

The flat-panel displays on small devices like mobile phones are already being supplemented, and eventually could even be replaced, by a new breed of picoprojector from Microvision, Texas Instruments, Micron Technology, Syndiant, 3M and National Semiconductor. By projecting a display onto any surface from a module measuring only a few millimeters, even the smallest handheld devices will be able to project large-area displays. In Korea Samsung already has picoprojector-equipped cell phones and LG Electronics has announced it will deliver the first picoprojector equipped handsets in the United States.

Solid-State Lighting Replacing Fluorescent

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have already displaced incandescent bulbs in traffic lights, tail-lights, flashlights and the backlights for liquid-crystal displays (LCDs). Likewise, energy saving fluorescent bulbs have already replaced most incandescent reading lamps. In 2010 General Electric (GE) aims to replace those fluorescent bulbs by mass producing flexible, paper-thin lighting panels using roll-to-roll printing of organic light emitting diode (OLED) semiconductors onto cheap plastic substrates. Because the lighting panels are flexible, many new form factors will be possible including wearable illuminators. Check out a video of the possibilities cataloged by GE earlier this year for LightFair International.