6 tech to change your gadgets in 2013

6 tech to change your gadgets in 2013

--Hitesh Raj Bhagat, ET Bureau 

With the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) just around the corner and a host of interesting launches planned, 2013 promises to be big. 

ET speculates about what the coming year will offer to the tech enthusiast.

Smartphones screens to go bigger

January will see the launch of BlackBerry 10, the powerful QNX-inspired operating system that RIM is pinning it's hopes on. BB10 features an intelligent keyboard, a central BB Hub and is operated with intuitive swipe gestures. HTC's flagship Android phone called the Butterfly is also expected soon. It comes with a 5-inch , full HD screen, dual HD cameras, 2 GB RAM and 32 GB storage.

Microsoft is expected to announce a phone too. Reports suggest it will be manufactured by Foxconn and that it might be called the Surface Phone, in line with its new tablet. Samsung Galaxy SIV rumours have started claiming a flexible and unbreakable 5-inch full HD screen — considering Samsung's strength in displays, this might well be a reality. Rumours for Sony's Xperia Odin say it'll have a 5-inch full HD screen, 1.5 Ghz Snapdragon S4 quad core

4K television

Full HD has its limitations — if the screen is too large or if you come too close, the outline of individual pixels becomes apparent. 4K resolution fixes that problem with a resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels — four times the number of pixels that full HD has (hence the name). The effect is similar to increasing the number of pixels on smartphone displays. Plus now that most flagship smartphones in 2013 will have full HD screens themselves, it's only natural that the largest screen in the house gets upgraded.

4K TVs are already available for sale from big manufacturers, but they are absurdly expensive. To make things worse, content in true 4K resolution is non-existent , which means that the TV upscales content — a less than ideal scenario. Next year is when we hope to see wider adoption of the new format, cheaper TV sets and more content

Consoles to go faste

The next Sony PlayStation may be called the PS4, but it's actually Sony's eighth gaming console. It promises to be twice as fast as the current system, will have more than double the amount of storage (up to 1TB built in), will be smaller, lighter and consume less power. Given than 4K TVs will start appearing and that the console life cycle is fairly long, it is expected to have support for 4096 x 2160 resolutions.

The existing PS3, now in its third cosmetic upgrade, is likely to live on with a reduced price. Microsoft is also expected to showcase the next Xbox, code-named Kryptos. It is is expected to have an updated Kinect, a new controller, directional audio, built-in controls for TV, support for augmented reality glasses, better performance, new cloud and media features and a new design.

Wireless to set new standard

Wi-Fi is already pretty fast for most uses — however, you start to see limitaions when you want to transfer large amounts of data wirelessly (or applications that need to stream uncompressed HD video). The new standard of Wi-Fi called 802.11ac builds on the current Wi-Fi N or 802.11n. Wi-Fiac uses the same 5Ghz frequency but offers better performance. Therefore, new Wi-Fiac routers will be backwards compatible with existing devices. 

With ac-enabled devices, you'll see more reliable connections and an improved range. Towards the end of 2013, we'll start to see 802.11ad, which adds 60Ghz frequency to 5Ghz. 60Ghz is highly focused, which means there will be a direct connection between the router and your device , instead of a lot of wasted energy. Theoretically, 802.11ad can offer speeds of up to 7Gbit/second — seven times faster than a Gigabit Ethernet cable.

Cars to go hi-tech

Cars are the new platforms that should gain more traction — they will connect with your phone, play media from the web, provide live traffic information, navigation and in-car controls. If Android makes it to in-car systems, it will open up a new platform for developers — apps for collision-avoidance, multiple camera input and car information are just some ideas. In wearable tech, Google Glass will project what you need to know right into your field of view. It's a head-mounted , augmented reality display. 

Another new platform is the watch. A gadget lover's watch should do more than tell time. Enter the smart watch. Base specs include some form of connectivity (like Bluetooth) to connect with your phone or computer, a screen capable of displaying complex content, plus it should be highly configurable.