Gizmos straight out of sci-fi films coming up: Intel

The company's 'Technology Trend Predictions for 2011' report said smart TVs, cloud computing and secured internet environment, digital signages and next generation automobile technologies will gain significant popularity and usage in the coming year.

According to the report, more and more TV manufacturers will venture into the area of smart TV which allows options to search online, access downloadable applications and connect to social networks, while watching your favourite programmes with just a voice command.

“Expect a large number of TV, cable and other consumer electronics companies to jump into smart TV and video market," said the company which currently collaborates with industry leaders like Google, Sony and Logitech on smart TV.

Next year may also see new city and home-based smart applications, which would revolutionise travel, automobiles and energy conservation.

“Interactive, 'Minority Report' movie like digital signs will become widely accepted, featuring new modes of interaction, including face and gesture recognition," the report said.

In terms of consumption trends, Intel said the coming year may see a jump in laptops, due to powerful processors, which will add multiple technologies like HD (high definition) graphics and wireless displays to beam content on TV in the new laptops.

“Laptop sales will continue with strong growth thanks to processors that add a multitude of new HD and graphics-related features for consumers, including display to beam content to TVs,” the report said.

On the other hand, the report cautioned that due to economic uncertainty, a large number of consumers may opt for only well-known brands, as they are perceived to give better returns on investment and trusted for quality.

Intel said consumers will also focus on energy conservation and look for a variety of home energy management devices and services.

Security also featured as a key aspect of the report, which said that while millions more will come on line on the Internet the security aspect would be of the highest priority for the IT industry.

“Over the next year, the industry will focus on foundational capabilities for infrastructure protection and maintaining both personal and business secrets,” the report said.

A majority of new devices in everyday use would acquire the capability to compute and process data with an internet link for high performance and at the same time, they will be more energy efficient and effective, the company said.