9 things Techies should look forward to in 2012

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2011 Dec 30
Posted by Neps Firmalan
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2012, the year of the dragon, the ancient Maya's apocalyptic year, just another 365-day set of work on this giant dirtball we call Earth. Call it whatever you like but we here at Techie are all pumped up about it, with the advances in consumer electronics set to take the stage starting next month. So, to show you just why we're filled with excitement, here's a list of things to look out for next year in the realm of tech. Check out the gallery below.

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1. Nvidia Tegra 3

The ASUS Transformer Prime is the first device to run on Nvidia's Tegra 3 SoC (system on a chip) and we're expecting more mobile goodies like it to roll out next year. Yep, more tablets and smartphones that are a lot faster than their predecessors currently on the market will be out in 2012! Definitely good news for all those who give a premium on speed, like us.

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2. More Ultrabooks

We've been given a glimpse of what an Ultrabook (Intel's term for powerful anorexic lappies) can do with the local release of the Acer Aspire S3 and the ASUS Zenbook and, boy, were we impressed. With other titans like HP and Lenovo, more of these bad boys will start showing up next year. Here's to hoping they'll become more affordable, too.

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3. iPhone 5, iPad 3

Apple is all set to release the iPad 3, maybe in a few month's time and, most probably, the iPhone 5 (or whatever it will be called) later next year. Surely, a lot of eyes will be on these gadgets given the high-profile nature of their predecessors and, of course, the buzz generated by the iOS-Android rivalry.

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4. Windows 8

Next year will mark the introduction of Windows 8, Microsoft's next big version of its uber-popular desktop platform. Based from the many things we've heard and known about it, we're expecting Windows 8 to be a big change over its predecessor, Windows 7.

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5. NFC

NFC or Near-Field Communications is a feature that turns mobile devices into some sort of smart card for instant, no-frills wireless transactions. It's available now in a few top-tier handsets and we expect it to arrive with more devices next year, as well as features and apps that will make use of it.

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6. Diablo 3

We've been waiting a long, long time for its arrival and we thought it will hit store shelves (and our desktops) earlier this year. Sadly, that wasn't to be and we're still left wondering when will we get our hands on Diablo III. The good news is, it's already in the beta-testing phase which means it most probably will see the light of day sometime next year. Better late than never, right?

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7. Smart + Sun promos and offerings

After the NTC approved the PLDT-Digitel union, it was just a matter of time before we see partner promos combining Smart and Sun Cellular offerings. Then we saw the Smart-Sun Dual Plan 549, the first fruit of the merger. We're expecting more such deals for the consumers next year, hopefully with bigger, better packages in tow.

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8. More Ice Cream Sandwich

Sure, we already have several devices running on Ice Cream Sandwich on the market but most that are based on Android still have FroYo, Gingerbread or Honeycomb under the hood. However, that could change next year as more devices will have the latest version of Google's mobile platform, thanks to upcoming product releases and software updates.

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9. Local 4G connectivity

One of the things Internet-savvy peeps should look out for next year is local 4G LTE connectivity. We've already been given a preview by Smart earlier this year but it's only in 2012 where the MVP-owned telco's next-gen high-speed broadband will be available for a wide range of consumers. Globe has its own HSPA+ that's also fast but we still don't know if other players will enter the ultra-fast mobile connectivity arena as well.