Ten Top Tech Trends for 2010

Well 2010 has been another massive year for the information, communication and technologies sector. Before we hit the beach (and the BBQ) for a well earned break, Maddocks Partner Brendan Coady and Associate Sonia Sharma reflect on the year that was and review the Top Ten Tech Trends for 2010 including the "game changing" technologies and events that have impacted on the way we live and do business.

1.             The iPad – Is it a phone? Is it a laptop? No it is a game changer

The iPad launched this year to much scepticism from technology critics. Many labelled the iPad (or "iSlab" - as it was predicted to be called) as an "ill-defined technology" which was "boring and unimaginative" with "little real life application". Neither a phone nor a laptop, there was also confusion regarding why anyone would want to lug around yet another device. However, Steve Jobs and the team at Apple quickly proved the sceptics wrong. Loyal Apple "fanboys" raced out to score themselves an iPad and before long it was the device "de jour" popping up at cafes and business meetings everywhere. The iPad represents a growing trend towards "touch technology" and while Apple had a 95 percent market share, we have seen other competitors come into the tablet market. In a potentially clever publicity stunt or happy accident, the Samsung Galaxy Tab was "accidentally leaked" in August when someone was caught playing with it on the train (resulting in a rush of publicity). The Samsung Galaxy Tab operates on the Google Android Operating System and we can expect to see a flood of other tablet devices making a challenge to the iPad in 2011.

2010 was also an all round good year for the Google Android Operating System which saw its share of the smartphone market increase dramatically.

2.             The Web Is Dead. Long Live the Internet

In August 2010 tech bible Wired Magazine, published Chris Anderson's and Michael Wolff's controversial article "The Web Is Dead. Long Live the Internet". The article charts the decline of the World Wide Web in favour of "simpler, sleeker services — think apps — which are less about the searching and more about the getting."  Anderson and Wolff argue that the shift is not a trivial distinction. "Over the past few years, one of the most important shifts in the digital world has been the move from the wide-open Web to semi-closed platforms that use the Internet for transport but not the browser for display. It’s driven primarily by the rise of the iPhone model of mobile computing, and it’s a world Google can’t crawl, one where HTML doesn’t rule." In other words, we have all gone App crazy.

3.             Catch Up TV, Online Rental – Let me watch what I want when I want

Remember a time when you used to race home to watch your favourite TV program? Gone are those days. The idea of broadcasters dictating what we watch and when we watch it, is becoming an increasingly rare notion as we see the rise of catch-up services. The ABC led the charge in Australia with its popular iView video on demand service offering full-length programs. So if you are caught at the pub (or more likely work), there is no need to race home as you can still catch the Gruen Transfer or your favourite program.

4.             IPTV – Convergence becoming reality

For a long time technology lawyers (including us) have been banging on about convergence (i.e., previously separate technologies now sharing resources and interacting with each other). In 2010 convergence moved from pipe dream to hard reality. In Australia we saw IPTV take off. iiNet partnered up with Internet subscription company Fetch TV to offer IPTV bundles. Telstra peddled the Telstra T Box, a digital set top box giving access to free-to-air TV channels and when connected to Telstra BigPond Broadband service. Samsung proclaimed "Internet and TV are no longer separate with Samsung Internet@TV!"  Meanwhile services in the United States such as Netflix became increasingly popular, offering "all you eat" TV and movies packages streaming over the Internet to your TV via an Xbox 360, PS3, Wii or other compatible devices.

As the internet is increasingly used to deliver content, Australia's competition watch dog and others (including the authors of the NBN Implementation Study) have warned that content could soon be the new battleground as we start to see competition "bottlenecks" and "walled gardens" emerge.

5.             Copyright Case of the Year – iiNet vs Hollywood

Early this year the big wigs of the film industry lost their case against ISP iiNet in a landmark judgment handed down in the Federal Court.Justice Dennis Cowdroy found that the ISP was not responsible for the downloading activities of its customers. The Hollywood consortium has appealed the decision. As content becomes increasingly digital and available (see above) the appeal is set to be an important decision which could have a huge impact on the role of ISPs and the general digital content landscape. At a ISOC function hosted at Maddocks after the decision was handed down,  iiNet Managing Director Michael Malone was emphatic that ISPs needed to be working with content companies to provide easily accessible legal content. In addition to the Fetch TV deal (see above), we have it on good authority that more content deals are on the horizon for iiNet.

6.             I See, We all See, 3D TV

In 2009 we ducked and weaved to Avatar in the movie cinemas. In 2010, some early adopters ducked and weaved to 3D TV in their own living rooms. This year we saw a flood of 3D TV products enter the market with mixed results. The consumer watch dog (the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) raised concerns around footy finals time after a number of retailers were promoting the sale of 3D TVs to watch the 2010 AFL and NRL grand finals in places where the 3D broadcast would not be available. None the less, 3D TVs are tipped to be a hot Christmas item, with 3D TV sales reportedly "booming".

7.             The National Broadband Network

The Government's plan for the National Broadband Network was front and centre this year as plans for the super fast broadband network become the hot election issue. As the election loomed, the 7.30 Report's Kerry O'Brien grilled opposition leader Tony Abbott on the opposition's broadband policy which resulted in the now infamous quote of Mr Abbot declaring that "he was not a Tech Head". As we stared down the barrel of a hung parliament, key independents Tony Windsor and Robert Oakeshott eventually sided with Labour with the NBN being a deciding factor.  Meanwhile, the NBN juggernaut rolls on, with the first release sites up and running and the ACCC set to release recommendations regarding the number of Points of Interconnection.

8.             Breaking Up is Hard to Do – Telstra to split up thanks to Telco Bill

More than a year after being introduced, the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Competition and Consumers Safeguards) Bill (Bill) finally passed both houses of Parliament. Maddocks Partner, Brendan Coady described the passage of the Bill as "a watershed moment in Australia's Telecommunications history and a key part of the Government's telecommunications reform package," while much of the discussion of the Bill has been linked, by both politicians and the media, to the National Broadband Network (NBN), this overshadows the fact that the Bill represents a dramatic departure from the current approach to regulation of telecommunications in Australia, regardless of what happens with the to the NBN. Key aspects of the Bill include, paving the way for Telstra to voluntarily structurally separate or have functional separation imposed upon it; and  introducing a radical overhaul to the access regime which sees an end to the "negotiate and arbitrate" model used to determine prices Telstra charges access seekers to use its network in favour of a more streamline approach.  We predicts that 2011 will be an even bigger year for the industry, the Bill effectively introduces a new regulatory regime for telecommunications companies, and we expect to see a lot of legal and regulatory activity as the new regime is bedded down.

9.           Turning down $6 Billion from Google – The rise of the Daily Deals Business Model

Word on the street is that Groupon turned down $6 Billion from Google. At the start of the year we had never heard of the daily deal model (whereby the power of "group buying" is harnessed and suppliers offer their goods and services online at bargain basement prices). Now these daily deal business are everywhere....and turning down $6 billion deals. Are these "new kids on the digital block" simply replacing shopper dockets and discount books, or do they offer something new. There is no doubt there must be huge value in the massive subscriber data bases as well as the ability to personalise offers based on "consumer intelligence" and purchasing history.  The daily deal business model has been a clear trend for 2010 and it is shocking just how quickly this phenomena has taken off. This year alone we have seen the rise of Spreets, Cudo, Jump On It and Living Social* (the dominate players in the Australian market) as well as several more. History has shown us that with trends in the online and technology space, it is usually a case of survival of the fittest.After all, there are only so many Thai massages, facials, go-kart rides and carpet cleaning services a person can buy before the daily deal fatigue sets in and you realise "it is not a bargain unless you really need it".

*Maddocks acted on Living Social's acquisition of an interest in the Australian Daily Deals company Jump On It.

10.          Facebook's World Domination

2010 was another interesting year for social networking. Twitter become increasingly popular as we tweeted about the federal election, key news stories, Lady Ga Ga concerts, Shane Warne and what we ate for lunch. Meanwhile we saw the rise of "real time searching" (searching tweets in real time to discover breaking news). A keen Tweeter in the Maddocks ICT team swears by Twitter for the latest in breaking news. In other social network developments Google Wave, the search engines giant's attempt to crack the social network market, sunk without a trace, while Chatroulette (a random video conferencing network) made us laugh for about five seconds before we got scared of the all the crazies out there on the Internet and promptly logged off.

But 2010 was the year of Facebook. This year statistics from Hitwise showed that Google lost its crown as the most-visited web site in the U.S with social networking site Facebook taking on the number one spot. Just the other day, Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz said Facebook, the leading social-networking website, is a "bigger corporate rival than Google". We even saw the block buster release of The Social Network, a fascinating movie which charts the rise of Facbook and its socially awkward "founder" Mark Zuckerberg. The brilliantly written film by Aaron Sorkin (of The West Wing fame) is our movie pick for the holidays and a sage reminder that no matter how many online friends you may have, real ones are just as important!

 Well that is it from us. The Maddocks ICT team would like to thank all of our clients for supporting us in 2010 in what has been a very successful year for us. We wish you a safe and happy holiday and look forward to another exciting year of innovation, development and change in 2011.