Top Ten Products That Will Make Headlines in 2011

chillibreeze writer — Rachna Nambiar

Remember the day when the little black-and-white television set made it into the house? Wasn’t that a family event! We have come a long way from the days of the trunk call and the steam engine, which themselves were ground-breaking at the time. Collectively, we’ve advanced leaps and bounds in the field we call ‘technology’. It is the one domain that has transcended all borders of geography, religion and culture, be it the movie Avatar in 3D, or the Tata Nano that miraculously made cars affordable to so many more people. Today we stand on the brink of unlimited possibilities, unbounded imagination and uncapped innovation. Why, even the once-dismissed ‘flying car’ might soon be a reality. What more could the future hold? How many surprises will 2011 have in store for us? Here are some of the most promising product releases slated for this year.

1. Nintendo 3DS: The Nintendo 3DS is the company’s next generation handheld gaming device. What’s new, you ask? This little boy brings 3D right to your hands! Enjoy playing games in 3D, without wearing those pesky glasses! Adding icing to your already delicious cake are Wi-Fi connectivity and built-in cameras which can take a snap of you and generate a 3D picture within seconds!

2. iPad 2 and iPhone 5: The releases of iPad and iPhone follow the same pattern – a mad rush around the world, people waiting for months to feel the ‘magic’ and finally lusting over a beautiful product. The iPad 2 is rumored to have big additions like Apple’s superior resolution Retina Display, a slimmer, sleeker form factor, front and rear cameras and better touch technology. As for iPhone 5, the major feature being speculated is an NFC (near field communication) chip, which seems to imply usage like a mobile wallet or a debit card on your phone.

3. Chrome OS and Real Chrome Notebooks: We’ve all tried Google’s Chrome browser and found it so much faster. This year, Google will release its OS which works on the principle of cloud computing, meaning that most of the work you do will be online. Using the Chrome browser as the interface, you can store all your documents and work online; nothing is stored locally. This is supported by millions of apps, ranging from games to spreadsheets and photo editors, which you can use on the same browser. Translation: instant boot-up time, long battery life and no backups! Log into any other Chrome notebook with your Google credentials and you have all you need to get to work.

4. Tablets and more tablets – Blackberry Playbook, Android, Windows: 2010 was the year of the iPad. 2011 will be the year of many more tablets! This will give us competitive pricing, innovative features and multitudes of apps. Research in Motion or RIM’s Blackberry Playbook is a much anticipated competitor to the iPad. It is lightweight, has Flash (something the iPad didn’t have), HD video, 4G and will work for the office folks as well. As for the Android based tablets from HTC and Motorola, the rising trend of Android based apps are tale enough. Not behind are Windows based tablets which will come from companies like Acer, Dell and Samsung. Hopefully, with all this competition, the customer will win.

5. Tablet-Netbook Hybrids: Combining the style, mobility and touch technology of the tablet and the convenience and power of a netbook are the new tablet-netbook hybrids from Dell and Lenovo. These let you switch from tablet mode to netbook and back with a simple flip. Flip out the keyboard when you have a lot to type and flip back to turn artist on your fabulous touchscreen.

6. Sony VAIO 3D Laptop: This year, Sony will release its VAIO F Series laptop, which will come with a 16 inch full HD 3D screen. Although you still do need glasses for the 3D, Sony’s VAIO laptops have always been popular, and with tons of HD and 3D content making it to the market as well, this release is sure to make news!

7. Windows 7, Windows 8 and Mac OS X Lion: Microsoft is the maker of undoubtedly the most famous and popular OS of all time. Their next release, Windows 8, may not be officially released in 2011, but there will be a beta version out sometime this year. Another version of Windows 7 will also be released optimized to run on tablets. Apple will also make a release with the Mac OS X Lion that will have a whole lot of features like better multi-touch and app usage.

8. AMD’s fusion based chips: AMD recently revealed its latest offering in a long time, a product that combines a CPU and a GPU (graphics processing unit) on a single chip. These chips have been anticipated ever since AMD’s merger with ATI and will finally ship in 2011. They will come to us in laptops, netbooks, tablets and even desktops. Expect superior graphics performance and great battery life from these chips!

9. Power Plastic: When solar technology comes to you in a portable plastic package, it revolutionizes the way you think about solar energy. In the company’s own words, Konarka Power Plastic is a ‘patent-protected thin film solar material’ that will harness the sun’s energy. What’s great about Power Plastic is that it is light enough to carry anywhere, granting one great independence and flexibility. Fix it atop your car, your cafe umbrella or your back pack, and get powered up!

10. The flying car! And you thought that was just some play-off on the Jetsons? 2011 might just be the year that Terrafugia launches its “Transition Roadable Aircraft”. Of course, it’s not nearly the car from our science fiction years - you could picture it as a tiny family size airplane that could also touch base on the road and rest on the parking lot. It’s also going to cost far above the common man’s reach for a long time to come, but wasn’t that also once true of the telephone and the home computer?

These are only some of the many amazing products in the pipeline for 2011. What’s on your wish list for this year?

Editor's note: Most articles submitted to Chillibreeze go through a selection process. Only 30 percent of submitted articles are accepted for publication on the Chillibreeze.com featured article list. All accepted articles are edited and proofread for glaring errors of punctuation and grammar. Sentence structure is changed in certain cases and sometimes, entire sections are rewritten. If you notice any errors that have slipped through the cracks, do let us know! (Email us at info at chillibreeze dot com).

Chillibreeze's disclaimer: This is a contributed article and was published on Chillibreeze in April, 2011. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article. The relevance of the facts and figures cited (if any) could change after a period of time.

More on Chillibreeze.com

Other popular articles on Chillibreeze

Out of 5 “chilies”, our editorial team gave this article...

—About our writer:

Rachna Nambiar Jain is a 25 year old microprocessor design engineer based in Bangalore, working for a multinational company developing next-generation processors. In addition to technology, she is passionate about writing; she has been an avid blogger for almost 5 years and has contributed to online magazines. Her interests span across various realms of life, including culture, psychology, relationships, cinema, books and her self-confessed first love, food!

>> Read more articles written by Chillibreeze writers:

More resources for Writers on Chillibreeze.com

Chillibreeze offers Indian writers the opportunity to work on customer projects. We are also India’s biggest writer network and a one-stop shop for Indian writers and editors. The writers’ section on Chillibreeze offers freelance writers and editors a variety of tools to advance their careers. Resources for writers include:

Assessment of your writing, editing and proofreading skills

Writing courses

Expert Feedback on your article

An opportunity to promote yourself on our website

Top websites for Indian writers

Tips and resources for Indian freelancers

Book Publishing services

And more………………..

Explore our writers’ section using the links on our left-hand side menu.