Mark Bridge writes:
Predicting the future is easy. Making accurate predictions is more of a challenge. In our final podcast of 2012 we've provided a forecast for the mobile telecoms industry in 2013 - and we've also looked back at last year's expectations.
So... what do the three of us at TheFonecast.com expect from mobile phones and wireless technology next year?
James started with an optimistic outlook for BlackBerry. He reckons the delay to the new BlackBerry 10 platform should be seen as an indication of RIM's determination to get things right before launch.
I was less positive about the prospects for Ericsson and Nokia in 2013, although James pointed out that the growth of Windows Phone 8 would help Nokia. In fact, he expects Microsoft's mobile market share to double in the next twelve months.
Both Iain and James anticipated the end of the SMS boom; Iain blaming rival messaging services whilst James said spam was causing a loss of perceived value.
Iain predicted mobile security becoming increasingly important to users but James wasn't so sure consumer behaviour would change much.
Network mergers were ruled out, new 4G networks were expected and a confident stock market was likely to encourage the industry.
Finally, an Amazon phone seems to be on the cards for 2013, new technology could prompt some different smartphone form factors... and I wondered whether Rovio would be bought by a big Hollywood animator.
Will any of this come true? Well, you can check our track record from last year's forecasts and hear all of this year's predictions in our special podcast. Listen to the programme on our website audio player, via iTunes, by using our RSS feed or by downloading the mp3 file directly.
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