The VAR Guy

Now more than ever the shape of consumer electronics affects the ebb and flow of the business world. And once again, fabulous Las Vegas will be the epicenter of it all for CES 2012, Jan. 10-13. So what can we expect the top five trends will be at this year’s event? Here’s a look at the technological landscape for the upcoming year …

The top five list, according yours truly, The VAR Guy:

1. Ultrabooks: Apple beat the PC world to the punch with the 2010 MacBook Air, but with Intel’s new Core i-series CPUs hitting a sweet spot, more PC vendors are jumping on board to build ultra-powerful and ultra-thin mobile computers. Expect competing specifications on thickness, weight, CPU power and battery consumption to dominate the scene. If you’re a PC user, there may never be a better time to be shopping for an ultrabook. VARs or resellers focusing on hardware may want to see if companies are looking to refresh their laptops. Conversely, if you’re a VAR dragging around an aging PC anchor, this is the time to upgrade.
2. Tablets: Any size, shape, style or operating system. You name it, it probably will be there. If 2010 was the year of the iPad and 2011 was the year of Android “copycats,” then 2012 will finally be the year of maturation. Tablet and tablet manufacturers finally are coming into their own on how to develop, build and market these ubiquitous devices. Be on the lookout especially for hybrid tablet/laptops and Windows 8 tablet prototypes. And if you’re not seriously looking into mobile device management (MDM), ask yourself why.
3. Ultra-phones: What’s an ultra-phone? Okay, the VAR Guy made up the label, but for every tablet with a beefy ARM CPU and tons of RAM, there’s likely to be a smaller iteration of it. Smartphones are getting larger and faster, and there are even quad-core mobile CPUs on the horizon, so expect CES 2012 to be chock-full of phones that make your existing smartphone look pretty dumb.
4. High-Speed Wireless Networking: With the advent of phones and tablets comes the need for wireless connectivity. Wireless networking, be it LTE or Gigabit wireless N, will be all the rage. Expect to see phones with the latest wireless chips and wireless routers with extremely fast Gigabit-level connectivity. As the channel focuses more on virtualization and cloud computing, wireless connectivity easily could become a must-have in many workplaces. VARs should consider this year as the perfect time to meld MDM with upgrading network infrastructure.
5. Storage: You love it. You have it. You can’t get enough of it. We live in an age where not only is it acceptable (and sometimes revered) to be a digital packrat, but between HD content and corporate compliance standards, storage has never been in higher demand. In fact, Intel expects a dip in earnings because of hard drive shortages. Expect CES 2012 to be stuffed to the gills with 3+ TB  drives, unique enclosures, SATA units and NAS devices, plus a whole lot more. Like MDM and networking before it, storage likely will be (and pretty much always has been) a goldmine for the channel. It will likely get better in 2012.

Something else more prominent? Just generally disagree with our resident blogger? Make sure you let The VAR Guy know. The comments are always open.

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