Camera 2.0
This will be a big year for cameras, with the D-SLR set for an overhaul in 2013. The past 12 months have witnessed the first 'smart' Android-based compact cameras, such as the Samsung Galaxy Camera and Nikon Coolpix S800c, but as the optics in smartphones advance beyond 14-megapixels in 2013, it's the semi-pro market that will get connected. Expect the next D-SLR cameras to have WiFi, touchscreens, automatic cloud-powered photo backup, voice control and in-camera editing. Camera 2.0 is a computer – and it will probably deal in 4k resolution video and 3D, too.
Television
TV is set to reach new heights in 2013 – literally. The average screen size has been creeping up for years, but advances in slimness mean that a 46-inch LED TV is now the same size as a 42-inch version from two years ago.
While the bigger sizes will dominate, developments in glass-cutting will see new screen sizes become common, such as 35-inch and 39-inch, while many bargain-priced 60-inch and 65-inch TVs will become affordable. Sharp is putting its eggs in this basket; the Japanese brand will make an attempt to become a big name in TV by selling relatively affordable, standard-spec giant-sized TVs.
What certainly won't be affordable to the majority will be 2013's biggest TV technological advance – the 4k or Ultra HD screen. Equipped with resolutions of 3840x2160 pixels (four times that of Full HD), on sale this month are two 84-inch examples, the LG 84LM960V (£22,500) and Sony KD-84X9005. Sharp will sell its slightly more sensibly-sized Ultra HD LC-60HQ10 dubbed 'ICC Purios' from February, with Ultra HD tellies to follow from Samsung (in January), Panasonic and Toshiba, too.
If prices for the first Ultra TVs are expected to be insane, the same goes for a TV using an 'organic' LED panel. These OLED TVs – due in the first half of 2013 (over a year 'late') as the 55-inch Samsung 55ES9500 and LG 55EM960V – will cost around £9,000. They've graced trade fairs for over a year, but OLED's blur-free, life-like picture could be one to watch. Lastly in TV, the goggle-free 3DTV will get a step closer in 2013, with many brands prepping a more watchable version of the Toshiba 55ZL2, though by next Christmas we'll have seen more convincing prototypes, at best.
After offering remote recording at best, smartphone and tablet apps that put 'TV anywhere' have arrived in 2012, but 2013 should see both Virgin and Sky place the final piece in the jigsaw by issuing apps for TiVo and Sky+HD (Sky Go) that let users stream all live channels and previously made recordings to tablets and smartphones.
Expect something from Apple in 2013 for the living room, too. Despite the rumours a so-called Apple iTV HDTV looks unlikely, but how about a new version of Apple TV with PVR-style recording, Siri and FaceTime?
