5 Technology Predictions for the New Year

Jan. 1, 2010 -- When it comes to gadgets, tech consumers are always eager to know what's next. In 2009, iPhones and Kindles exploded in popularity, but what's going to be the new "it" craze of 2010? Technology investor Guy Kawasaki stopped by "Good Morning America" to take a look at five popular technologies and figure out what's next for the new year.

What's next for e-books?

From phones, to computers, to self-serve ticket counters at airports, touch screens are nothing new. What is new is the increasing competition and variety in ways to use them, and e-books are no exception.

With Sony, Amazon and Barnes and Noble all scrambling to get the largest share of the e-book market, what will happen in 2010? Kawasaki predicts that there will be one winner but that it's still too early to tell who it will be. He also insists it may not just be about who has the nicest hardware, but also who carries what title, "who gets the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, basically the magazine you want."

In addition, rumors abound that 2010 might be the year of an Apple touch-screen tablet combining an e-reader, music player and web browser.

"I think it'd be great," Kawasaki said. "Journalism and newspaper and that kind of newsgathering need a jump start and I think it's fairly predictable that in the next 10 years or so most of us will be reading our news on Kindle, table, plastic logic kind of things."

He added, however, that it still may be too soon to tell if the technology will actually be on the market this year.

What's Next for Phones?

In addition to e-books, the touch screen iPhone has grown so popular that it too is seeing its fair share of competition. Predictions for 2010? Competition with Verizon's Droid, which is already becoming a real competitor for the iPhone, is only going to increase in the new year.

Although it may be the year for the touch screen phone competition, when it comes to competition between the carriers and the iPhone, all bets are off.

When asked if he thinks the iPhone will ever go to another carrier besides AT&T, Kawasaki jokingly replied, "ask Steve [Jobs] -- I have no idea."

Gadgets Galore: Cameras, Social Networking and TV's in 2010

What's Next for Cameras?

This year may have been the year of the mega-pixel race, but that race will likely end in 2010. Instead, niche markets seem poised to become the latest craze.

From the Samsung Dual View with an LCD monitor on the front as well as the back for people who tend to take self-takes, to underwater cameras for the outdoorsy types, to cameras that won't even take a picture until they detect a smile for those who want to perfect portraits, these niche markets are growing and may just become the next "it" photo craze of 2010.

What's Next for Social Networking?

Twitter, Facebook, Myspace -- is there a new site on the horizon for 2010? Kawasaki predicts the social networking craze of 2009 will continue to explode in the new year where "whatever document you create, picture you take, you're going to want to send it someplace: tweet it, Facebook it, MySpace it, at the very least e-mail it."

Because of this increasing trend toward constant online social networking, Kawasaki also predicts that prices for such devices as the "mifi" card, allowing you to hook into a cellular network and get a personal wifi, will drop and become more affordable."

What's Next for TV's?

Lastly, although they've been around for decades, each year seems to have its new TV craze -- what will it be this year? Kawasaki says the questions being asked the most seem to all have to do with integration; all about being able to watch what you want to when you want.

Kawasaki says "video on demand ... that's a no-brainer and it's coming."

So from books, to phones, to cameras, to social networking and TV's, the New Year seems set for increasing variety, competition, and new gadgets for shoppers to consume (or at least tweet about…).