Smart devices to thrive in 2013, says analyst

Prismatic batteries to boost momentum for mid-end Ultrabook
The relatively high cost of ultrabooks has caused the new product to fall short of expectations, but prismatic batteries may boost ultrabook popularity in 2013. The li-polymer batteries originally used are more suitable to the ultrabook's ultraslim body, but li-poly comes at a high cost, and cheaper cylindrical batteries are too large. Enter the prismatic battery—cheaper than li-polymer and smaller than cylindrical, prismatic batteries will enable mid-range ultrabooks to hit the market in 2013. TrendForce expects more than 30 million ultrabooks may ship in 2013, representing 17 per cent of the notebook market, of which 5-8 per cent will carry prismatic batteries.

PC brands struggling amid cutthroat tablet market
The tablet market will continue to expand in 2013, with brand shipments expected to reach 1.5 million for the year. After the wave of Amazon and Google's affordably priced tablets, it is likely the world will see more of such devices this year. PC makers especially will be focusing efforts on the production of low-priced tablets with lower specification displays. If such devices are popular, Amazon, Google and other major makers are sure to follow suit, and traditional PC makers will likely have a hard time keeping up with the competition.

Portable devices head towards four, eight cores
As smartphones and tablets need fast processing power, quad-core and eight-core processors are a necessity. Mobile processor manufacturers such as Qualcomm, Nvidia, Lenovo are all producing quad-core processors, while Samsung has unveiled the eight-core Exynos 5 Octa. Although technically a dual quad-core processor, the introduction still produced plenty of excitement, and Apple's next-gen processor will surely be on par. As for Intel, due to architectural differences, Merrifield is a dual-core processor.

More smartphones with large displays and high resolution
Samsung's Galaxy Note led the way into the phablet market, but demand has kept brand manufacturers on the phablet trend, producing bigger phones with higher resolution. However, phablets are not quite universal, as they are dependent on user habits and preferences. Also, there is a limit to display size—5in is about right, while 6in appears too large. Five inches and 1080 pixels is the current mix that strikes the best balance between portability and usability.

NFC gains ground
The NFC standard has been out for a while now. While there is still room for improvement in terms of actual use, the percentage of smartphones equipped with NFC technology is expected to rise in 2013. Apple's next-gen iPhone may very well have NFC, while Google has paired with Mastercard, Citibank and Sprint on Google Wallet.

Wireless charging to continue improving
Although wireless charging is not new technology, fast, powerful wireless chargers are still lacking. There are three major brands when it comes to wireless mobile device chargers, but each has their weaknesses. TrendForce expects 2013 will see an increase in wireless charging products.

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