Top tech trends picked for 2013

A show attendee looks at Sony's 4K Ultra HD TV at the Sony booth at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week. Photo / AP

A record one billion smartphones will be shipped around the world this year but most internet traffic will still be generated on PCs and laptops, according to a Deloitte report.

Now in its 12th year, Deloitte's Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) Predictions 2013 forecasts the major global technology trends.

Although personal computers (PCs) will account for only about 20 per cent of total sales of PCs, tablets and smartphones worldwide, the PC is still going strong, said Deloitte NZ innovation leader Grant Frear.

"While we predict continued growth in mobile devices - a record one billion smartphones will be shipped in 2013 - the PC will remain at the heart of the devices ecosystem," he said.

Of total internet traffic, more than 80 per cent will still be generated on traditional desktops and laptops, he said.

And of the total time spent at home and work on PCs, tablets and smartphones combined, more than 70 per cent will be on a PC.

"While tablets have become popular in the enterprise market, most of the 30 million that have been purchased by companies worldwide are not being used as PC replacements," Frear said.

"We most certainly live in an 'and' world now where it's seen as desirable to have both a mobile device and a PC."

Another prediction from Deloitte is for mobile advertising to grow by 50 per cent to reach $9 billion globally.

The Interactive Advertising Bureau New Zealand's (IABNZ) most recent figures showed mobile ad spending here grew from $0.28 million in the first quarter of last year to $0.69 million in the third.

Deloitte also predicts that 4K - the name for the next iteration of high definition television, four times the resolution of the current highest standard HD TV - will properly kick off in 2013.

"The full roll-out of 4K will take years: in 2013, 4K will be in very few living rooms," the report says.

"There will be no 4K broadcasts in 2013, and there is little content so far. About 20 TV sets will be available to those wishing to spend $15,000 - $25,000 on a set."

Another pick is for crowdfunding platforms to raise $3 billion globally this year, a 100 per cent increase from 2011.

Frear said that while some trends like 4K TVs may not seem immediately relevant to the New Zealand market, it was surely a matter of 'when' not 'if' they would reach our shores.

"Global connectivity and the speed of technological change will surely make them relevant here in the near future," he said.