2013 Has Every Possibility of Becoming The Year of The Mobile Device

2013 has every possibility of becoming the year of the mobile device.Even since the beginning of 2012,uptake of BYOD,enterprise mobility and more carefully constructed mobile device management solutions have begun to permeate IT with aggressive persistence.For the first time,tablets are forecast to outsell laptops by year end.

It's all going swimmingly for those companies who don't hold the tightest of tight security at their hearts,but banks and public sector organisations are still extremely nervous to dip their toe in these unknown waters.In 2013,then,we should hopefully see some kind of breakthrough in MDM that allows a more widespread use of BYOD and freedom from the shackles of desktop endpoints.

Microsoft will obviously be hoping Windows 8 starts to make serious inroads into enterprise mobility after its Surface Pro tablet launches in January.Microsoft will need this hybrid tablet,which seems the real showcase for the company's Modern UI interface,to catch the imagination of business users if it is to have any hope of making a big splash in a BYOD ecosystem that is currently ruled by Apple and Android.

But as apps developers flee the nest early,as Google has done with Gmail and Google Apps,it's currently looking dicey for Windows in 2013.Still,as third-party developers continue to introduce innovative spins on the Surface formula-Lenovo and HP with particularly interesting enterprise hybrid solutions-Windows 8 could conceivably receive the push it needs from outside Microsoft's own hardware division.

Apple,meanwhile,will have to come up with some genuine innovations in 2013 if it is to maintain its share of the smartphone and tablet markets.

Computing's money is on the late arrival of NFC(near-field communication).The appearance of the rather redundant Passbook software in iOS 6,as well as leaked prototype photos,suggested NFC was supposed to feature in the stupidly underfeatured iPhone 5,but was pulled at somewhere approaching the last minute.

If the iPhone 6 is packing such heat,Apple could once again leave the opposition for dust.Airline tickets,bus passes,credit cards and money itself could all be swallowed up within the Apple brand before its rivals have a chance to retaliate.Apple won't need patents to maintain its grip this time;it'll be able to use brand contracts and complex webs of customer loyalty to tether users to its ecosystem.

Computing interviewed several major players in the finance and commerce world earlier this year.Most agreed it would just take one brave company to take that plunge,and NFC would be swiftly adopted.

Android is going to have to watch its game in 2013.Any further fragmentation will result in the OS being perceived more and more like an impenetrable,Linux-esque tangle,striking fear into the hearts of systems administrators everywhere it goes.

Google's increasingly high profile focus on its Nexus range is surely being primed as the antidote here.In a way,it's a crystallization of the basic Android dream.The Nexus series is,after all,a best in class collection of devices from different designers.A 7in tablet by Asus,a 10-incher by Samsung,and so on.But with 2012 being the year the Android Store became Google Play,it's clear that the search engine giant wishes to emulate the promotional powers of the Microsoft or Apple brand in order to tie everything nicely together.

If the Nexus 7 in particular is anything to go by,this more considered,branded approach is looking like a smart move indeed-especially if Google continues to keep hardware prices down.

Will you be reading next year's 2014 forecast on a tablet device while you work from home?Perhaps you already are.But don't be surprised if 2013 turns out to be the year when the tablet seriously affected the way you work and where you do it.

In the meantime,check out Computing's video roundup of the most interesting tablets on the market this Christmas.