Web User's 2008 news forecast

If the review of the biggest news stories of 2007 wasn't enough for you, Web User presents its predictions for the year ahead.

Broadband speeds

Industry regulator Ofcom will finally unveil regulations that will force ISPs to make honest claims about the speeds it can provide to customers.

As a result, advertising will cease to focus so much on how fast a service is, but the quality of the different elements of the service. We'll see more bundled services and hopefully, lower prices.

But expect to see more ISPs get in trouble with the Advertising Standards Authorities and potentially more people moving to different providers as the new regulations help them change ISPs easily if speed claims are not met.

The iPhone

Of course, 2007's most talked about gadget isn't going to go away. In fact, it'll be revamped with new applications made by third parties, though don't expect it to be unlocked so anything can be installed on it - Apple will still have the final say on what can and can't be run.

The other significant development will revolve around 3G - new iPhones capable of hooking up to third-generation mobile networks will hit the market, though not until summer at the earliest, and numbers may be limited initially. Whether Apple can satisfactorily resolve the problem of battery-draining 3G chipsets is another matter.

Security threats

Apple will find itself having to deal with more malicious attacks - the popularity of the iPhone will mean far more systems on the market running the Mac OS. Sales of other Apple devices will remain strong, due in part to the iPhone and also people attracted by Leopard and put off by Windows Vista.

But Vista will be the main target of attack, with hackers turning away from Windows XP to focus their attention on the newest Microsoft operating system.

Blu-ray Disc vs HD-DVD

Though it was initially thought that one of the competing high definition formats would kill off the other, both will continue to exist. However, the market will grow slowly, spurred on by games consoles rather than standalone players.

Sony's PlayStation 3 may shift the balance in Blu-ray's favour but only if the price drops significantly. Standalone players, though they may not sell in massive numbers, will become cheaper and there will be more that can cope with both formats.

Virgin Media

After a tough 2007 battling with Sky over carriage deals and advertising, the company will be sold. Though a buyer was being lined up in the autumn of 2007 no deal took place as the credit crunch destabilised global markets.

It will be sold off sometime in 2008, though, with a private equity organisation the likely buyer - this may mean it keeps its branding and name even though the ownership changes.

There could also be further consolidation in the ISP market - in 2007 Tiscali bought Pipex and BT got its hands on PlusNet and Madasafish. Expect more smaller ISPs to be bought out.

Google Android

The first breed of mobile phone running Google's Android platform is expected in the second half of 2008 - however, it'll have a tough time. Google will be competing with the well-established Symbian and Microsoft in this market, not to mention Apple's iPhone.

Though Google is working with a lot of big companies on this project, it could struggle to make an impact - at least initially.

Knol vs Wikipedia

Wikipedia has long concerned Google, with searchers interested in certain topics going straight to the online encyclopedia for information rather than using Google's engine to search the whole of the web.

The Knol project will be put into direct competition with Wikipedia, and the attraction of bylined articles will appeal to both users and contributors. However, it could be too late for Google to muscle in on this area.

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