Smartphones to Evolve in 2013

Analysts are predicting that over the coming year more people will start using phones as payment devices and that our mobile devices will become optimally sized to ensure maximum usage.

As more and more devices being to use Near Field Communication (NFC) technologies, a wireless technology normally used in one-touch payment systems, we can expect to see payments shift away from cash and credit cards towards mobile devices.

This is particularly true for consumers but it will also have an effect on retailers.

The point of sale will begin to move from traditional cash registers to mobile devices and allow the customer to complete the checkout process for themselves.

There are already a number of chains such as Apple, Home Depot and Nordstrom which have mobile point of sale devices allowing customers to check out quickly and easily.

At first tablets were marketed as mobile devices, however, it is rare to see people actually using tablets in the mobile way that they use smartphones.

As a result it is fairly logical to assume that tablets will shrink to the size which allows the largest possible screen that can be carried on the move. Smartphones are likely to do the opposite and a tablet-smartphone hybrid is the logical outcome.