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9 Future Technologies we will take for granted in 10 years

1 Augmented reality
 
Augmented reality products have been around for a while but were limited to trade shows and technology demos. It really hit the mainstream though, when it found its way onto mobile phones. It combines the real and the virtual and is interactive in real time. By holding up your cellphone, as if to photograph a scene in the real world, the screen will give you information on that object, like a coffee shop, a bus station or house that's for sale. Software companies are investing a great deal of money and manpower to create applications that promise to make just about anything in real life easier and more exciting. Layar, Google Sky and others are only scratching the surface, it’s going big.

2 Wall plugs with USB plugs
 
Countless mobile devices can be charged using a USB cable, so why shouldn’t our wall outlets have compatible ports? It’s really a no brainer. Well someone’s already had the common sense to initiate this, because they’ve started cropping up in the US already but are still awaiting patent approval. Business travelers rejoice – finally a plughole you’ll recognise.

3 Projectors on our cell phones
 
Who do you think is the largest camera manufacturer in the world? Not Sony, nor is it Samsung even. It’s Nokia – every cellphone nowadays has a camera. In the nineties, it was laughed off as a gimmick but the same was thought of GPS. Today, with all technologies converging, we won’t make the same mistake. Nikon have already released a camera that’s also a projector, albeit one limited by lumen power and battery life, but this will no doubt improve. Cellphones are right behind them.

4 Google Everything and Anything
 
A lot has happened since we first logged on to the beautifully clean and simple search engine. They’ve brought us the best web mail interface in the business and now we have everything from a live calendar, a Microsoft Office alternative, a cellphone and a world map with 360 degree street views of many of the world’s major cities. What next? Google Medicine, Google Fuel, Google Money, Google Power? Andy Rubin, Vice President of Google Mobile says, “Use your imagination. Whatever it is – it might not be something I know about today.

5 Year-long battery life
 
Most of us have to charge our phones at least every second or third day, for a few hours. Why!? With technology moving so fast, surely we can do better than that? The world is moving to electric cars, and billions of dollars are going to battery technology for impatient and lazy motorists who are used to stopping their car, filling up and heading out again in minutes for another week on the road. Expect your mobile’s charging to be done in seconds, lasting months. Never again will a low battery be used in a horror film again

6 Newspaper and magazine video
 
Yes, by 2020 you will be not only reading Men’s Health, you’ll be watching it. This concept is no longer in the fictional realm of Harry Potter. Already, magazines have dabbled in the technology that’s enabled by flexible, cheap electronic screens and speakers. Words and pictures come to life in the reader’s hands. The shelves at the corner café will never be the same again.

7 3D everything
 
Anyone who saw Avatar in 3D put behind them the simplistic and over-sentimental plot and became fully immersed in the Na'vi tribe of Pandora. For many, it revived the idea of 3D films, giving people a reason to go to the cinema again. At the recent FIFA World Cup draw, Sony launched 3D TVs and announced that games will be captured, for later viewing, in 3D. Soon, many digital still and video cameras will be 3D capable, which will encourage high quality 3D colour printing. There'll be 3D PowerPoint, 3D teleconferencing, 3D video games, even 3D ID photos. We could go on and on

8 One number
 
Most people we know have a mobile phone number. They also probably have an email address. Many have a Facebook account, some even a Twitter name, a Skype number, and so on. Looking at it all, it's a mishmash of too many different technologies. Surely by bringing this all together, we'd simplify our lives? Sprint in the US have already begun creating a prototype network system, with a single phone number, e-mail, and messaging system, regardless of location or access technology. The trend has started, watch it continue till we all have only one identity.

9 Robots
 
Expect to see robots in people's homes in the near future. Not ones like C3PO, or even that Sony dog called Aibo, nor a robobutler that can head off to the fridge, pull out a Windhoek and let you continue playing on your Wii 3D. No, it'll be robots that perform specific and useful tasks. Imagining a purpose built skinny, rat-like robot that cleans those gutters? It exists, and so will countless others soon.