Now that the New Year has greeted us, it is time to look ahead at the bright opportunities that await us  in 2013. Before  diving into the future let us pause on the final big push of 2012- holiday sales. The holiday season is a time to be with family and have joyous moments…and give and receive gifts, of course. Now what’s better than a shiny new gadgets for men waiting for you with a bow when you wake up in the morning? You can send your thank you note to Santa for that one. Make sure to include the elves on that little note too- according to some numbers, their hands must have been extra busy this year (and there must have been a lot of people that made the “nice” list.)

During this holiday over 50 million new Smartphone’s and tablets were activated and almost two billion apps were downloaded. Times are changing and interests are progressing to a more tech based field. Little kids use to want toys that required batteries, not WIFI. Older generations may have wanted soft pajamas, now they want soft cases for their Apple products.

These numbers are factual evidence that this technology trend isn’t about to vanish anytime soon. Since the world of iPhones and Androids is such a popular market right now, and continuing to rapidly grow, 2013 promises to be a lucrative time for these guys. With rumors and information emerging about Apple already testing out a new iPhone and iOS7 based off an IP address being tracked to the Cupertino headquarters  (as well as rumors about a new iPhone becoming available in multiple colors and screen sizes), Apple fans will most likely be joining a waitlist sometime soon.

Despite the overwhelming popularity of the iPhone, Android devices trump Apple products in actuality. Approximately 60 percent of mobile devices are powered by Android while only 18 percent are iOS. This leaves a lot of room for app developers to get involved in the droid marketplace, Google Play. From 2011 to 2012 the number of applications available in the Android app store rose from 400,000 to 700,000 while the number of downloads rose from 10 to 25 billion.

The continuously growing marketplace for all types of mobile devices and tablets are allowing a lot of room for more people to get in the game. What’s the next step in intelligence and design in this new year? Only time will tell- while we anxiously wait.