Trying to predict what will happen this year will be harder than ever with new entrants coming thick and fast. However I have dusted off the crystal ball and here are some of my thoughts!

INTERNET ACCESS
With the NSW State Government proposing a blanket wireless coverage of Sydney for FREE wireless Internet will be the norm and Internet companies (Bigpond etc) will have to lift their game and offer more and more value added services to stay on top. Look for other State Governments to announce similar plans to stay on top and to woo businesses! ADSL 2 will also become the norm with speeds of 24 mps across all major cities.

WIMAX
The new wireless ‘N’ standard will gain a foothold with Intel making all computers processors out of the box with the new ‘N’ standard. This will aid Wireless Internet provider Unwired who Intel have invested heavily in. and hamper companies that have rejected this standard such as Telstra (who have gone for their own proprietary standard). Wireless Internet will change the way agents operate in the future. At this point in time it pays to have offices in key regions but the future will be all about mobility and agents sales/property management staff make their money on the road, not sitting in an office.

VIDEO
With apologies to all of the technology companies making VR tours, these will be on their way out in 2007 and will be replaced by video tours. With the new Windows Vista Movie Maker and Apples’ already sophisticated yet simple to use iMovie software packages, even my mother could make a professional tour (well she couldn’t because she would get distracted and shop on ebay!). I actually have purchased a Mac and made a movie with sound effects, photos and video in less than 20 minutes (once I had all the source materials).

I will post a movie sample here soon to show you how easy and professional this looks.

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