Top ten tech rumours that might come true in 2011

2011

The technology industry is always rife with rumours about the next new product, the next big buyout or the next "restructuring" of an executive team.

However, when it comes to rumours, the question always remains: will fiction ever become fact?

In this feature we run down the top 10 rumours of 2010 and decide whether we think they will prove to be true in the year ahead of us.

Google to launch Facebook rival?

The battle of the Silicon Valley bigwigs has raged on throughout the year but both Google and Facebook have kept the number one spots for their respective specialities.

Yet 2010 saw the rumour emerge that Google would try and pounce onto Facebook's territory by launching its very own social network to take on Mark Zuckerberg's 500 million-strong community.

When the rumour first emerged in June, the name bandied around for the site was "Google Me," and the information came from a "very credible source" according to the founder of Digg.

Google denied the rumours in November but as the internet company continues to expand into more and more areas, we would not be surprised if this was top of the company's list in 2011.

Facebook phone?

Google may not be the only one looking to steal its rival's thunder.

Rumours surfaced in September that the world dominating social network was considering a move into the mobile handset market. It is already responsible for one of the most popular mobile apps out there so could this translate into an entire device from the company?

Google has seen major success this year with its mobile operating system but the handsets have had mixed receptions.

We think this is a possible for Facebook but it is more likely to throw itself into its "Gmail killer" messaging service or other areas of Google's business before it taps into the mobile market.

iPad 2?

Probably the most certain to happen of all of our rumours falls to Apple with the likely introduction of the iPad 2.

The first version of the iPad, released in May 2010, took the world by storm and became the flagship tablet device that all companies looked up to.

Many more are set to compete with Apple's model going into 2011 but the most hotly anticipated will be the rumoured follow-up to the iPad, the iPad 2.

The rumours suggest it will emerge in February but, whenever it does, expect a plethora of news and industry excitement to follow.

Jennifer Scott

Jennifer Scott is a former freelance journalist and currently political reporter for Sky News. She has a varied writing history, having started her career at Dennis Publishing, working in various roles across its business technology titles, including ITPro. Jennifer has specialised in a number of areas over the years and has produced a wealth of content for ITPro, focusing largely on data storage, networking, cloud computing, and telecommunications.

Most recently Jennifer has turned her skills to the political sphere and broadcast journalism, where she has worked for the BBC as a political reporter, before moving to Sky News.