George Colony of Forrester Research has some interesting points on Google. Check also the comments below the article.
Sorry for my infrequent posting. I'm quite loaded with a VC round & consulting work. My prediction of the next big thing is definetely optoelectronics. European & US VCs have still underinvested for the sector and desperately looking for good investment targets. Asia has been ahead of the rest of the pack. Here's a good starting point to explore the near future applications to arrive and already existing in the market. The good thing is that the market shares are not divided yet. An innovative player can still make a home run. Drop me a private mail if you wanna learn more :-)