I was going through my Santa wish list thinking about how I was going to continue to build my personal brand in 2011. What tools will I need? Hmmmm. All this talk of smart phones and tablets has me thinking. And if I bought a new “tool” I would also have to make a New Year’s resolution to use it! It better be something fun as well as a productivity tool.

There are so many smart phones and smart phone operating systems, it may be a difficult decision. Personally I use an ancient iPhone so I will ask for a new iPhone 4G in my stocking (complete with a cover to avoid the antenna issue). But what about tablets? Well, there are really only two available in time for Christmas—the Apple iPad and Samsung’s GalaxyTab. If I wasn’t an avid Apple MacBook Pro and iPhone user I would consider the GalaxyTab due to its smaller form factor with a 7″ screen and the front and back cameras. According to Samsung they have now shipped over 1 million! But then, there are all of those iPad applications.

Just for kicks, I thought I would do a little research and see what is going on in the market according to the analysts. The trend to smart phones and tablets is not just a personal fantasy, but the analysts agree, it is huge. Research firm Gartner expects tablet sales to jump from 19.5 million this year (mostly iPads) to 54 million in 2011. ARM Holdings CEO Warren East echos this and thinks they could go as high as 60 million units in 2011.

All the while, IDC projects smart phone sales to rise 22 percent next year and reach 330 million! IDC, as of September expects smart phone sales in 2010 to come in around 270 million up 55 percent from 2009. Are you starting to see a trend? IDC also projects tablet sales will be at a strong 42 million in 2011. This is less than the other two analysts, but still an astounding number. IDC says that Apple’s iPad will lead the pack but lower cost tablets from Research In Motion, Motorola, Hewlett-Packard, LG and others will challenge Apple.

So what does all of this mean for personal computer sales? “The PC-centric era is over,” IDC declared in their report. The report goes on to say within the next 18 months, non-PC devices running software will outsell PC’s.

The world is going mobile. Start preparing now to take your online personal branding efforts mobile.

For me this means I’m leaving a new iPhone and iPad on my Christmas list. Now that this is decided, I can move on to my New Years resolutions.

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