Sunday, December 16, 2018

GADGET GIZMO SPECIAL.... Four technologies we want in 2019


Four technologies we want in 2019

Each new year brings with it a number of newer technologies for us to explore. rounds up a technology wish list for 2019 that we cannot wait to get our hands on.

Wireless laptop chargers
Considering the heavy chargers that we lug around for our laptops, wireless charging would be a welcome addition. The issue with adoption of this technology has been that wireless charging tech was not powerful enough to charge laptop battery. With development in this field in the past few years, we have got wireless chargers that deliver fast charge to smartphones, so they may be powerful enough for laptops too. So far, we have seen demonstrations by Intel and Dell for laptops working seamlessly with wireless chargers. Hopefully in 2019 we will have laptops with wireless charges for us to buy.

Self-driving cars
You may have heard of Google experimenting with self-driving cars for the last few years. Similarly, for the past year there have been news of a number of automobile brands announcing their work on autonomous cars. Tesla was amongst the first to deliver cars with an autopilot function, but its use remains limited. The problem with self-drive cars is that they rely on virtual maps for directions and uses sensors for accurate driving. As both the technologies are available and are constantly being improved, we have high hopes of seeing self-driving cars to be launched in the coming year for end consumers.

OLED touch screen to replace keyboards
Majority of desktop/laptop users still prefer the standard keyboard, mouse or trackpad. Considering how almost everyone now uses a touch screen smartphone, a similar evolution for computers would be ideal. Apple has already launched the MacBook Pro with an OLED touch bar. Similarly, Asus launched the Zenbook with OLED touch screen trackpad. Lenovo also has a laptop with a touch screen base to be used as keyboard or as a drawing tablet. In the coming year, we expect to see more brands replace keyboards and trackpads with touch screen OLED displays.

Modular devices
Modular smartphones were a big hype a couple of year ago. Google also worked on the concept but after few years of trying, they shut down the project. There are still other brands trying to get modular devices out for consumers. Fairphone is available for anyone who is interested and Moto offers a touch of modularity to its smartphones with the Moto Mods. In 2018, Red launched their Hydrogen One phone that came with support for modular accessory add-ons. For TVs, Xiaomi had a modular TV in 2017 in which the components were in a soundbar that can be detached from the display screen and changed with an upgraded unit. This meant you could upgrade your TV every year without having to spend on the price of a new TV. In gaming consoles, Nintendo Switch is the best example of a modular gaming console. It can be used stand-alone or docked into a station to work with a TV. Besides, it also has modular controllers, which can be attached to the main body of the consoles or be used wirelessly for motion control. We hope we can see more devices with modular designs in 2019.

Karan Bajaj
ETW3DEC18


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