The Incoming and the Outgoing

With time, gadgets get phased out as newer, faster and sharper innovations are born, Shahid Judge looks at what is in store for our future

Gadget fanatics are always well versed with mobile phones, laptops, tablets and other devices that revolve around the realm of electronics. We thought about throwing some fuel to the interest of not just gadget fanatics, but also the technologically impaired, by presenting a list of gadgets that may soon be a part of our future or may be obsolete, given ample amount of time. We have also taken the liberty of predicting the year in which we expect them to become the hottest properties in the market or when they are completely wiped off the planet.

INCOMNG:ROLLTOP LAPTOS
Ever had problems looking for a suitable bag for your laptop? Well, now your laptop will be its own bag. The idea was conceptualised in 2009 by a team of graduates from the IT, design, and business administration fields.
PREDICTION: 2016

OUTGOING: PRINTING PRESS
The cause of death of this noble and age-old device can be attributed to e-books, e-newspapers and even e-mails. Technology may soon leave the human mind-set impatient to carry the bulk of a book or a newspaper, especially since it can be viewed in a much smaller cellular phone.
PREDICTION: 2025

INCOMING: CYBORG Given the way humans have formed a symbiotic relationship with technology, theorists have argued that it won’t take too long before the two merge. Confused? Think of Darth Vader from Star Wars or Sonny from iRobot to get a better idea.
PREDICTION: 2030

OUTGOING: PERSONAL COMPUTERS
Smartphones are often considered ‘minicomputers.’ One day they might just become computers. One can do practically everything on cell phones these days: browse the Internet, play games, music and videos, take photos, etc. Not to mention, they’re portable and some models are more expensive than computers themselves!
PREDICTION: 2030

INCOMING: SPACE ELEVATORS
When travelling through rockets is too mainstream and taking the stairs is considered a joke, one may want to choose to take an elevator up to space. The Japanese imagination proves to be ‘out of this world’ (pun intended) in terms of international tourism since they plan to create an elevator directly to a space station.
PREDICTION: 2500

OUTGOING: FILM CAMERAS
DSLR cameras, pointand- shoot cameras, mobile phones… even iPods have cameras. With every passing day, the quality is getting much better. Soon, we’ll get to a point where the massive equipment required to make a feature film can either fit in your pocket or in a small bag.
PREDICTION: 2023

INCOMING: QUICK CHARGING BATTERIES
Scientists are still working on this concept. The idea is to charge the battery of a cell phone or laptop at ten times the normal charge time. This is ideal for users who forget to charge their devices. Imagine charging your phone for 10 minutes and using it for 48 hours.
PREDICTION: 2019

OUTGOING: QERTY KEYPAD CELL PHONES
Cell Phones With the emergence of the iPhone, touch screen phones have topped popularity charts and have slowly made way for the demise of cell phones with QWERTY keypads. Yet, the spirit of QWERTY lives on, as touch phones use the keypad design for users to type. All that’s missing are the buttons.
PREDICTION: 2020

INCOMING: PAPER PHONE
Mobile phone companies often compete to bring about the slimmest phone with all the possible features. Now comes a time when ‘slim’ becomes paper thin. And so we have the Paper Phone, which is meant to be folded in order to avail of its functions.
PREDICTION: 2026

OUTGOING: REMOTE CONTROLS
The remote control, a life saver to the couch potato, is now making way for a healthier way of living. The user now has to take the effort to ‘speak’ to the television, DVD player, music system, etc. The technology involved in this healthy revolution is called ‘voice recognition.’
PREDICTION: 2024

INCOMING: CAR THAT CAN TURN INTO TWO MOTORCYCLES
A concept sponsored by Renault, the idea behind this is to have a car that can split into two motorbikes. An ideal investment for the adventurous user and his/her sidekick. It’s almost like a Batman-Robin thing.
PREDICTION: 2035

OUTGOING: MP3 PLAYERS
Music is an important feature in the life of a human being, and so is the mobile phone. As a result, mobile phones can now play music. So why should a person carry two different things when one can do it all?
PREDICTION: 2030

INCOMING: THE HARRY POTTER CLOCK
Remember the clock the Weasley family used in the Harry Potter series? Well, believe it or not, it’s coming to the Muggle world soon. The clock’s mechanism works by updating a user’s location based on their Twitter updates so family members know where they are at all times.
PREDICTION: 2015

OUTGOING: E-READERS
An e-reader’s sole function is to allow its user to read e-books, e-periodicals, and e-newspapers. Since all this can be done on smartphones, e-readers have lost popularity and may soon be on the verge of extinction.
PREDICTION: 2018