As technology advances at a phenomenal speed, there are bound to be some casualties as new devices supersede the old ones, even though the old ones are not really so old.
DVD players, satnavs, smartphone chargers and dongles could all end up obsolete and dumped by the wayside as soon as next year, according to the latest research from Pixmania, the largest electronics retailer in Europe.
Pixmania have made up a list of the top 10 technologies they say are “endangered” and aren’t likely to make it as far as 2012 — and some on the list might surprise you.
Top of the list is DVD players. They will be superseded by Blu-Ray, movie streaming and game consoles.
Next in line for the chop are fax machines, which will not survive due to other technologies taking on their role. Basically, they’re no longer required.
Satnavs are likely to be replaced as smartphones and location-based software rise up and take on the task of guiding us where we want to go. I mean why would we buy another gadget when the ones we have are perfectly capable of doing the same job for us, and just as well?
Wii-motes will be blasted into oblivion as soon as Microsoft’s Project Natal takes off, which is expected before the end of next year, and of course the landline phone is at risk as we rely more and more on our mobiles to communicate.
“We’re always talking about the fast pace of technology but 2009 has truly seen us take huge leaps forward and even greater developments are expected in 2010.
“Things that have been making life easier for a generation are about to be replaced. It’s a shame to see an old classic like the DVD face the threat of extinction; it will be gone, but not forgotten,” says Kieran Alger, the editor of the T3.com gadgets website.
Other gadgets on their way to finding a place in the history books include the dongle, the computer mouse, chip and pin credit cards, the mobile phone charger and analog TV.
Are we sad? Well, some people might be but there’s no time for nostalgia, we’ve got a future to build — a future where new technology is king.
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People have predicted the death of the fax machine for at least two decades. It doesn’t survive because it’s the best; it survives because it’s ubiquitous. It’s also easy to use and relatively fast and cheap.
The article doesn’t really say what would replace it. What machine makes it easy to transmit documents on paper from business to business? There isn’t one except the fax machine.
So don’t sell your fax machine stock just yet.
The dongle isn’t going anywhere if the usb thumb drive has anything to say about it!
I don’t see computer mice going away until there is another technology that provides the lightning fast precision required for gaming. As of 2009, a high end gaming mouse is the undisputed, most accurate way to control a shooting game. On that same tangent, the keyboard isn’t going anywhere either. Typing on a touch screen, even a large one with well spaced “buttons”, is no match for typing on a physical keyboard that provides the user with tactile response. Think about texting on an iPhone compared to a phone with a real keyboard, which is easier? Touch screen technology works well for lots of things, but I would think we will see touch screen/mouse hybrid PCs in the future, not touch screen only.
Just because we have integrated technologies that incorporate these tools doesn’t mean people will only want the integrated version. Look at the clock radio… did it replace the clock?
What you’ll find is that far from disappearing these technologies will just become so ubiquitous that they’ll cease to be considered gadgets. Again, consider the clock. At one point it was considered a bit of an eccentric toy. After all, the clock tower would give you accurate time in the city and no one needed accurate time in the country.
Satnavs for example are just going to get built into everything. They’ll be in your car, your bike, your shoes… they’ll be giving them away in cereal boxes.
As to controllers being replaced by body posture reading cameras/AI I’ll point out that it’s unlikely to be as responsive or accurate as “manual” controls for many many years to come. What’s more, I think the game devs are being a bit optimistic about how much gamers want to jump around in their living rooms… sure, it might be fun at parties but it doesn’t help the 18 hour gaming marathoner.
Fax machine is here to stay. Anything used by buisnesses is here to stay. Like dot matrix printers.
Wii will stay because it is just cheap.
Landlines will stay bacause in most countries they are still required for adsl.
The death of the mouse was hailed for a long time, but a real replacment is no where to be seen, only console fan boys call for the death of our beloved rodent.
Cut back on the weed and start to think.
The mouse? Really now, what would we replace it with I wonder?
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Many technologies will be extinct, but choices made here are all wrong:
-DVD player. Plentiful long lasting content, not much worse in quality vs. “new media” and most importantly – you can have one for less than 30$. When BR comes to that price point, extinction is near. Will not happen by 2012.
-Fax machine. Already obsolete but business entrenched. Try to do something with insurance companies, lenders, … First thing they want is to send/receive fax of this or that. Also cheap and non-demanding. Definitely living beyond 2012.
-Satnavs are now mostly built-in as “additional feature” in all kinds of vehicles. Your phone can do that? Who cares, it is “required” component of vehicles above certain level. Not gone even by 2021, nevermind 2012.
-Wii-mote vs. Natal? Wii mote exists. MS record of hoopla with potential new products which never see light of the day: monumental. If something like Natal actually arrives to the store near you it will not be Natal and it will not be from MS. Nor will it appear before 2012.
-Landline phones? Ask yourself about ye’ old folk not comfortable with new tech? How many? Will they all die by 2012?
Savnavs are no where near being obsolete. The portable personal navigation units are no where near dead. I’ve never used a built in navigation system but I hear they’re cost a ton of money for any sort of map updates. Also, not everyone wants to own a smartphone or cares to figure them out. Almost all of those smart phones require a active cellphone internet connection for navigation. Who wants to pay 40 bucks a month to use a gps? What if you’re connection drops? Good luck have a wonderful trip.
dvd plaayers are here to stay no ones replaceing there dvd collection when you can upconvert it and play it at nearly hd quality,video recorders are still here and you can still buy videos faxes are at death door
I find it funny you say the Wiimote will be wiped out by Natal. That was a glorified tech demo. Sure there is potential, but I fail to see where the gameplay is. Sure it’s immersive, but having nothing tangible to interact with I think developers will be left scrounging for gameplay.
The fact is that Nintendo isn’t going to be caught with their pants down when Natal comes. More then likely by the time Natal hits market Wii 2 will have already been announced at E3.
This article definitely overestimates the rate of new technology being adopted and ignores why people use certain devices.
DVD players. Not everyone wants to or can pay $30 a movie for blu ray right now vs half that for a regular dvd.
Fax machines. These are mostly used by businesses and for a reason. They’re cheap and they get the job done. Not everyone wants to mess with scanning software etc. and they’re closer to a hardcopy. They’re going to be around for awhile.
Wii-motes dying to Natal. Nintendo’s family oriented image and cheaper games will keep a lot of parents from switching to XBOX. The Wii was so successful because of its mass appeal to even casual gamers who will probably still be intimidated by the XBOX.
This article is pretty stupid. Wacom tablets, mice, and keyboards are absolutely not going anywhere, 3d artists, film editors, animators, sound engineers, programmers of all forms, and a massive array of other professions use software that relies heavily on these input devices, and is designed to accommodate them.
You could argue that a Cintiq could replace a Wacom tablet, but there will always be a problem with the width of the screens glass, plus did screens not solve the annoying problem of your hand blocking you work while working? And I for one will never touch my 30″ cinematic display, no matter how clean my hands are, I work in graphics.
Handheld devices and netbooks will meet somewhere in the middle to form our one-in-all gadget, prolly with a touchscreen keyboard that is also a giant trackpad/tablet, more than likely developed on wacoms technology.
All of this technology scares the daylights out of me. Its too intricate/delicate, one small mishap and the entire world is going to shut down. Its too late, we’re trapped in the matrix and you just try to imagine not living with all of this new stuff.
The computers are damn near our life support system now. If/when it goes haywire, people are going to go completely nuts.