According to the 1987 movie “The Running Man,” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, 2017 is the year the world goes into economic collapse, even though things aren’t all rosy in the current climate worldwide, they definitely aren’t as bad as this movie predicted! One thing 2017 will definitely be exciting for is seeing what technological trends and consumer markets have to offer us this year! Over the next 5 Episodes I aim to show you what I think will be big this year not only in the world of technology but how this will translate to to the Promotional Product Industry.
Earlier last month, the world’s biggest Consumer electronics and technology exhibitions took place in Las Vegas Nevada, CES 2017. It was so exciting to see the plethora of new technologies hitting the market this year, some of them relevant and ready to hit the market, others wacky futuristic concepts, but all have one thing in common, they are all pushing the technological boundaries showing us what could be the world of tomorrow. And what does consumer electronics and technologies being introduced into society have to do with the promotional product industry? I almost guarantee you if there is a popular product finding its way into the consumer market, it will just as quickly become a popular item in the promotional merchandise market also, nine times out of ten you can see a straight correlation between popular new products to buy and popular new products to brand. Over the next 5 Episodes I aim to show you what I think will be big this year not only in the world of technology but how this will translate to to the Promotional Product Industry.
1) USB Type C
I know what you’re thinking, not another type of connector, but bear with me for one moment as theoretically USB Type C has the ability to be THE One and only Connector you’ll need (One Connecter to rule them all!…for now anyway!) The transformed shape is actually not too dissimilar from current USB connectors; it is just slightly thicker and wider than the popular micro-usb. Great news is for those of you, like me, who plug your phone in to charge in the dark, you will be happy to know, like the Apple lightening connecter, Type C can be plugged in front to back or back to front! The unique quality USB type C has is that it supports all different types of connections, from
charging, to data transfer, audio and even visual! This means that the USB type C can replace not only all of your current USB charging and transfer cables, but it will also replace Aux, HDMI, VGA and DVI cables.
USB chargers can currently only handle 5 volts at 2 amps (generally) whereas to fully power a computer, the source would need to output at least 20 volts at 5 amps.. Coupled with USB 3.1 and type C connectors the power is now scalable up to 100 watts, providing enough power to charge computers, laptops, tablets, phones, cameras, home robots, spaceships ok maybe not a whole spaceship…. Possibly just the LED lighting… Although I joke about spaceships this integration process is not a distant future, flagship mobile devices have already started incorporating USB Type C ports and reaping the benefits of superfast data transfers and charging. Although USB type C and USB 3.1 are different things, you will generally see them combined to create this USB connected powerhouse, which will make smart devices smarter and your personal and portable computers more portable.
In the next episode we will see the new developments in virtual reality and what we think 360 video has to offer us this year.