Entertainment is no more a luxury but is a necessity, in this fast paced world the only way to relax and enjoy is to be with technology. Like all other machines and devices these entertainment gadgets will also get expensive and their running cost will also increase.
We have an insatiable desire for entertainment and for that we are ready to shell out any amount of money. This era is the era of iPods, Plasma TVs, DVDs etc. this demand for electronics is not perpetual and will soon we overtaken by the increasing prices of oil and electricity.
Most electronic devices are made in Asia, once the cost of oil increases these companies will not be able to ship the goods beyond a certain distance and even if they ship it to far of regions, the cost of shipping will exceed that of the product in some cases or will make the product so expensive that no one would be ready to purchase it.
Tech writer Mark Fleishmann believes that this age of high tech excess may soon be winding down. He points out that prices of oil in 1990s was around $10 a barrel and now it’s a whooping $71. This makes him believe that the energy costs that we take as granted today will soon become very expensive and hard to afford. Till now people don’t think about the cost of electricity when they are watching their favorite movie on their high-end Plasma TV or using their iPhone, but once the prices increase these gadgets will have to give more for less else they will simply be wiped out from the market.
The latest trend is devices that can run on their own for days before they need a recharge. If our beloved devices don’t act smart in coming years then I feel sorry for them because they soon will be wiped out from the market and we will have to think of some other entertainment sources.
Fleishmann predicts that electronic devices need to change within the next few years as a reflection of mounting energy costs. Here are some of his predictions:
1. Manufacturing will go local.
2. New TV technology will keep the boobs tubing.
3. Surround receivers will get smarter…
4. …And so will surround speakers.
5. Stereo will replace surround.
6. Compact systems will prosper.
7. The iPod will have to go more earth friendly, gone are the days when we used iPods based on disk storage, next trend will be devices such as the iPod Shuffle with flash based memory. If this happens then it will also be the end of Apple’s dominance in the PMP market which will then be ruled by the company which offers the greenest devices of all.
Via: Treehugger
