From Robotics to Virtual Reality, GITEX Shopper predicts exciting new gadgets, devices and innovations driving consumer technology, at Dubai World Trade Centre, October 3 – 10.
Wearables With wearable tech exploding onto the market in recent years, increasingly fashionable and functional devices such as fitness monitors, smart watches and glasses are expected to drive the growth of the market to an anticipated $19 billion in retail revenue by 2018, according to a recent Juniper Research study. With smart watches expected to replace fitness wearables by 2017, these companion devices for smartphones are a highly anticipated trend for this year’s savvy consumer.
Digital Wallets With Apple Pay preparing for its activation in the Middle East market, and local versions of the digital wallet already taking the UAE by storm, the days of checking for “wallet, phone, keys,” will soon be gone. By simply scanning a QR code produced via smartphone, items are charged to a registered credit card – meaning convenience and simplicity for retailers and consumers alike.
Virtual Reality Traditionally the domain of gamers, Virtual Reality is quickly becoming an actual reality for all, with accessible heads-up displays such as Samsung GearVR and Google Cardboard making VR hardware affordable and usable smartphone peripherals. These consumer media devices are ripe for new content, with many advanced displays such as Meta, Magic Leap, Glyph and the Microsoft HoloLens system starting to gain notable traction as they work to launch consumer products.
According to C.Purushothaman, Head of Marketing for Samsung Gulf Electronics, “Samsung is committed to moving innovation forward, and we’re introducing cutting-edge technologies including virtual reality, wearables and phablets at GITEX Shopper this year.”
Phablet Although to many, smartphones might seem like old news, it has to be said that they are only getting smarter with the advent of new technologies. Current trends are showing that tablets are often used as ‘second screens’, and with phablets growing in availability, consumers will be encouraged to use these as their primary media consumption device – negating the need for a tablet.
Nadeem Khanzadah, Head of OmniChannel Retail at Jumbo Group said: “While smartphones are always top-sellers, we’re seeing a rising demand in phablets as people look beyond the smartphone screen experience and develop multi-screen preferences.”
The Internet of (Every)Thing/s The Internet of Everything continues to grow alongside user-oriented computing, with embedded technologies predicted to be the focus of digital business products and processes in industrial and operational contexts.
Part II will be posted tomorrow
