Tech Spot - Up In The Clouds

It was hard to escape the telly bombardment of phone, app and computer sales before and after Christmas and so many gadgets are now available that not to have the latest and greatest can induce a sense of total inadequacy, even as a voice over is shouting that you must have it.

Yet most of us still make do with what we have and most of what we use comes with the job, in our business life. Scottronics in Kerikeri specializes in business IT requirements which is different from the consumer technology available through chain stores.

The best-sellers in business IT at the moment are still the good old laptop and desktop computers, and both of which are still the business backbone. On the retail side Ric McCready from Scottronics says action cameras and accessories have been very successful sellers too.

"While everyone is getting smart phones and tablets for home and mobile use, the desktop computer at work has had a bit of a renaissance. The GoPro cameras are a great fit for the kiwi lifestyle and this sort of video camera is still the market leader in this area and the best product."

As for the latest and greatest, touch screen tablets of all shapes and sizes are a growing market segment and game consoles are also experiencing a resurgence with the release of the new PS4 and Xbox One. Voice interaction with phones, tablets and game consoles are among the latest 'things' to have.

Then there is cloud software -or technically called software as a service - that runs in a web browser so that, unlike the software installed on the local computer, everything is run from the internet. It's easy to install, updates are automatic and it's accessible from anywhere. However, it doesn't work without an internet connection and data is often held offshore where privacy and security issues could be of concern. Moreover, updates happen even if you don't want them to and there is little or no customization of one's needs.

As for the immediate future, wearable technology like glasses and watches are here and although not yet mass produced, they will become mainstream. The immediacy of monitoring yourself with health and fitness-related technology like monitors, testers and GPS trackers is increasing the popularity of this sort of IT technology. The strap-on heart rate monitor is now worn like a watch.

So is there a must have this year? Ric McCready says ultrafast broadband or 4G isn't readily available in the Far North and he sees that as a 'significant hurdle' for running a business in this part of the world.