Happy 2014! The year of 2013 introduced a lot of cool products and revisions, including the release of new game consoles (Sony PlayStation 4 and Microsoft XBox One), updated phones from Apple (iPhone 5s/5c) and Google (Nexus 5), a more energy efficient CPU from Intel (Haswell) that brought up battery life in notebooks, and many more cool things.
Personally, I have yet to fully enjoy all of the new products from this past year, but it’s never too early to start looking ahead. Here are just some of the things I am looking forward to in 2014.
Looking Forward To
Camera: Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM1
The Panasonic GM1 was actually released in 2013 and carries the distinction of being the smallest micro four-thirds camera ever made, and one of the smallest interchangeable lens cameras. I really want a high quality camera that can fit in my pocket, and the GM1 really seems to be a great option except for one area: the price. At $749 for the lens kit version, it seems rather expensive, which is why I included it on the list for 2014, as hopefully the price will drop sometime this year.
I previously purchased the Canon EOS Rebel SL1 on sale at a great price. The SL1 is supposed to be the smallest DSLR type camera, and indeed it is quite small compared to its larger cousins. However, it simply isn’t small enough. There is still no feasible way to carry around a DSLR without a bag of some sort, making it a hassle to bring the camera on outings. Hopefully the GM1 will be small enough to not need a bag for most trips.
CPU: Intel Broadwell Processor (Haswell Refresh)
Intel’s next series of processors codenamed Broadwell is set to arrive sometime this year, promising another 30% boost in power efficiency compared to even Haswell. While Haswell brought significant improvements to battery life already, we unfortunately haven’t really seen any Windows Ultrabooks surpass 10 hours of battery life (Apple’s Haswell Macbook Air managed to get over 15 hours with the improvements to OS X Mavericks power efficiency). I’m hoping that Broadwell will further enhance battery life to truly be all day(light) long on the Microsoft side.
Monitor: 27″ 2560×1440 G-Sync IPS 120Hz refresh rate
nVidia introduced it’s G-Sync technology a few months ago but the major products featuring it should be coming in 2014. ASUS has the only known G-Sync product at the moment (the VG248QE), but I can’t accept a TN panel. In particular, I want to see an IPS panel using G-Sync that can run at around 120Hz refresh rate. It should also be 27-inches and have a resolution of at least 2560×1440. The only problem is who will make such a beast?
Conclusion: Not Enough Time or Money
While this is only a sampling of the new products I am looking forward to in 2014, I think the conclusion that can be drawn from all of the cool things being released these days is that there is not enough time to enjoy or money to acquire all of them. Once I get something new, I find myself always eagerly looking forward to what is coming next. Maybe that is a good thing, as aspirations lead to progress. After all, dreaming is free. I just need to be careful when and how I spend my money.
