TECHNOLOGY
↓ THE I.T. GUY
/ BY ALEXANDER GEORGE /14 March 2019 _ PopularMechanics.com
What
I’m Looking
Forward To
The cool stuff, both
rumored and announced,
that the tech industry saved
for after the holidays.
2 /The Free-
write Traveler
This distraction-
free writing tool
is basically a key-
board and e-ink
screen, similar to
what you’ll find on
an Amazon Kindle.
It shows you noth-
ing except what
you’re typing, then
sends copies of
that to your Drop-
box, Google Drive,
wherever you
want to stash what
you’ve written. It’s
the kind of useful
atavism, like the
internet-block-
ing productivity
app Freedom, for
which I’m a sucker.
The $600 price
makes it a tough
sell for anyone
who, unlike me,
can restrain them-
selves from the pull
away from produc-
tivity that YouTube
provides. But if
writing is your
job, the Traveler
makes a case for
skipping your next
phone upgrade
and getting one of
these instead.4 /Ford’s Graphene
I’ve been reading about
this miracle substance
called graphene (a single
layer of carbon atoms)
for years. Now, we’ll see
it in action. Ford says
it will cover parts of its
engines and other com-
ponents with this stuff
to reduce noise without
adding weight. I’ll be
waiting to hear about the
effect it has on the next
F-150 and Mustang.1 /Porsche’s Electric Vehicle
The Taycan will have a range of 310 miles and go
from zero-to-60 mph in under 3.5 seconds. But the
spec that has my attention is the 350-kilowatt char-
ger that, Porsche says, gives 62 miles of range in four
minutes—a Tesla on a Supercharger takes ten min-
utes to do the same. That’s the difference between
having to kill a little time at a rest-stop Starbucks and
having enough range before your drink is ready.5 /The New Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5 Rumors
for the PS5 point to something similar to the current
console, but I expect they’ll borrow some functionality
ideas from the Switch’s portability and/or Xbox’s
xCloud streaming system—meaning all you’d need to
keep playing God of War is a phone, a
PlayStation controller, and fast Wi-Fi.
Meanwhile, the Switch is selling so well
that I expect upgrades like a higher-
resolution display, better battery
life, and more onboard storage.3 / The Zeiss ZX1 Camera Smartphones will never fit a sensor as big as
a point-and-shoot. There will always be a place for real cameras. And I get the
most satisfaction out of models that look like the ZX1: physical dials for shutter
speed and aperture, with a viewfinder and not much else to distract you from
thinking hard about what will make a great photograph. Plus, USB-C charging
will mean I can travel with fewer cables, which I always appreciate.