Articles
1. Have you ever owned a standalone satnav in your car?
Yes: 58%
No: 42%
Don't know: 0%
Standalone satnavs used to be hugely popular, with brands like Garmin and TomTom selling millions of products a year. Almost two-thirds of our readers said they have owned such a device.
2. Do you have a standalone satnav in your car now?
Yes: 39%
No: 61%
Don't know: 0%
Times change, though. Integrated navigation aids and maps loaded on to smart phones mean standalone satnavs have started to become obsolete. Now just 39% of readers have them.
3. Do you still use a printed map to guide you on car journeys?
Yes: 61%
No: 39%
Don't know: 0%
While navigation technology might have gone digital, most PE readers still have maps in their cars. Many respondents said it was sensible to retain a map, because electronic devices ran out of power and signal. Others said they just loved using maps.
4. Have you personally received a fax in the past six months?
Yes: 4%
No: 96%
Don't know: 0%
Ah, the fax. Not-so-quietly sitting in the corner of the office, making that awful screeching noise, and delivering reams of tightly curled correspondence.
It’s a technology that has almost totally disappeared these days.
5. Do you recall defunct TV teletext systems with abiding affection?
Yes: 39%
No: 59%
Don't know: 2%
Before on-demand TV, teletext systems offered news at the push of a few buttons. But the information presented looked awful and the pages took ages to refresh. Subsequently teletext died a predictable death.
6. Dyson is launching a robotic cleaner. Would you buy one?
Yes: 16%
No: 63%
Don't know: 21%
Appliance maker Dyson has won a huge share of the market for vacuum cleaners with its clever cyclone technology and its funky-looking design. But now the company has further ambitions to change the way we clean our homes. The company has been advertising for robotics experts and is expected to launch an autonomous vacuum cleaner. Would readers want one? Most said No: it’s a technology that represents the height of laziness, said many. Many Don’t Knows said their decision would depend purely on the price.
7. Will wearable technology such as the Apple iWatch take off?
Yes: 57%
No: 22%
Don't know: 21%
Wearable technology is the next big thing. In fact, it’s already arrived. Apple has confirmed this with the long-awaited launch of its iWatch. Most readers said they expected the iWatch to be a success. The reason? Apple is such a global mega-brand that it couldn’t really fail.
8. Will driverless cars eventually take over from human-operated vehicles?
Yes: 50%
No: 32%
Don't know: 18%
A few years ago most readers would have scoffed at the idea of driverless cars taking over from human-operated vehicles. But carmakers are investing heavily in the technology and working prototypes have already been developed. Such is the momentum behind driverless cars that half of our readers believe they will prevail. To a third, though, the idea remains pie in the sky.