Socket to them

SOMETIMES it is the simple things that count. Gulliver is writing this blog post in a cafe. There is no power outlet by the table and the battery status on the laptop says 46%. That should be easily enough time to bash out three paragraphs or so, yet the knowledge that it is counting down as I work causes a nagging anxiety that will be familiar to many. As a result, every minute or so I feel compelled to glance up to the menu bar (44%...).

Good news is at hand, however. For business travellers, 2015 could well be the year of the plug. A PR firm that represents hotel designers recently emailed me, arguing that the “prevalent trend” for the coming year will be that “instead of businessmen having to wrestle for power outlets in the lobby with Wi-Fi capabilities, they'll find more power outlets available than ever before.” Elsewhere, as my colleague recently wrote, American Airlines is overhauling its planes and lounges and one of its big selling points will also be more plugs. It is not just planes and hotels. Some British train operators say that all of their new carriages, even on suburban services, will include sockets for passengers to charge their gizmos. 

This may not seem earth-shattering. But given how inseparable we now are from our gadgets, having somewhere to plug in our tablets and the like is an easy and effective way to please customers. Although airlines spend millions of dollars on flashy in-flight entertainment systems, for many of us the best solution would be to allow us simply to keep our devices charged so that we can watch our own films and listen to our own music. Installing more plugs is simple, cheap and considerate. You heard it here first: 2015, year of the plug.

www.the economist.com