AFTER teaming up with my sister to purchase our parents a Samsung Galaxy Tab for Christmas, we have opened up a whole new world for them, writes Gary Welford at Brewin Dolphin. 

My mother can regularly be seen flying from Sydney, Australia to Whitby, North Yorkshire, via Google Earth, and my father can tell you the value of any second hand car located within a 100 mile radius of Saltburn Pier thanks to a very useful app courtesy of Auto Trader. 

Needless to say, this present has been used more times in January 2014 than the lovingly picked out foot spa purchased in the Christmas of 2002.

In general it was another good year for the device industry with PC, tablet and mobile phone sales together growing by around 3.8 per cent in unit terms.

For 2014 we expect to see higher growth of closer to 7.6 per cent.

However, this masks a large difference in the growth rates of the individual constituents. PC sales fell by ten per cent in 2013, whilst tablet sales increased by 50 per cent and mobile phones by around three per cent. In 2014, PC sales are expected to increase very slightly, whilst tablets and mobile phones are expected to increase by 47 per cent and five per cent respectively.

Smartphone sales have driven all of the growth in the mobile phone sector with older style phones, i.e. those with the original version of the game Snake, becoming less popular. As the opportunities in the high-end smart phone market are reducing, going forward, the growth is likely to come from mid-end smart phones i.e. those mobiles with some smart features and usually a better selection of games. The tablet market is at a slightly earlier stage but following the same pattern.

Smartwatches, a device that communicates Smartphone information to a watch face, are one of the latest crazes in tech circles. These are no doubt an interesting product but not real contenders for mass consumption just yet.

With high prices, relatively low functionality and a general lack of consumer interest it may be some time before we see significant sales volumes. However, given that technology trends move very quickly, I am not ruling out smartwatches as a suitable parental gift for Christmas 2020.

If one element has transformed the device industry in the last five years it would be touch sensor products. Touch sensors are becoming more and more prevalent in modern day life and not necessarily only in the mobile or tablet market.

Zytronic, the developer and manufacturer of touch sensor products headquartered in Blaydon, Gateshead, are trying to capitalise on this market.

Its touch interactive products are used in electronic displays for information kiosks, ATMs, ticketing and gaming machines as well as by military, computer, telecommunications and medical manufacturers.

As with many companies, and in particular technology companies, it is very likely you have used one of their products without even realising it.

Zytronic is quoted on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) and has a market capitalisation of approximately £35m.