One of the oldest and most common forms of absorption-based analysis, ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometry continues to evolve. The market for UV-Vis spectrophotometers, based on information from Strategic Directions International (Los Angeles, CA), is growing by roughly $400 million each year (a six percent annual growth rate). Experts predict that increased mobility, reliability, ease of use, speed, and overall miniaturization will be the major trends in these instruments and they will continue to get cheaper. Pressure to shorten analysis times, increasing demand for small volume UV, and shrinking lab space are other factors that are affecting UV-Vis spectrophotometers and will likely continue to affect innovation in this technology into the near future, vendors say. One UV-Vis expert notes that USB stick-type mobile spectrophotometers are going to open new application areas for food testing, forensic analysis, off-site research, and diagnostics.