Mobile Device Convergence
Personally, I think that device convergence is crap. If devices converge why don’t toasters make coffee? Over time devices take on more specialized roles just like people do in our evolving economy. I charted my own device consumption during the past 16 years and I noticed that (except for device upgrades) in most cases new devices took an incremental role in my life instead of replacing previous devices.
Many mobile devices (Treo, BlackBerry, iPhone) have attempted to converge previous devices like phones, organizers, video game systems, and cameras. Typically these devices fall short on many fronts. I like my iPhone, but I still use our digital camera for photos and I am tempted to get a Blackberry for email. My favorite device right now is my mini digital camcorder. It performs one function and it does that very well.
The iPad looks like a great device, however, I don’t think that it will replace anything that I own. Instead it will become my new browsing-while-sitting-on-the-couch device.