As technology converges my bag gets heavier…

For years experts have been talking about technology converging, and how one single device might soon rule them all. Thinking about this recently, I’m not sure I agree.

When all TV’s are internet enabled will we all ditch our laptops? When you can really control your lights at home with an app on your BlackBerry will you wallpaper over the light switches?

I don’t think we’ll ever see true convergence of technology, and my best hint is that no one went out and bought combined TV and VCR combos.  Those were reserved for school classrooms and university lecture theatres.

I can often be found on East Coast train lines at a table with a power point (if it’s working) unpacking my bag with no less than four devices for my ‘converged’ technology:

My laptop is open so I can fiddle with spreadsheets and Microsoft PowerPoint documents, which is still the best device for manipulating large data and perfecting presentations.

My iPad is next to me, as my Laptop can only connect to Wifi and sometimes on train journeys the bandwidth can be consumed pretty quickly, so my iPad is there for the 3G element needed to get online during busy train journeys and keep up to date with emails and play Words with Friends if I ever bore of spreadsheets and slide decks (often…).

My BlackBerry doubles as my work phone, so it’s there too, and I’ve taken to using BlackBerry Messenger to contact colleagues, especially as they spend more time away from their desks than ever before – like me. It’s a 50/50 toss up whether I use BlackBerry or iPad for emailing, depending on how much 3G coverage there is.

Finally, my iPhone is my music player and provides access to the ever-s0-good National Rail app to tell me how far behind I am running. Any of those other devices could also be a music player, but they are not as mobile if you get off a train and into a tube or a taxi and don’t want to interrupt an hour of AC/DC live…

So why do I need so many devices? Well, I think it’s because each device (and name) has its own pedigree and speciality, and new products take a long time to catch on in a customer’s mind. If you could buy a combined stereo and washing machine brand would you buy it from Bosch or Bang and Olufsen? Both are great companies with a great product range, but only specialise in appliances or sound systems respectively.

So I believe that for the foreseeable future I will retain my set of devices and their purposes for my technology needs. At least having a USB charger for each device means my bag can avoid clunky plugs and be a little bit lighter as I walk from location to location…

If you’ve got any tips or thoughts, let us know below.

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