When I got my first job, I was really keen to get a great stereo. At the time the thinking was that to get quality music playback, hi-fi separates ware the way forward. Each component was stand alone, loosely joined by standard interconnects (phono, coaxial or fibre optics), and was easily replaced, upgraded or repaired without affecting the rest of the product. This was opposed to a hi-fi that when, say the CD player breaks, you need to replace the whole damm thing.
Now the trend is convergence, as Dr. Pep mentions, I have been tempting him, and myself, into buying an iPhone. The obvious comparison is the iPhone is convergence personified. It's a mobile phone, a 3G device, it's wifi enabled, a MP3 player, a GPS receiver and a pseudo computer that fits in your pocket.
What happens if one of those features breaks, or you need to change the battery? Well, it seems your in trouble. But that's the price for convenience. The alternative is a mobile phone (with or without 3G access), a laptop with wifi and a 3G dongle, a MP3 player and a GPS receiver. You can of course get other devices than the iPhone that do many of these things, but let's face it, they not an iPhone.
So here's the dilemma, I want to upgrade/get new features like GPS and 3G access. But I already have an iPod, a mobile phone and a wifi enabled laptop. If I were to buy the iPhone, do I throw this all away? If so, it becomes an expensive upgrade.
Does it follow that, more convergence means less devices, means more time on a single device, means wearing that divice out sooner, means expensive upgrades more often? How does having one be and end all device affect my battery life, I don't want to be have to plug something in every four hours.
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