Monday, July 8, 2002
Convergence or Divergence?
Posted by Jason Dunn in "ARTICLE" @ 04:47 PM
http://www.brighthand.com/newsite/features/stateofindustry_monday.html
Brighthand is starting a full week of columns dedicated to the state of the handheld industry. The first article is on the concept of convergence devices vs. the divergence of devices in the industry (ie: make multiple device types for multiple markets). Ultimately both are needed in my opinion, but not every company will be willing or able to take on all the markets at once - yet any market they miss will be upset that they were missed (like the people who want an 02 XDA with 128 megs of RAM...)
"Do you want one device that does it all? Or would you prefer several single-purpose gadgets that each do one thing well? That's the big question on the minds of consumer electronics manufacturers as they attempt to predict what you and I will buy in the future. Some are placing their bets on convergence, whereby the functionality of two or more gadgets becomes converged into one device. In the realm of handheld computers, we've witnessed the melding of the portable music player with the organizer, and the cellphone with the PDA. But whether large numbers of consumers will adopt these products has yet to be seen."
Brighthand is starting a full week of columns dedicated to the state of the handheld industry. The first article is on the concept of convergence devices vs. the divergence of devices in the industry (ie: make multiple device types for multiple markets). Ultimately both are needed in my opinion, but not every company will be willing or able to take on all the markets at once - yet any market they miss will be upset that they were missed (like the people who want an 02 XDA with 128 megs of RAM...)
"Do you want one device that does it all? Or would you prefer several single-purpose gadgets that each do one thing well? That's the big question on the minds of consumer electronics manufacturers as they attempt to predict what you and I will buy in the future. Some are placing their bets on convergence, whereby the functionality of two or more gadgets becomes converged into one device. In the realm of handheld computers, we've witnessed the melding of the portable music player with the organizer, and the cellphone with the PDA. But whether large numbers of consumers will adopt these products has yet to be seen."
