The Long Night’s Journey Into Day (The dream of convergence had turned into a nightmare)

The dream is over. For me, at least. A truly converged device that did everything and did it well has been something of a holy grail over these past years. A PDA, phone, & media device has been the ultimate to aim for. I’ve tried many ways of aiming at it but have always missed the mark. There’s always something that feels compromised – whether it’s screen size or portability or the limitations of a particular OS. Whichever way I tried to solve the conundrum failed. I finally figured out that I wanted a decent PDA and a go-anywhere-easily mobile phone – and not one device managed to do both.
 
So, the dream of convergence is over – and I for one don’t mind in the least. This Christmas saw the arrival into my life of an iPod Touch 2G and it’s advent has been nothing short of delightful. At last I’ve got a fully-fledged PDA back in my life without any bulk to speak of. It sits nicely alongside the Nokia 6120 Classic, my slim & efficient mobile phone. The Nokia is a smart-enough phone for my needs that is small enough to go anywhere unnoticed, even when I choose to take the iPod along too. And the latter is hardly a brick.
 
But what’s really allowed me to set aside the fussing and fretting of trying to find some way of converging is the marvel that is the iPod Touch. With more and more apps appearing for it, its facility as a PDA just grows & grows, not to mention its abilities as a gaming and media device. Reading on it is a delight; writing on it is a breeze; racing on it is a blast.
 
So why not just get an iPhone? I’d be lying if I didn’t say price has been the dominant negative reason – but two weeks in I really don’t care about getting an iPhone – for me, the combo is king. And long may it reign.
 
The dream of convergence had turned into a nightmare. I’m so glad I’ve woken up. Richard.