One, perhaps two, smart gadgets to rule them all

I can’t remember when I had last used my camera. Somehow it just happened that I used my camera less and less. It’s a great camera but it feels a bit bulky, yes, even when it isn’t in its case. And I’ll admit that the batteries – Lithium, of course – do not last long.

The Wall Street Journal wrote a story about consumers who, just like me, are consolidating devices; they’re using their smart phones instead of a multitude of other gadgets.

Here is my compelling case for making the switch to one or two devices:

•    You’ll charge fewer batteries every day

Does charging batteries nearly every time you want to use a particular appliance irritate you as much as it irritates me? And it creates a mess, too: cables galore and you have to spend even more money on a USB connector for the extra connections every electronic device needs.

If you only have one or two devices, you need to charge only one or two batteries. That’s awesome, right? And you’ll do your bit for the environment, too.

•    Your pockets and handbags will be lighter

At one stage I used to carry nearly all my gadgets around in my handbag. Oh, and the boyfriend’s gadgets, too. I didn’t feel safe walking around with gadgets that were equal – back then – to at least two months’ salary.

So these days I only carry the cellphone with me. My handbag does still bulge but that’s from the books I carry around.

•    You will save money

You’re not rushing out to buy the latest must-have anymore so that should save you enough money to buy next year’s best gadget that will rival the Kindle – the Papyrus. And then your hands or your handbag will love you because you’re no longer carrying the slightly bulky War and Peace with you.

•    Your life will be simpler

Simple is good. And you don’t need to read inspirational and productivity blogs to know that; do you need 25 to 45 gadgets?

•    You do not need professional products

So you’re not a professional photographer but you use a 10-megapixel camera. Your car has a CD-player, you do not gym, and your colleagues entertain you so much that you never notice how fast the time flies. Then why do you insist on buying an iPod?

Do we buy the products because of their status, or do we buy because they are useful?

So which smart phone is it, then? There are many to choose from but the smart phone that wins will be the one with the features you’re looking for. Or it has the potential to hold all those features.

There is no one definition of a smart phone but there are a few criteria that can help you spot such a phone: powerful processors, abundant memories, large screens and open operating systems.

1 Comment

• 

  By Eric Lee, July 23, 2009 @ 9:01 am

  Nice writing style. I look forward to reading more in the future.

Other Links to this Post

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI

Leave a comment