Wednesday, April 07, 2010

Two Gadgets I Missed and One I Might

I’ve been accused by some people of being gadget-happy. On a continuum, I’ll admit I skew gadget rather than Luddite.

But, I’m not an early adopter. I tend to jump on bandwagons when there's been an iteration or three, and then, only if it’s useful to me. I didn’t get my first computer until 1983. I didn’t get my second computer till the mid-nineties. Why such a gap? I had a secretary that typed a whole lot faster than I did. I went back to the computer when clients and friends started asking for my Email address. I didn’t get a cell phone until I got similar questions about my cell number.

I dabbled on the Internet for the second half of the Nineties, only becoming fully immersed when it had developed into something that replaced the way I did my job.

I never got a PDA, not finding it useful as I had a real live person, my secretary, to keep track of obligations. I scoffed at smart phones until Apple changed the game with the iPhone. Now, with a smart phone, I have a limited computer, .mp3 player, PDA and phone everywhere I go.

But, as it turns out I missed a gadget. It wasn’t until recently that I discovered that an iPod was more than an .mp3 player. I never knew it was a baby Internet connection. Would I have bought one if I knew? Probably not. It was never fully evolved, lacking the cell phone function that the iPhone and its progeny supplied.

Will I succumb to the allure of a pad/tablet/slate? Right now, I think I won’t, though I laughed at the smart phones early on. The new neither/nor devices seem to be over-sized smart phones and under-sized laptops, each of which I’ve got. Then too, they’re missing important parts of both the other devices: the phone function of the smart phone and full computer functionality of a laptop.

Is there something in there that will fulfill a need? We’ll see.

2 comments:

The Curmudgeon said...

There's no chance of my getting an iPad anytime soon. I explain why today.

I like my iPod -- but what do you mean it is a baby Internet connection? What does it do?

I'm starting to seriously think about a netbook with wireless email and Internet. I know a "smart phone" can do these things -- but I'd like to see the screen. And I know how to type. So I'm happy with a keyboard. Maybe if I could put the phone and the netbook on a single wireless account....?

Dave said...

The iPod Touch is an iPhone, without the phone part. It surfs the net, sends and receives Emails, etc.

Depending on the phone carrier, you can tether a laptop or net book to the phone, or at least you could some years back. I think most of them now make tethering a violation of the terms of service.