A while back when M was still a high-school senior, she overslept and missed the school bus. She told me that since her phone died, she didn't have an alarm to wake her. So, after two months of having all my children get themselves off to school, I was back to waking up at 5:45a to get her out of bed. This was especially annoying because I personally don't have to get out of bed until 7:30a to get to work on time.
Anyway, this got me to thinking about how gadget makers are always striving to make devices that can be The One and Only that you need to carry. When I got my Palm Treo years ago, I enjoyed the novelty of being able to make calls, send texts, look up info on the internet, and play music and video all on one device. Nowadays, however, I prefer to have separate gadgets for these functions.
My primary reasoning behind this is battery life. Despite the fact that today's tablets and mobile phones are more efficient than they once were, an hour of video is still a serious strain on your battery. I don't want to be using my phone to entertain myself while I'm in a waiting room somewhere and then end up with a dead battery and be unable to call ABM when I'm ready to be picked up. I believe many techies complain about the battery life on their phones because they buy into the hype and think that the phone is the only gadget they need to carry for everything. The battery on my iPhone lasts me an entire workday simply because I don't use it as an mp3 player or to search the internet. I only use it to call, text, and play the occasional game.
I realize that I am in the minority. Consumers are always clamoring for lighter, thinner devices that can do everything. As long as I am a gal with a big purse, I will prefer carrying two or three devices to meet my needs.
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