Search articles from thousands of Examiners
Write for us
Denver Gadgets and Tech Gadgets Examiner
Gadgets Examiner

Five Gadgets that were killed by the cellphone (supposedly), but aren’t dead yet

November 18, 10:51 AMGadgets ExaminerDan Appleman
1 comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe


Get alerts when there is a new article from the Gadgets Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.
Email Address


  Include other special offers from Examiner.com
Terms of Use

These devices may not be as dead as their tombstone would suggest
These devices might not be as dead as their tombstone would suggest

 Wired.com yesterday published the epitaph for five gadgets that were supposedly killed by the cell phone. I’m not convinced.

The PDA

The PDA isn’t dead – it’s just changed. It’s now called the ITouch. As long as phones come with monthly service plans, there’s going to be a market for devices that have all the features of a smartphone but without the monthly charges. What was that called? Oh yeah – a PDA.

The Camera

Sure the teens and younger folk are happy snapping low resolution poorly lit pictures of each other and posting them to Facebook. But it won’t be too long before they have kids and you can bet they’re going to want something that produces pictures that look good. Someday cell phones might become good enough, but it’s still some time off.

The UMPC

The Ultra Mobile PC? It’s dead alright, but it wasn’t killed by cell phones. In truth, the technology was never really born in the first place. But it is true that today’s smart phones are indeed ultra-mobile computers.

The Phone

Landlines dead? Someday maybe. But when cell phone companies still find the need to promote their networks based on the fewest number of dropped calls, you know it’s going to be a while before landlines go away. Landlines also sound better – a lot better in most cases. Your basic land based phone doesn’t have to be charged. And it works during power outages. Again, cell phones might someday kill off the landline, but it’s not today.

The MP3 player

A wound, yes – but mortal? Probably not. Sure, the IPhone crowd will load all their MP3’s onto their phones. But the kids (who are buying most of these things) are not all going to be given an expensive phone with its high monthly fees. Besides, MP3 players are cheap and tiny compared to phones and getting more so.

As for the future death of notebook computers? Yes and no. I don’t care how young you are or how good your eyesight and dexterity – you’re not going to get much real work done on a handheld device. But that doesn’t mean all the smarts won’t be there. Notebook computers might turn into nothing more than a light and portable keyboard/LCD device that plugs into your phone when you need to get serious about work.

.

For more info: This article is in response to the article Five Gadgets That Were Killed By The Cellphone
More About: Gadgets · Technology

Comments

Name:


Comments:
characters left

NOTE: Do Not Alter These Fields:

Recent Articles

Friday, November 6, 2009
Verizon wireless today launched the new Motorola Droid phone with Android 2.0. Their “iDon’t” ads have been hitting the media …
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Endless meetings can feel like (and often are) a waste of time and money. It's easy to know how much time has passed in a meeting, but with …

Related Slideshows

Things to see and do

Barnaby Furnas
Museum of Contemporary Art - Denver
Holiday Treasures 2009
Shadow Mountain Gallery