Rise of converged devices leads to confusion for some

THE INCREASING trend towards converged devices is causing difficulties for some consumers and businesses, a leading mobile expert has said.

Gartner mobile and wireless analyst Ken Dulaney, on a recent visit to the firm’s Irish office, said consumers are being faced with an array of compact, fully functioning devices that have similar capabilities, resulting in confusion for those trying to make a purchase.

“Everything is converged. They can all do the same thing. Given that, it’s going to become more incumbent on the buyer to really know more about what they are planning to do. For example, do I need a phone and a laptop? Those choices are going to be very difficult for the user because they’re going to have to live and experience [the product] which they won’t be able to do in the store.

“The trend is to have lots more converged devices that will either be task specific or generic. The question is, how many of these do you need? It might result in a very big expenditure that might not pay off over time,” he said.

One area that could trip up some technology buyers is netbooks. The ultra portable machines may be the latest hot consumer trend, but businesses should think long and hard before investing in them. Mr Dulaney warned customers could end up disappointed by netbooks, with Gartner warning on their security.

“They underperform,” Mr Dulaney noted. “As 3G gets built into notebooks, I think you’re going to be able to buy them from your mobile operator. They will get subsidised, which will bring the price of the notebook down.”

However, it appears the trend towards lower-powered, cheaper machines is set to continue.

“About three years ago we broke the $1,000 barrier on notebooks. The current trends for netbooks is about breaking the $500 barrier. The only reason 12-inch netbooks haven’t appeared is because Intel was worried about the Atom processor dragging down the margins. They’ve now reconciled that, so you’re going to see a lot more 12-inch netbooks on the margin, which are nothing more than cheaper notebooks.”