All-in-one and one-in-all

These days you will find many gadgets that do the same thing: access the internet. The common ones are the game consoles, smart phone, e-reader, and iTouch and various PDA-like devices. Following closely behind the media players are set-top boxes and the TV set itself, which will soon be able to access content from the internet. This is the "one-in-all" I am talking about: internet in everything. Of course, there are also the "all-in-one" gadgets. The smartphone that can do almost everything the PC can do. So can my Kindle e-reader, and so can my daughter's iTouch tablet.

It is time we start to back off from the all-in-one mania. For example, it is more practical, in my own opinion, to carry a simple feature-less (i.e. less features) phone and have a separate iTouch-like or iPad-like device, than to rely on an all-in-one iPhone for your needs or compulsion. I prefer to carry a simple inexpensive phone just to talk or text on the spur of a moment. I handle the phone for these purposes several times a day. It might get dropped and it might go missing. I won't need to sweat over it. On the other hand, the other things I do like surfing the web, making appointments, reading a book, playing games, etc, are activities that I can plan ahead. I have the choice of carrying a larger screen iPad or a more-portable iTouch for such activities. Or I can choose to leave them at home. No sweat.