While the last few years have seen Convergence elevated from simply a buzzword in the industry to a unifying mantra, the heyday of the all-in-one CE device may have peaked in 2006.
According to The Korea Times, major manufacturers are increasingly looking to develop and market products that fulfill single consumer needs, and as a result, digital convergence as a trend may be waning. This is because of CE suppliers have raced to pack more and more functionality into a single package, consumer's have grown increasingly frustrated with complicated products and sought more simple alternatives.
Case in point--the portable digital audio player market (What's a DAP? Oh, you mean an iPod!). While there are dozens of products that bring TV, video, audio and portable gaming functionality into a single pocketable device, they are eclipsed by a single product that offers little more than audio playback and a click-wheel.
The forefront of this new Divergence movement can already be seen in the cell phone market. Tech-heavy products from Samsung Electronics have been overshadowed by simple, yet attractive offerings such as Motorola's Razr, and the company's bottom line has suffered as a result. As more complex Samsung cell phones made their way to market this year, their market share slid further, Korea Times reports.
Future success in the marketplace, at least in the short run, may be the iPod model of simplicity and attractiveness rather than feature-packed UMPCs, smartphones or the all-in-one Sony PSP. While tech-savvy press herald the dawn of the all-in-one convergent CE device, manufacturers have started to take notice that the average consumer still seems content with their separate cell phone, iPod and PDA.
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