Are We Taking Gadget Improvements TOO Far?

In the name of progress, companies keep pushing themselves to create the next new big THING. We consumers have all gotten quite spoiled. We want more out of our phones. We want our MP3 players to do more than just play music. We want our eBook readers to do more than just read books. We want it all. In order to try and satisfy us, manufacturers are rushing to stuff more features into our already jam-packed devices.

How much is TOO much, though? Do we really need one device that does it all for us? Have we gotten that lazy? And, if a single device could theoretically do it all… would we have time to do anything other than mess with it constantly? We’d be so busy trying to make use of everything that gadget could do that we would forget about other important things we need to attend to.

I honestly think that it wouldn’t be such a good idea to have one super-duper device like this. I think there need to be some clear lines drawn. Competition is a healthy thing. It also pushes companies to make their existing products better. But when everyone is trying so hard to be the next big thing… the iPhone Killer, if you will… all we end up with are a lot of disappointing gadgets, gizmos and doo-dads.

What are your thoughts? Do you feel that technology is almost going too far in some ways?