When I went through airport security last week, I got a laugh from the TSA guy as he watched me pulling all of my devices out of various pockets and bags to put through the x-ray machine.  First, I took out my new Sony Vaio laptop with wireless Internet access.  Then from one pocket, I pulled out my Treo.  Then from another pocket came my Verizon V-cast phone.  Then out came my iPod, and my iPod speakers.

Between them, I had three devices with Internet access, two cell phones, three video players, four music players, two cameras, and three organizers.  When I got to the hotel, I literally needed five plugs to recharge all of my devices.   Why would someone need all of those devices, you might ask?  The truth is that I use different devices for different reasons at different times.  If I’m not in transit, my laptop is the best way to do e-mail and check stuff online.  But if I’m moving, I use my Treo to read and respond to e-mails.  When I’m using my Treo to do that, however, I’m often talking on the phone at the same time, so I use my Verizon phone to chat while using the Treo to surf.  And I love being able to check sports highlights and other short video pieces on my phone when it’s not convenient to plug in the computer, but there’s no better music player for me than my iPod and speakers.    In short, convergence doesn’t necessarily mean that every consumer will only need one device to do everything.  Different devices will always fit different needs.  Convergence only means that each device will be able to do more things better.