Not everyone is on the wave of technological convergence!

The other day I was on the hunt for a new mobile phone. I visited a number of retailers in the search for the hottest deal - economically, aesthetically and also in terms of functionality. I wanted a phone that could pretty much do everything and in my mind this need would be satisifed by the new smart phones to hit the market. Sales assistants demonstrated these mutifunctional devices. With such a device I would be able to access social networknig sites, downlaod music, take photograps and utilise a inbuilt GPS system. The opportunities and fucntiions seemed endless! Who wouldn't want such a device? Not everyone it appears. As I was amused and entertained by the different functions of the new phones to hit the market, I couldn't help but notice a baffled customer in the corner of my eye. This customer exclaimed that they just wanted a simple phone that would only be used for calling and text messaging - nothing fancy. They were not interested in the new crazy gadgets and functions indicative of the mobile phones this retailer had in stock. The sales assistant attending to this customer delcaerd that they did not hold such single function devices anymore as there was not enough demand.

This experience aligns with the views of Dixon (2007), a business consutlant and futurist who declares that in the future convergence will not rule. Instead, he argues that divergence and convergence of technological forms will occur simultaneously because of differences in consumer demand. For some consumers, convergence in its technological form represents something that is confusing and unnecessary. For others, like myself, it is essential to my lifestyle.