The
timeline depicting the early evolution of pocket-sized PCs includes
several nascent devices such as Radioshack’s TRS-80 Pocket Computer
(1980), Motorola’s 2-way pager — the first to send and receive text
messages (1992), and the various incarnations of HP’s iPAQ Pocket
PCs(2001). Although many of these early devices enjoyed varying degrees
of success, none were capable of adequately matching the power and speed
of their desktop or mainframe counterparts. Today, smartphones and tablets are quickly bridging the gap, urged on by consumers demanding on-the-go processing power that compares favorably to the bytes, RAM and Ghz that drive desktops and laptops. Many consumers
are also itching for a converged device, combining the power and
functionality of a pocket-sized PC running a conventional OS with the
benefits of a cellphone.
Technology Convergence Definition
Technology convergence is the
unification of previously disparate technological systems on a singular
device. The benefits of a converged device are the ability to perform a
variety of tasks to share resources and interact with other programs and
devices in a synergistic manner.
Time and again the vision shared among
technology enthusiasts is a highly portable device with substantial
processing power, near real-time communication, supreme uploading and
downloading capacity, and on-the-go virtualization. Of course, all of
these demands are also expected to be streamlined using an interface
that has cross-platform capability.
