Gadgets that Became Victims of the Mobile Phone’s Success

In this day and age, cellular phones are more than just cellular phones. Small as they are, mobile phones have quickly evolved into handheld computers – and more. Gone are the days when “convergence” meant mashing up the functionalities of different gadgets as cellular phones began lording it over rival devices.

The overpowering success of the mobile phone industry has seen the virtual extinction of most other product categories, and this article takes a look at some of the struggling victims.

The Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)

Despite a unanimous preference among PDA users to simply have a pen and paper handy, this piece of has-been gadget was once a craze among high-tech gizmos aficionados. Back in the mid-80s, having a PDA reflects inclination to what’s state of the art. What could be more electronically hip than having your notepad, electronic calendar and address book stuffed in a tool that fits right into your shirt’s pocket?

But that was back then. The inconvenience of having to get contact numbers from your PDA every time you need to call someone on your phone was enough to get users craving for innovation. And the cellular phone had the answer. With the advent of more advanced calendar features on mobile phones, the Personal Digital Assistant eventually met its demise.

The Camera

This is not to say that standalone cameras are a thing of the past. It takes only a brief stroll out in the streets to see how these devices are so widely used. However, mobile phones that come with cameras, or what are commonly known as camera phones, have fast become an attraction especially to consumers belonging to the younger generation. This development has put the cheaper, bottom-of-the-line digicam models out of contention. It may be true that picture quality with camera phones is still wanting, but the handiness factor provides an overwhelming compensation. With snapping and sending pictures in an instant made possible, mobile camera phones bring to life the essence of being able to capture the moments.

The Ultra Mobile Personal Computer (UMPC)

UMPC’s were supposed to be complete computer systems stuffed into small units making it portable and ideal for those always on the go. But this very concept made it an awkward piece of gadget that represented nothing but a failed idea. With a cramped and impractically designed keyboard, miserable battery life, and outrageously high-priced tag, it wasn’t hard to comprehend why the cellular phone – cheaper, with its miniature but sturdy operating system, sleek interface and reasonably modest hardware – would eat the UMPC experiment alive.

Stubborn UMPC manufacturers continue to take desperate, long shots hoping to salvage some market headway by doing repackaging gimmicks but mobile phones just keep getting better. And with the G1 and the iPhone around, UMPC’s might just be led to a quicker way out.

The Landline Phone

These days most homes still have telephones attached to their land lines. But, not so many people use these phones to make calls any more. Households have them only as part of some cheap promotional package from their local telephone company, and the use for these conventional tethered phones has been confined mostly to emergency dialing. For most people, the cellular phone still serves as their main phone, having it with them wherever they go.

The convenience and advanced features offered by mobile phone technology is something which home handsets have not been able to keep up with. On rare instances when landlines are used to make calls, we still refer to our cell phones for contact numbers. Why bother if we can just simply press that green button on our mobile phones?

The MP3 Player

This one may seem pretty obvious as most cellular phones nowadays support MP3 audio format. It’s not hard to predict that in the coming years even the iPod will be history considering how the iPhone rage has swept humanity and the entire world. Music-friendly features like audio and multimedia applications, headphone jacks, and huge storage capacity have become standard on even the least costly mobile handsets around. The imminence of the MP3 player joining the PDA in the extinct gadgets list is no longer difficult to sense.

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