Great article.

i am amazed at how much redundancy i see i all my devices. I have a gps that has cpu/memory/display, then i have psp which has cpu/memory/display + gpu, then theres pdas (which i no longer use), ebook readers, ipods, and other items you mentioned. (As a side note they all have apparently incompatible power adapters so i own every variety of dc and ac adapter and plugs known to mankind... except the one i'll need next.)

Your article makes a good statement at product marketing being centered around applications but what if it were centered around form factors which incorporate every technically feasable feature for that particular form factor.

I think my perfect blend of devices would be to have an emergency microformfactor cellphone/ipphone/internetradio/gps device which i could connect to common voip account... daily use would probably be a n800 type device doing everything but limited to maybe 1280x720 on a 5-6" screen (no wasted packaging)... when at home i might lug around a larger thin screen/tablet which can do just about everthing yet still be solid state so weaker... and finally power computer/video processor/server with no real limits... this could also be a server to the other computers. Since i'm into home automation it would also adjust lighting when come home, control other appliances/devices.

Developers would then need common runtime environments across each form factor.... like java or .net runtime and target that screen size. With linux becoming more important/utilized for these new breed devices they will need to all be compatible (at least within each form factor).

Ok enough of everyone else just give me 1280x720 with 3d games like pc (cant carry around 50 diffent optical discs like psp) i guess you could fit a keyboard and psp style thumbstick or trackball into it, and make permanent 4g net connectivity, and built in gps... and provide me a software api like java or .net where i can run 1000s of (possibly pre-built) programs. I'll just take that and my server/power computer and be ok.