On October 29, 2009
Android 2.0 and the Death of Consumer Electronics
The year was 2009; the month, October. News that the last of the specialized consumer electronics device, the GPS, that seemed destined to continue its existence, came on the announcement of the Google Maps navigation feature on Android 2.0. OK, a bit exaggerated, but not by much. The current stock of smartphones is showing how many categories of consumer electronics are simply going to disappear, because virtually no one will need them — particularly when the feature set is so much richer. The vision of device “convergence,” long touted as something to desire, will suddenly bite a lot of vendors on their rear ends when they realize that it also means a tumbling opportunity to sell product and, ultimately, a…
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