First-world problem; or, ceci n'est pas un marketing survey

[firecat]

Lately I sometimes find myself idly shopping for a digital camera, an e-book reader, or a device that will put Google and email access in my pocket. I already have an iPod (the touchless variety) that I like because it's big enough to store my entire music/audiobook library, a cellphone that's nothing special except it has a qwerty keyboard, and a digital camera that I like because it's tiny and don't like because it doesn't have image stabilization.

It occurs to me that if I follow through on this shopping, I have a fundamental choice:

• Carry one device that does a mediocre job of most or all of these things and has one battery and power cord and computer cable and takes up one pocket in my backpack.
• Carry four or five devices that all do their respective functions very well and all use batteries and power cords and computer cables and backpack pockets.

It also occurs to me that people I know have solved this issue for themselves in various ways. So I'm soliciting anecdata. (Hey, it's cheaper than actually buying anything.)

Do you regularly carry portable device(s) that serve any of these functions? Why did you choose the devices you did? Are you happy with your current solution?

Digital camera
E-book reader
Cell phone
Wireless Internet
PDA
Music player

Comments

[nolly.livejournal.com]

My current phone is a Samsung Rogue from Verizon. It meets my camera needs, which are fairly minimal. It works fine as a phone. It's mostly fine for on-the-go internet -- works as well as anything else that fits in my pocket would, I think. The calendar app on my previous phone was a little better; I can't schedule something to recur on "the second Saturday of the month". But it works for one-off appointments, birthdays, etc. I think it has some kind of music player capability, but I've never tried it. For that, I use a 3rd gen iPod nano. It does not hold my entire collection, but it holds more than enough to get through any trip I've taken it on without a repeat. When I bought it, I went into the Apple store intended to get a Classic, with enough capacity for the who shebang, but the appeal of the pocket-size nano was too high. I also have a standalone GPS, and a netbook, but I don't carry either on a daily basis these days. I occasionally read e-books on the netbook or on my home PC, but neitherr is ideal, so I don't do it often.