Technological Convergence is
the tendency for different technological sytems to evolve towards performing similar tasks.So, whereas "in the olden days" you would have had a vinyl record player for playback of recorded music, a reel-to-reel tape recorder for making home sound recordings, and a wireless for tuning into radio stations, with the advent of the good old radio/cassette player you end up with convergence of the three functions into one, and the subsequent decline of sales of the separate technologies.
Of course, the advent of the iPod led to true convergence. The iPod combined the functions of the Walkman with a personal organiser, clock etc., but crucially added key elements:
- Massive storage
- The ability to shuffle across your music collection
- The link to the iTunes store
It was not unique in 1 and 2, but where Steve Jobs and Apple were incredibly smart was locking the iPod and iTunes together. If you wanted an iPod - and you did, they were incredibly desirable - you had to have iTunes. This meant that, if you wanted to buy music, the easiest way was through the iTunes store; other methods were a hassle. So the iPod was convergent on its own, but with iTunes it developed synergy - where the two worked together to become more than the sum of their parts.
It's worth reading this interesting article from the Guardian on 10 Years of the iPod.
Now, of course, the iPhone and iPad are the ultimate in technological convergence, combining multifunctional devices with portability.
So technologically convergent are these devices that Damon Albarn was able to write, record, produce and distribute an entire Gorillaz album all from an iPad - read about it here or listen to it here.
As a footnote, here's Charlie Brooker's article on the iPad which I think is a good summary of its desirablity without an apparent gap in the market for it!
