It’s Not About the Gadget — It’s What You Do With It

Gadgets

I was working away this morning, minding my own business, when a tweet sent to me and @Gartenberg got me thinking. The Twitter conversation was about reading e-books, and @AppGeniusBar asked us the question that got it all started:

@Gartenberg @jkendrick Have u imagined spending at least 12 hrs without feeling the need for an electronic gadget in ur hand?

I thought about this for a bit, and the answer hit me over the head (or in the hand). I have reached a point in my gadget usage that the gadget simply doesn’t matter. It’s the task I am doing at the time, in this case reading e-books, that grabs all of my attention. It is a testament to how far mobile technology has advanced that I have so many choices in the gadgets I use to do things. As I replied to @AppGeniusBar:

When I’m reading an e-book, and I read 2 – 3 a week, the gadget is simply the vehicle. It’s a book to me, just like paper kind.

That statement couldn’t be more spot on — I do not think about the gadget, I am simply reading a book. The same holds true with all the other tasks I do with a gadget, it’s the task that matters, not the gadget. Sure, it’s nice having a cool gadget that lets me do things I need to do, but when I’m actually doing them I do not think about the gadget at all, as long as it lets me complete the task at hand. This may sound only logical, but for someone like me who is always looking for the “next big gadget”, this was eye-opening. The gadget doesn’t matter, it’s what I do with them.

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