Laura Ries adds some reality to the iPhone hype:

Don't be fooled: Despite the hype, the deals and the massive advertising smart phones still only have around 10 percent of the market.

This made me think of Scoble's post on the "ugly phone" he saw. Laura's point is that people would rather have a device that does one thing well than a device that does multiple things adequately. That's not universally true; camera phones are wildly popular, and the cameras in those phones are certainly sub-optimal. On the other hand, using one I can take a photo and mail it to myself (or anyone else) immediately - which is a great benefit.

I think the upshot is this: converged devices are useful, but they are a niche product. Single purpose, "best of breed" products still tend to win.

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