Convergence is the new buzzword. People think that in the near future, everything will be multi-functional. In information technology, convergence is a term for the combining of personal computers, telecommunication, and television into a user experience that is accessible to everyone.

There is a lot of talk about convergence devices and firms all over the world are investing millions of dollars into R&D to produce a device that can perform multiple, though unrelated functions. The debate is on about a war between convergence and divergence. But convergence comes with its own share of problems. For a firm attempting to integrate a watch and a digital camera, the scientists are in a catch 22 situation. They have to restrict the dimensions of the device (you can't have a watch that's as big as a digital camera or you wouldn't be able to wear it.) And they must do all this within a reasonable price that the market can bear. There's always a tradeoff. A person who is buying this device will expect a performace similar to a divergent watch and digital camera available in the market.

Specialized devices are much better than a device that can do ten things, but not do any of them particularly well. I love my Swiss army knife but when I want to cut vegetables in my kitchen, it's a poor choice. Yes, you can make photocopies of documents on your fax machine but do you know any business that does so regularly? No, they probably use a photocopy machine instead? Why? The specialized machine is faster and has more useful features.

So though in the short term convergent devices may have proved successful (possible because of hype surrounding launch of these devices), the world will always pay equal attention to divergent devices, which specialise in the technology they provide.