One interesting trend from all of this is how devices tend to pick up more than one function as a way of adding value and becoming a more appealing product to consumers. A typical example of this is the all-in-one printer, copier and scanner that’s now become popular with home offices across the country. Similar things have occurred elsewhere, with videogame consoles now acting as a DVD player and streaming media hub. In fact, any situation in which you have more than one device in the same location becomes ripe for consolidation. It’s why nowadays we see mobile phones with built in email, internet and music player capability.

Trouble is, what happens when new single-function devices spring onto the market? Gadgets such as Amazon’s Kindle, Peek’s Twitterpeek and even items as simple as the digital photo frame are all items that do what they do very well, but only perform that single function. As a result they have a small window of opportunity until the functions they provide are swallowed up by other devices. The Twitterpeek is already a niche product, with twitter capability already being available on most smartphones. The Kindle is strongly supported by the e-ink technology that it uses, but could well drift aside once portable displays become more advanced.

The only thing that stands in the way of convergence is user experience. If it’s much more compelling to use two separate devices instead of one that does both, it’s likely that the seperate devices will remain. After all, the Apple iPod remained hugely successful even after mobile phones started being able to play music, mainly due to the user experience and ecosystem being much better than that offered by competing multifunctional devices.

So, where’s all this leading to? It’s all about understanding this middle-ground that seems to sit somewhere between a smartphone and a small laptop. Currently a device such as the Apple iPhone, Palm Pre or HTC Hero will provide a solid level of access to most of the web. This includes dedicated apps for hooking into social networks and other web services such as Google Maps, train timetables and so on. What they don’t support is the full splendour of the web such as Flash, Silverlight and other embedded technologies. They are also limited by what is possible to render on the screen – although they can be used for reading books and newspapers it’s far more comfortable to use an e-ink display such as the Kindle’s.

Meanwhile, 10-inch and up mini-laptops are trying to take the challenge from the other direction. By basically miniaturising the laptop concept, the idea is that it remains as multi-purpose as the operating system can support. These devices, typically running Windows XP or some form of Linux, either rely on some form of mouse/touchpad control, or use a touchscreen and stylus. The difficulty is, as soon as the interface gets smaller than a certain point it becomes cumbersome to use. A great example of this is the existing Windows Mobile operating system – the reliance on a stylus to use most of the features makes it unattractive relative to newer touchscreen alternatives.

So what would be the point of a in-the-middle device? Something bigger than a smartphone, but not as big as a laptop? There’s the rich web idea – run a version of linux with a simplified touch interface and provide all the rich web content that’s out there, together with regular updates and wireless networking via 3G, WiFi and so on. Build enough battery power to keep it ticking over for a few days, set it up so that when docked or charging it’ll act as a digital photo frame. Perhaps bundle in some home automation capability, like being able to control streaming media devices such as an Apple TV or XBox 360. Hell, even something as simple as an electronic TV guide would add usefulness to it. The uses for it would be in a similar way to a cordless phone, but where data is needed. Reading in bed, listening to internet radio in the garage or watching iPlayer or Hulu on the can are all things that this would be used for – things that a smartphone just isn’t suitable for, but where a laptop is just sheer overkill.

Does such a thing exist? Viewsonic’s had a rather messy stab at it by producing a 7-inch Mobile Internet Device, but it’s running Windows XP. This idea of being wedded to a full-fledged OS is something that manufacturers need to move away from – multipurpose means being able to support the rich media web and apps tailored for the touch experience, not being able to run Minesweeper and Word. O2 have been looking at it from the other end of things, with the Joggler being a mains-powered device that runs a tailored touchscreen interface and is due to have a Software Development Kit and app store released by the end of the year.

It’s clear that as we come to the end of 2009 there is demand for a device of this size to fulfil these needs. What that device will be, what needs it will fulfil and who it will be supplied by still remain to be seen. What is clear is that there are a number of ways to tackle the problem, and only by really understanding what the device is for and tailoring the experience to match will a clear winner emerge.