Jack of All Trades, or Master of One?

As the ability to do things like navigate, capture still images and videos, compute, and play music become expected on-the-go rather than desired, multi-function products are becoming more commonplace. Car-makers are building GPS into the latest vehicles, mobile phones are coming with decent digital cameras, and music players like the iPod Touch can afford access to things like apps and e-mail. But do we want our devices to be jacks of all trades, or masters of just one?

Every device is, of course, a master of at least one. The iPod Touch, for example, is first and foremost, a portable music player. A mobile phone is, above all else, a phone. And a car with GPS is, quite obviously, a means of transportation with the simple added value of a system that can help you reach a destination successfully. But one could argue that the iTouch affords access to e-mail, games, and apps just as easily and smoothly as it does music. And while all mobile phones afford the ability to make voice calls over a cellular network, that function has almost become secondary to features like Web surfing, text-based messaging, and even, for some, music playback and photo capture.

Most people won't own a phone as an exclusive image capture device, but chances are that someone with a vehicle equipped with GPS won't also own a portable GPS device, nor will he make use of the GPS function on his cell phone (unless he's on foot, perhaps.) And the more cars that come equipped with GPS, the lesser need we'll have for portable units. Likewise, as cell phone digital cameras get better, our desire for entry-level digital cameras will dwindle. Or will it?

The more a device can do, the better, many say. The obvious trade-off is that the device probably won't do everything as well as a gadget dedicated solely to that one function could. Using the cell phone camera as an example, it might have ample megapixels, but not include useful features like flash, image stabilization, and a powerful sensor.

Except that a lot of cell phone cams now do come with useful features like flash and image stabilization. Just like some GPS devices include Bluetooth capability so you don't need a standalone headset or speakerphone. And like a subscription to broadband Internet affords access to TV content, which means you don't need a cable subscription.

When it comes to the jack of all trades and masters of all, we can thank companies like Apple and categories like mobile phones for really pushing this trend. But people do, and will, still want separate devices for separate functions. After all, how many people do you know that own both an iPhone and an iTouch (or other iPod iteration?) Or have a mobile phone with a pretty good digital camera, but still have an entry-level digicam to use at important events, like birthdays, or because it has a specific feature, like a waterproof housing?

In others word, whether the devices are masters of just one trade, so to speak, or more, there's still room in the market for a full deck of products.