At the CES in Las Vegas this year, the big electronics companies were betting not on an product, but on an idea. That idea is called convergence, and essentially means the coming together of different media in the same device. Now, this isn't really a new concept - after all, the PS2 can play DVD's and music CD's as well as games. However, now more than ever more and more of the big companies are pushing convergence as the "next big thing". Is it for everyone? Probably not.

A perfect example of convergence on the market right now is the Sony PSP. The handheld plays games on Sony's UMD format, but also plays MP3's, movies also found on Sony's new format, and can browse the web. The device is supposed to bring everything a modern consumer could want into one package. Some are quite happy with the PSP, but others have pointed out its shortcomings. Difficulties with importing music mean that the iPod is still seen as a viable (and cheaper) alternative. Now that Apple has launched the iPod Video, it seems more attractive than ever. While Sony releases movies on UMD's, iPod Video users can import music from their computer.

Of course, the PSP also plays games, one area where it definitely beats any Apple competition. However, Sony has mostly opted for ports of PS2 titles, giving the system a drought of new, original ideas. This may have contributed to the system losing out to the technically inferior DS in Japan, where the latter is selling far better than expected.

It may simply be that convergence is something for casual users of technology. Most advanced users, it seems, would rather own seperate devices for their different media needs, rather than sacrifice functionality for convenience. Until Sony and other companies can learn to make convergence work without weakening the parts that make up the whole, the idea won't go as far as they think it will.