Convergence Redux Redux

Every couple of years, the mania for “convergence” returns. Somehow, we keep forgetting the hideous losses and failures of each previous convergence wave, be it video-on-demand, picture phones, or what have you.

This time, though, I think it’s going to stick. While the first phone/PDA combos were bricks reminiscent of the famous Iridium satellite phone, which prompted its incoming CEO to ask his management team, “What business traveller did you think would buy this sh*t!,” the latest phones are small, slim, and increasingly stylish.

Nokia just released this fashion-forward beauty, the 7600. It’s a 3G phone with built in digital camera, MP3 player, and Web browser.

I wouldn’t buy it, because a) I’m a cheapskate, and b) I always let someone else pioneer the bleeding edge, but I’m sure that my old buddy Justin Kromelow is lusting after one right now.