Media Integration: The all in One Package

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKWmLwSuIvM

It wasn't that long ago when you bought a phone and have it do exactly what a phone should do: make phone calls. Today, however technology isn't coming out with that many single advances, and instead taking the advances already made and combining them with other technology's, leading up to the frankenphones we have now that not only make calls, but also play music, videos, play video games and even browse the internet all on one tiny LCD screen.

While phones keep on becoming less and less like phones, they are just one of the many things that are subject to the integration of our media devices. Televisions are another great example of this up and coming trend, with goals of TVs and PCs to eventually become one in the same, and demonstrated in the video above (forgive me for any language barriers you may have with the video, but it's fairly obvious what it's message is. Also, the embedding was disabled in the video.)

It's been predicted that within ten years all TVs will have internet connections, and new films will be able to be downloaded directly to your TV, allowing you to watch a brand new movie without ever having to get into your car. In the meantime however, you can already browse the internet using any one of the current generation video game consoles, which have also been integrating other media devices into themselves. Your PS3 and 360 aren't just for playing video games anymore, but they also turn your TV into a stereo that can play all the MP3s you have on your PC, or go to netflix and stream a movie onto your TV. In fact, it may not be too outlandish to claim that digital distribution though your new iTVPC360 may render theaters obsolete, with new films being distributed right to the internet and ready for you to download without ever having to get up off your couch.

It's my prediction that your living room will have one device for each form of entertainment available, and instead play host to one monster media machine that can and will do anything you want it to do. From watching the game to checking your myspace. It's already happening (just look at the iphone for a recent example,) but at this point it will only continue until it get's to a point where media technology pulls a highlander and decides there can only be one. Whether or not this is for the best is still unknown to me. On one hand, I find that a one-in-all machine is gimmicky and unnecessary, but on the other, I find it to be pretty convenient. Regardless, I don't see this trend slowing down anytime in the near future.