I currently lug around:  a phone, a MacBook laptop, an iPod, a small camera, and way too many cables and power supplies.  Amazon’s Kindle is interesting, but adding an eBook reader to my pile doesn’t help.  This is really about convergence:  why do I need to buy something new to read eBooks?

What I really want:  a Small Device that I always carry in a pocket, and a Big Device that I carry in my laptop case or in my backpackingmall luggage.

The Small Device is a telephone, video phone, content reader, audio player, video player, Web surfer, digital camera, etc.  It’s dominated by the screen (e.g. as large as possible), and it uses a high-quality touch and gesture interface.  It has great wireless connectivity.  The iPhone is the closest current offering.

The Big Device is nearly identical, but with a much larger screen.  It may also have a keyboard, or may clamshell like a laptop but with two screens, allowing you to touch type (or use other gestures) on the bottom screen.  It has an “always on” UI — it doesn’t boot like a laptop, it’s just there.

Big and Small are totally synced.   If I take a picture on Small, I can immediately view it on Big.  If I stop reading a book on Big, I can resume reading at the same spot on Small.  They both have great displays, tons of storage, and long battery life.

(And eventually, Big may go away, because I’ll have a big screen display in all of the places I live and work.)

Phones and MP3 players have already converged — how long until we get to this milestone?