Elegant Electronics
Consumers want electronics that work, are intuitive, have an attractive design, and have all the functions they care about and none they don't.
These desires often conflict. Sure I'd like a phone - mp3 player - wifi capable internet device the size of my current cell phone. But getting all that and elegance too is a trick.
This year's Consumer Electronics Show demonstrated that the competing visions of "iPod elegance" and "knee-jerk function creep" are still at war, but elegance is gaining ground.
Listen here for David Pogue's report from this weekend's Consumer Electronic Show, "Will Design Elegance Win the Gadget War?"
UPDATE: Here's a roundup of reviews of the CES keynote addresses.
UPDATE 2: SFist was there and he covers his favorite gadgets which include the new Lego Mindstorms, the Sony eBoook Reader (which, reportedly, offers digital books with print quality), and portable video from almost everybody.