The Devouring Device

I wrote earlier on this blog about the Sony MYLO, a clever little palmtop internet device that had the misfortune of getting launched about the same time as the iPhone.

The smartphone went on to kill whole categories of portable electronica. Standalone GPS devices? Mostly gone. Handheld games? A shadow of their former selves. Various little digital assistants, like the Palms and Handsprings? Vanished.

And of course, cameras.

An inexpensive little pocket camera like my Nikon Coolpix S6500 is a vanished breed now. Most people are happy with the photographs they can get with their phones.

Now, the S6500 has a true 12X optical zoom, the equivalent of a 300mm telephoto on a full-frame digicam. Walking to lunch the other day, I heard the unmistakeable noise of a squirrel gnawing away at a nut overhead. He was so far up in the tree that it took me a minute to locate him, but the Coolpix had enough reach to get a snapshot...

Thing is, most people don't feel the need to take pictures of squirrels up in trees, at least not enough to carry a separate device, so sic transit gloria digicam...

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