What Do We Really Need A Compuer For?

Image via WikipediaOk, full disclosure before we get started. I AM typing this post on my 17" Macbook Pro so the question posed in the title may be a bit premature. But, this past week on Free Webinar Wednesdays we talked about mobile marketing and how the growing popularity of the "third screen" is giving consumers an easy (and "always on") way to receive, consume and distribute information from the palm of their hand. Combine this with the growing popularity of tablet devices like the iPad and coming Android devices, one has to wonder will the need for a "traditional" computer go the way of the DoDo Bird?

I read a majority of my e-mail now on my Droid, not on my computer. I've migrated my business to Google Apps, so from most any Internet-enabled device I can keep connected, manage my business and stay in touch with my customers. Using cloud-based services like Dropbox or Box.net, one can even move documents off my computer (or at least keep a copy of them online), reducing hard drive storage requirements and making it easy to have access (and a backup) to almost any resource you can think of.

Of course there will always be certain activities where we'll likely need to have the processing power, storage capacity and local file management capabilities of a traditional computer. But the real question is... Where is the "tipping point" in all of this? As you make purchase decisions in the future as it relates to technology, will these factors have an impact on what devices you buy and embrace moving forward? I look forward to your thoughts...

~Eric