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Evaluating the Relevance of Single Purpose Electronic Devices Today

  • fotaquest
  • Dec 8, 2024
  • 8 min read

Updated: Feb 3

Evaluating the Relevance of Single Purpose Electronic Devices Today

By Lars Guo

Published: December 8, 2024


Opening Message: Hi Folks! I hope you are doing well and have been enjoying the various blog posts. This topic is about single purpose technology and whether it is worth buying. This blog post is inspired by the channel Spencer’s Adventures which has its own dedicated article. See the link below this section. That will explain his channel and my thoughts on his channel. The link to his content is also in the blog as well. Please check it out. A disclaimer: I am not sponsored by anyone and that these are my opinions on single use technology. 



What is single purpose technology?: Single purpose technology is a piece of technology that serves one purpose or rather is best with one purpose. For example, an MP3 player is best for listening to music and sometimes only does audio. There are some exceptions that allow you to watch videos but usually it is too small to watch the video in the best quality. 


Kindle/e reader: This technology is a dedicated e-reader meant for reading mainly but does have the option for audio books. This is what is best for. It is perfect for reading at night with exception of the Kindle Basic because it uses blue light technology which is not good when reading in dark places since it strains your eyes. It is perfect for reading in any setting. I have a link about Kindles and will post it here in case you are interested in learning more about it.



iPod/MP3 players: Mp3 players serve as a device dedicated to playing music or any audio based tracks such as podcasts, audio books, etc. iPods are an Apple version of an mp3 player. This is great for a small portable device dedicated for a single task. I already covered this example in what a single use technology is. If you want to learn more about mp3 players, the link will be posted here.


Camera: This device is great for producing high quality photos and videos. This is better than a phone camera because there is a lot more of a range of how close or far away you can get to create the perfect picture or video. Generally that is all it does. This can add a variety of ways of how to upload the photos. For example on my camera, I took a photo of a flower while it was raining and everything came out crystal clear and had every speck of detail that you can ask for. Most phone cameras cannot produce great photos to that depth. Also, I have more information on my thoughts on cameras and will post a link right here.


Portable video game consoles: While this is not true for all game consoles, earlier game consoles like the Game boy, Game Boy Advance version, the Nintendo DS, Nintendo DS Lite, etc were good at allowing players to play video games and concentrate on that. See my link on video consoles here:


Wireless Earbuds/Earbuds: Honestly, I do not think that they will be out of date soon. There are always people who want to use them for some privacy in terms of what they want to listen to in private between watching videos, listening to music, being on video calls, and so forth. Their sole purpose is to allow us to hear what the content is being said directly to your ears unless you have some outside the earbuds that have the ability to hear the content but not be in your ears. Personally, you might as well have your phone on speaker because everyone can hear what you are listening to, but that is another argument for another day. Earbuds allow you to listen to your desired content while running, driving, exercising, etc without other people knowing. The only known risks with wireless earbuds is that they can be hacked through bluetooth. They can also affect your hearing if the noise level is too high.


Here is a link to my review on Miffy bluetooth earbuds: https://fotaquest.wixsite.com/lgjinsei/post/miffy-bluetooth-earbuds-review



Wireless/plug in keyboards and mouses: Keyboards are items that allow you to type what you want on your device. Mouses allow you to point, help highlight items, move photos/words/phrases, etc to one place to another. They work in sync to give a seamless experience when it comes to typing, gaming, editing, etc. It is perfect for those people who do not want to use the touch screen for everything. Unless you are a Minecraft gamer or something on those lines and maybe video editing, etc, these have a higher chance of being obsolete at some point because more and more touch screen devices have touch screen keyboards and you can use your finger like a mouse. Although older games and certainly some newer games may still require physical mice and keyboards for the best experiences especially things like touch pads. In the case of my tablet, I use a keyboard with no touch pad because it is easier to work on my writing documents. It has been great and I have been having a better experience than when I used the touch screen for typing anything. It allows you to be able to maximize your screen size when using a physical keyboard as well because it does not take half a tablet to just display the keyboard. For the mouse, it is possible to get around this with a touchscreen of course but for those who want to keep their screens clean and still have the portability factor, a physical mouse and keyboard will be key for their setup.  


Flashlight: This is a great electronic that allows you to get light. Even though its purpose is to produce light, it is portable and easy to carry. This is best to have when you do not want to use other electronics to light dark areas especially power outages where having your phone juice saved up will be important especially for phone calls for emergencies. I carry a flashlight as well when I do not want to look at a screen while navigating through the night without making too much noise and not disrupting my sleep as well. Candles would do something similar, but the problem with those is it is not allowed on planes and are dangerous near children who can burn themselves. Also, you need a match and/or a candle-lighter as well and it makes it unsafe for passengers and flight crews on the plane. It is important to have a flashlight in order to be able to see anything should there be a power outage on the plane and/or your other devices are needed for other tasks such as your cell phone, which is best to preserve its battery so you can make emergency calls. This also holds an issue on trains as well or something similar to that. The downside to a flashlight is that is just one more thing to carry and another thing to either charge or replace the batteries but it is worth it because they are long lasting and work well without charging it every night like your phone, laptop, etc. 


Pros: It makes it easier to concentrate on the task at hand without the distraction of notifications and having other things interfere with what you want to do. When you want to concentrate on reading for example, it is much easier to turn off your phone and simply read your book. For other single use items that is generally true. Some tech is best suited for other environments such as dealing with glare, rain, dark areas, etc and that reading in the dark would be best suited for an e reader with an e ink display with a backlight. For concentrating on music and doing activities that require you to listen closely like singing, an MP3 player would be the best fit. The quality of those specialized devices definitely produces higher quality over all around products such as smartphones. It is a great way to keep you from losing storage space on your other devices. Battery life can (depending on the device) also be better than well rounded devices. For example, my Kindle can last weeks and sometimes months without the need to be charged. These devices tend to be relatively small but that isn't true with every device. It will save your phone battery tenfold. They also have parental controls. As Spencer’s Adventures channel points out, single use items can be used to simplify life, and help not be so addicted to your device especially your smartphone. Earbuds is a tool that allows you to hear the content directly to you without disrupting others. I guess you can argue that speakers on a phone do the same thing but everyone can hear you. To be honest, I think wireless earbuds that give you the privacy to hear what you are consuming in private will never go out of style. There will always be something along those lines regardless of the times.


Cons: It is also just another device that needs to be charged and you have to remember that you have it. It is easy to forget that you have that device because you have a well rounded device that can serve all of those purposes. It can often not be thought about since you have other devices. People have built in cameras, apps that allow you to read, be entertained, etc often without WiFi. Some products rely on WiFi in order to be usable or grab material. It also costs more to buy single use items in addition to your all in one device as well. Earbuds are the exception. Although, it is still one more thing to carry around. 


Is it worth it?: If you are the type of person who struggles with concentrating on a task and needs individual items to help you stay on task, this is perfect for you. It is also for people who simply want to be distraction free in general and want to really sink into what they are doing. It is perfect for traveling to save your phone’s battery. Travelers would like these items a lot. These are also perfect devices for people who do not want to give their kid a smartphone to do what they please. Although some devices do not fit neatly into your pocket, and some devices have other variants. Ultimately it also depends on what device you get and how it is used. Kindles are great for example for students who want distraction free reading because the teachers don't allow phones during class. If you don't struggle with concentration and are able to not be tempted by notifications and other distractions in general, this may not be right for you. Other reasons why you would not want to have single use items is if you are prone to losing items easily. It also costs money to buy single use items over having an all in one device. It really depends whether the pros outweigh the cons and what your purpose is for getting the devices and how it can positively impact you. Some devices such as flash lights are good to just conserve battery even if it is built into phones these days. Earbuds are worth it for the sake of privacy. 


Closing message: Do you want to purchase a single use item? Do you find this useful? Anyway, I hope you like this blog and that this helped you think differently about single use items and perhaps this is something you want to get. There are other single use items that are out there but that aren't listed and it is hard to list every single item because I don't know and/or own them. I just provided a few examples of what they are. Looking forward to you all reading the next blog posts! Have a great day!




 
 
 

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