We thought that we’d all have less devices, not more. I have more and more. Just start with Kindle:

1. My original Kindle was great. It works wherever I have bars on my cell phone. It works fine, but I never use it anymore. It’s just sitting on a shelf.

2. I bought the “New Kindle” because it’s smaller, lighter, has all the same features, but does NOT have cell access. I can only buy when I have WiFi. It’s now my main reading device, mostly because of its small size.

3.  I have a Kindle Fire, where I can read my books on a tablet device. I have that so I can do Android app programming, not really for Kindle reading.

4. I have a Kindle App on my iPad. When I only have my iPad with me,  I can access my books.

5. I have a Kindle App on my iPhone. When I stand in line at Subway or anywhere else, I can read a few pages of the book I am currently working on.

6. I have a Kindle App on my laptop.  This helps when I write book reviews, because I can copy and paste excerpts right into my book reviews, which I usually do on my laptop.

In summary, I have enough Kindles – until they come out with the next one…

When I got my iPad, the idea was that I could leave my computer at home and just work on the iPad. I can process emails, but without a keyboard it’s awkward. So I read emails, but anything requiring more than one-line responses has to wait for the evening when I am at the hotel, where I break out the laptop to do my work. I could bring an iPad keyboard, which I have at home, but that would  be another device to lug with me.

I also travel with my Kindle, because it’s much lighter and more convenient for book reading. Also, the iPad screen is hard to read in sunlight, like outdoors, so the Kindle is my preferred book reading device, and it comes along on trips. Its 3-week battery life is also unbeatable.

Of course, there is my iPhone, which I need for calls. It can do everything else, too, but the screen is too small for most stuff. So I have my iPad and laptop with me in addition.

Let’s not forget about three different chargers that need to come along.

Rather than less devices, I now carry more.