• silicon.com
• Management
• CIO Insights

By Will Sturgeon, 4 April 2005 16:05

NEWS Techies are struggling under a weight of electronic devices with mobile phones, PDAs, Blackberrys and laptops all adding to the back strain.

And although shrinking form factor and more lightweight designs may save the average techie from the grips of the chiropractor, they run a risk of costly theft or loss with hundreds or thousands of pounds worth of kit on them at any one time. They may also unwittingly pose a security threat to their own organisations.

According to silicon.com research, nearly three-quarters of respondents regularly carry at least three such gadgets about their person.

Almost one in five admitted to carrying at least four gadgets around with them – 10.86 per cent carrying four and 7.87 per cent carrying five or more.

The largest single group of respondents were those who claimed to carry two gadgets (27.15 per cent), followed by those carrying three (23.97 per cent) and those carrying one (20.6 per cent).

Despite such apparent reliance on gadgetry a very surprising 4.87 per cent of respondents said they more often than not carry no gadgets with them.

The multitude of gadgets carried around daily by users is fuelling a move towards consolidation – with the combined mobile phone/PDA option of smart phones, such as the XDA, Treo or Nokia 6600, having already taken a chunk out of the PDA market in 2004 according to analysts.

Likewise, the Blackberry device from RIM appeals to users looking to lighten the load while a number of mobile phone firms are looking to cover off the phone and MP3 duo with combined offerings. Perhaps most notable among these is the long-awaited iTunes mobile from Motorola.