All-In-One Gadgets

In consumer electronics, morphing is all the rage. Manufacturers used to focus on doing one thing very well — producing mobile phones, for example, that were stylish, light and great for making calls. But gradually, with the arrival of more powerful chips and wireless Internet access, features from games to Web browsing were added. Now — as this week’s massive annual technology trade fair CeBIT in Hanover, Germany, will show — gadgets from phones to fridges are getting fitted with fancy new functions. Laptops, portable music players, digital cameras, mobile phones — these days, it’s all in one and one in all