(Annette Moser-Wellman) For years, we've been waiting for the one device that will combine the "lean back" experience of TV, the computing power of your laptop and mobility of your cell phone. From Sling Box to the iPhone, manufacturers have been searching for the "killer application" that will solve all our needs for news, information and entertainment in one device and bridge the gap between our home and office.

In a recent conversation with Robbie Bach, President of the Entertainment & Devices Division at Microsoft, we talked about this holy grail of devices.

"I don't believe in massive convergence of devices. I don't think there's one device. There will be two or three devices. I tend to think about it less in terms of devices and more in terms of screens. There are screens in the home, screens in your car and screens that you take with you. I think of screens instead of devices, because ultimately that's the way the consumer is going to experience whatever content they are getting," he said.

So what actually converges isn't the device itself but the ability of the user to customize the content and functionality they desire on any particular screen.

"The consumer will think, 'I have a bunch of screens around the house and I just want everything to get to those screens. When I'm at my desk, I want to get it on my screen on my desk, which happens to be connected to a PC. When I'm in my living room, I want it on my 56-inch flat panel beautiful screen, and I should be able to get it there. When I'm traveling, maybe it's my 4-inch screen which is just as crisp and sharp, and I should get it there,'" he said.

And while we can expect more power from our cell phones in the future (Bach predicts the power to run an original Xbox game on phones within the year), what will really be important are the software services. Soon most of the processing power we use won't be in the device itself; it will be in the "cloud." Cloud computing is a term for server resources available on-demand and usually provided by a third-party. Cloud computing allows the user to store data remotely rather than storing it on devices.

"That's why you see Google and Microsoft and few others building up these massive networks for data storage and data delivery. Why would you store all your music, for example, locally and risk losing it or have the hassle of moving it from one machine to another? Same thing with your video. Same thing with your documents. Why wouldn't you store it in the cloud and just have access to it?" he asked. Cloud computing supports the availability of the content the consumer wants, when they want it and on the screen they want it.

Thinking about three screens presents opportunities for content providers to customize their products for the purposes of each location. At some point, individual consumers are going to make choices about their preferences for content that will be consumed across platforms. It's incumbent upon news agencies to both be the brand of choice and provide unique value at every "screen" experience.

So the question becomes: what can the news organization offer that is specific to the driving experience versus the "lean back" experience, the mobile experience and so on?

Bach anticipates that voice and touch are going to be major changes in the ways consumers interact with screens and attendant devices. "Why do people think the iPhone is cool? It's not because the phone technology is particularly brilliant. It's not even a fast network. But people like the idea of touch. It's a cool design point."

Bach surprised me by talking about the popularity of Microsoft Sync technology available in Ford cars in which you control your radio and control your e-mail by your voice. So I asked him if I can get Internet news read to me in my car. Bach responded, "Soon it will be possible to be driving in your car and say, "Hey Web. Browse msnbc.com. Read headlines." That's not a crazy scenario at all."


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Annette Moser-Wellman is President of Firemark, Inc., an innovation consultancy, and author of Running While The Earth Shakes: Creating An Innovation Strategy To Win In The Digital Age, published by the Media Management Center. She teaches in MMC's Advanced Executive Program and Digital Strategies for Media Executives seminar.

This TechScout article is part of a new series of Moser-Wellman interviews commissioned by the Media Management Center to explore opportunities and insights at the intersection of technology and the news media. Click here to view others in the TechScout series.