The website Valleywag has an editorial piece on why magazines should stop covering gadgets.  They state that magazines will always be behind the curve because they need to produce articles months before the magazine is published.  By the time articles run, gadgets have been thoroughly dissected and reviewed on the web.  They use the example of Entrepreneur Magazine, which ran a review of the Palm Foleo.  The problem was the device that was discontinued by the time the review was published.

While Valleywag makes a strong argument, there are two reasons why gadgets need to be covered by magazines.

First there is technology that is important to readers of various magazines.  A person planning a trip might be interested in pocket translators.  Outdoors magazines cover relevant technology better then most web sits.  I know if Quill (Published by the Society of Professional Journalists) did an article on voice recorders, I would read it in a heartbeat.  A good magazine knows its audience and presents gadgets that are important to them.

Second and more important, not everyone is a geek.  Valleywag is based in San Francisco, the heart of technology country.  While they are surrounded by what is new and exciting, those of us in the Midwest do not see much of this until it comes knocking on our door.  While there is a great deal of coverage of the iPhone currently, I can guarantee very few Midwesterners could tell you anything about the Nokia N95, even the tech savvy.  As AT&T prepares to roll out the N95 in the U.S., magazines such as Maxium and Playboy will undoubtedly cover this “new gadget.”  While it is old hat to those like me that seek out new technology, it will be breaking news to many.  Magazines serve the purpose of bringing technology to those that do not seek it out.

Read the Valleywag article.