Interesting topic...

While I absolutely agree that work/life balance is thrown off by these devices, the fact is, the devices are out there. It's not a question of whether or not you, the individual, thinks you should use this thing. The question is, whether or not your boss or your company is aware of the capabilities of these devices. I currently work for a boss who is technologically backwards, to a scary degree. However, he's getting more and more capable on his smart phone which is raising his expectations of us and our responsiveness. Like it or not, these things are here.

It's a tool, right. Like any tool, the trick is to try to use it correctly. Yes, you can have the thing open constantly, tweeting, emailing, browsing the web, but, that's not necessarily a bad thing. I've fixed production issues remotely using a smart phone while I was at a user group meeting. Was I distracted for five minutes? Yep, but it was only five minutes. I didn't get up out of my chair or bother the people sitting next to me, let alone have to leave the meeting. I've been able to take time off work becuase the boss knows I'll respond to emails & what not while I'm away, so he's not kicking so much about the fact that I'm not in the office.

It sure can be a distraction, but my Droid is also an incredibly useful tool. I can't wait to try out one of the new pads to see if they're even more useful.