Do we still need a computer?

It sounds like a stupid question, but I'm not asking if we need all the things that a computer allows us to do; just - do we still need a computer? There's some serious blurring of lines as to exactly what a computer is, yet there's still a social perception. A console such as the PS3 isn't a computer; a Smart Phone such as the iPhone isnt a computer. A computer still seems to be defined in a strict form either in laptop or desktop designs. Yet what do those forms do that the others don't?

If all the normal home computer does is access the internet; send emails, IM or use VoIP - smart phones do that; need a bigger screen - tablets have that covered. Graphic heavy games - consoles. So given all that why do any of us need a 'computer'?

Both Google's Android and Apple's iOS allow wireless synching with their respective clouds so there's no longer a need to synchronise calendars, contacts etc with a base computer. As mentioned Apple has it's AirPrint that currently only a few HP printers support.
This is great until someone wants to print out that contract, or burn that home video clip to disc; or heck just want to backup their data - at which point these devices fail.

But aren't these problems user created - a reliance on the physical? Why should I need to print this paper when I can email it? Why should I need to burn this home movie when I can wireless stream it to my TV? Why should I need to backup anything when the cloud has my back? Once everything goes virtual will there be a need for the computer in its traditional form?

There's the legal aspects of conducting all business virtually and with no paper trail; and there are questions over who exactly owns 'your' work when it's sitting on 'their' cloud; and whose responsibility it is if it vanishes in a puff of digital smoke. However, all of those can be solved with the appropriate legislative changes. So do we still need a computer?

No. They're handy and still much faster and easier to type on, but that's a functional characteristic; there's nothing stopping a plug-in keyboard for those long data work. They still have more processing power than phones and consoles; but with server farms and such companies as OnLive streaming games there's no reason such can't act as smart-terminals with the majority of the processing being done off-site.

There's already a ubiquitous connector type in the form of USB; we already have Bluetooth and 802.11 for wireless communication and TCP/IP for routing it around and WPA for encrypting it all. While a much maligned company Microsoft's DirectX acts as an ideal path for a shared functional language to allow a TV and a phone to talk to one another.

So if most of this is already around why are we still using computers? Perhaps it's down to competition. It's sounds wrong after all competition is good, but consider a company such as Nokia - they make phones; but they don't run the big servers to act as a cloud. They could do, but that would be a high expense. They could contract out, but why should they when they can just allow their phones to connect to a computer and get the user to do all the syncing and backups?

Apple on the other hand provide both, but they also sell computers; so do Microsoft via their operating system Windows - they have no interest in removing an entire section of their profitable production Oddly enough Google are perhaps the only one who can lead the way.

They're already got the cloud in place and they have no real investment in the traditional computer format. They've the interfaces in place to communicate with their own products; could this be enlarged to provide universal access in the same manner as DirectX allowing a Google Android phone to talk to a non-Google product? Hell yes a Sky+ App already exists for Android. They also have their equivalent of AirPrint called CloudPrint. For those physical requirements the majority of Android phones use USB ports.

So where are we at - Android Phone; Android Tablet; and OnLive gaming. Add in a CloudPrint printer and an external keyboard and there's no computer in sight.