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Originally Posted by rkomar
Are you sure you don't just mean "machine" when you think of "gadget"? Here's my American Heritage Dictionary's definition of gadget: "A small specialized mechanical device; a contrivance. See synonyms at tool". My dictionary predates personal electronics (except for maybe the transistor radio), so I would say the definition includes electronic devices as well as mechanical ones these days. But I still think it refers to something small and specialized. Vehicles don't fit that definition, and smart phones are the opposite of specialized. That was the whole point of the original article, that specialized devices are being replaced by a general purpose device that does everything that they can do.
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A Dutch description (translated)
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A gadget is an article that is innovative and often also cleverly designed. Usually, a gadget is a consumer electronic product (but it doesn't have to be so). The technlogy or design is innovative, so a trendsetter will gladly buy it. Often a gadget will be bought as status symbol. A gadget is mostly interesting (and even then it's more often bought for entertainment rather than functionality), later there are too many people who also have it, and it's no longer interesting to have (or to show off with).
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For me, that's the definition of a gadget: a niche product (because of price, form, or functionality) that doesn't even have to be very useful, as long as it's not common.