In the late 1990s, and probably the early 2000s, people (including Bill Gates) talked about a 'convergence device'.

True: contemporaneous sources from the late 1990s and/or early 2000s (press articles, speeches, industry reports) show the term 'convergence device', or the idea of a single device combining phone, computer and media functions, was publicly discussed, including by Bill Gates as the proposition states. Mostly true: the term was clearly in use in that period, but the evidence of Gates specifically using it is weak or shows him discussing the same idea in other words. Mixed: the concept was discussed in that era mainly under other names, with the specific term rare. Mostly false: the term shows up mainly in a different period (e.g. only after 2005). False: no evidence that the term or concept was discussed in that period.

Set before the research began.

1. E1 Consumer Electronics Show 2000 The Seattle Times · 6 January 2000

   “Spreading the gospel of "convergence," Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates last night forecast a new era where differences between computers and consumer electronics will fade, and personalized, networked devices that "plug and play" together will proliferate.”

2. E2 Commentary: "Convergence" devices still down the road - CNET CNET · 27 September 2000

   “These plans eventually will result in a single device, probably about the size of today’s Palm III, which combines and integrates the functionality of a PDA, a cell phone and a pager.”

3. E3 Software Is Shaping Consumer Electronics as Devices Go Digital, Says Microsoft’s Gates - Source Microsoft News Source · 10 January 1998

   “What is new about these products, Gates added, is that they are becoming increasingly intelligent and connected to each other, while retaining their specialized nature.”

A 2000 CNET commentary titled '"Convergence" devices still down the road' describes plans for a single device combining a PDA, a cell phone and a pager (E2). This shows the term and the idea were discussed in that period. A 2000 Seattle Times report has Bill Gates promoting "convergence" between computers and consumer electronics (E1), but the convergence he describes is networked devices working together, not one combined device. Gates's 1998 remarks stress that devices keep their specialized nature (E3). So the term was in use, but the evidence that Gates himself talked about a single convergence device is weak.