Can You Hear Me Now?

I’m just going to say it. I was hoping for a bit more participation in my “Droid or iPhone” post. I thought people would jump at the chance to promote their favorite phone, or tell me why they don’t like the other phone. I even half expected some people might tell me why I didn’t need a smart phone at all. Heck, I even wondered if somebody would click the vote buttons hundreds of times or anonymously weigh in on something totally unrelated, like why they’ll eat spaghetti but they can’t stomach macaroni. But you were all considerate voters and commenters and only voted once and/or left me well-thought-out comments. So, before I reveal my final decision I would like to thank the 7,000   700   70 seven people who voted and/or left me a comment. I appreciate all seven of you. Well, actually, the five of you who voted. I clicked once on the Droid myself to test the voting gadget so that meant I had to click once on the iPhone also to even it out. But still, I appreciate all five of you and the comments you left.

Results From Voting

Droid ~ 1

iPhone ~ 4

So here’s what I bought: 

Yup. The iPhone. And why? Well, actually not really because of the vote although it probably did influence me.  I bought it mostly because of that little iPod icon down there in the lower right corner.

How’s it going for me you wonder? Not bad once I realized that it was just a phone and I didn’t have to be afraid of it. I’ve had my moments. Like at work one day when everybody within 12 feet of me could hear “This American Life” until my cubie-wall-mate heard me whimpering “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, where’s the speaker? How do I turn off the speaker? Sorry, sorry, sorry…” and pushed my earphone plug all the way in for me.

But each day I get a little more comfortable with it and find some new little option I didn’t know I had. I especially like being able to make my e-mail so big I can read it without reading glasses. If only I could find an app for a magnifying glass so I could read the price tags at the mall without constantly pulling out my glasses.

And then there’s the camera.  I had a little built-in phone camera with my standard flip phone but since I’d blocked the internet there wasn’t much point in taking a photo with the phone if I couldn’t send it to anybody or do anything with it. Now I can quickly take pictures of Maisie’s cute paws without having to hope she doesn’t move until I grab my camera, turn it on and focus her in.   Or I can catch the girls playing.

 I could document how Dean and I froze our little tushes off for two hours or so at an auction and came away empty handed because somebody kept jumping in and outbidding us just before the auctioneer said “sold!” You might think we were a bit foolish to attend but I think the trophy for idiotic behavior really goes to the auctioneer who scheduled an outdoor auction in Wyoming in early March. 

Not only that,  I could take a break from shivering and sit in the car with the heater running full blast and e-mail those photos to Abby so she’d know what glorious weather she’s missing while she’s in the tropical land of Ecuador.

 

I’ve even Skyped Abby from the phone while I was at work. Of course it meant walking all over the office, talking into the phone, asking her if she “heard me now” until I finally discovered that the warehouse had the best connection.  But nobody cared because half the people I saw as I walked around were so busy texting or surfing or e-mailing from their own phones they didn’t even notice me.

So far I have no regrets. Well, there was that one moment of buyer’s remorse. I had just purchased the phone, they’d set it up and I was nearly ready to take it and leave when the sales guy told me I had a call and handed me the phone. He’d obviously been trained in the “how to respond to the deer in the headlight” look and immediately showed me how to answer. It was Leslie calling to see what choice I’d made. “I’m at the Verizon counter right now. What? What did you say? I can’t hear you. Can you talk louder? What? Can you hear me now? What? I can’t hear … I’ll call you later.” Dang, I thought. A two-year commitment and I’m not going to be able to hear anybody.  Once Mr. Verizon took off the protective plastic which was covering the ear part, things worked much better.

I've been listening to podcasts.  I’ve texted. I’ve e-mailed. I’ve texted photos. I’ve e-mailed photos. And I've done all this from the phone. The opportunities to waste time on this phone are endless. And that might not be a good thing for a blogging e-mail addict ... but … so far … I’m just having fun.

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Can You Hear Me Now?