Before the geeks among you start attacking me, let me clarify. I mean long term relationships with gadgets, not necessarily humans. Take me, for example. Generally speaking, I'm a committed kinda guy. Most places I have worked I was there for at least four or five years. I was married for sixteen years. I'm currently in an eight year relationship. Not too shabby, right? But when it comes to gadgets I am the complete opposite. The proverbial seven year itch is more like a seven month itch. This is especially true for phones. For the past ten years or more, I have changed my primary phone at least once a year. As I work in the mobile industry, perhaps that's not so surprising, but what surprises me is the emotion I attach to each of my phones, and how quickly that emotion fades as soon as there's a new model in town.
Love the One You're With
I find I am always in love with my phone of the moment. From Palm Treo, to HTC Touch Pro, to Palm Pre, to HTC Evo 4G, to my latest love, the Motorola Photon 4G... I was smitten with each and every one of them, from the OS to the bright pixels and silky touch of the glass screen as I swipe my finger across and tap the icon of a favorite app... For all my lust and devotion, however, it always reveals itself to be a fleeting emotion, for I will inevitably soon have my wandering geek eyes on another. A sneak peek at CES or CTIA, an early product announcement on TechCrunch or Engadget, and suddenly, I know in my heart of hearts that it is over, and a breakup is imminent. As soon as I realize that my handheld mobile soul-mate may still be out there I begin to notice little flaws in my current mobile partner. Screen swiping speeds that once wowed me suddenly seem sluggish. The internal storage that seemed endless when our relationship began soon becomes far too little to fulfill my (app consumption) desires. It's over.
Breaking Up Is (Not So) Hard To Do
I thought my HTC Evo 4G was my ideal mobile mate. I adored the buxom 4.3 inch screen and flashy HTC Sense version of the Android OS. The allure of 4G was nice too, but alas, the dearth of coverage and demands on the battery life made 4G a minor attraction in our daily lives together. Regardless, the Evo was a wonderful phone, and we were happier together than I had ever thought I would be, based on my prior phone relationships. Though I began to notice other devices, I remained faithful to my Evo, and even resisted the temptations of the younger, slimmer, Evo 3D. But then, the Motorola Photon arrived... and the reviews were good. Dual core processor. Gorgeous screen. Lighter, more appealing version of Motorola's MotoBlur software. And to top it off, the very latest version of Gingerbread. She was sweet. I had to have her. I went to Radio Shack to see if she was there, and she was. I put my Evo on the counter face down, and picked up the Photon. It had me from "Hello Moto..."
How about you? Are you fickle with your phones too? What kind of relationship do you have with your smartphone?
Photo Credit: NinaMalyna - Fotolia.com
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3 comments:
I've really loved my iPhones.
I've never felt a need to switch.
It's ok if you decide to see different phones though. I think you can still be friends.
Hehe. Thanks Dave. I would be devastated if my phone told me it just wants to be "friends." You say iPhone(s) so how many "sisters" have you dated? ;-)
I tend to have to force myself not to even consider a first generation of an archetype of a phone if I can help it. It only leads to disappointment.
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