Ryan's Journal

I was neutral about Blackberries before I got mine, but over time my distaste for RIM's Blackberry hardware and software has done nothing but grow. At long last, in a couple of days, I get to dispose of mine - which is technically my fifth, after all the problems and exchanges I've gone through - and now the question is whether to move to a different smart phone or back down to a phone phone. At first this wasn't even a question; I was ready to move on to an iPhone, but I've realized it's really just a matter of shedding the Blackberry when I have a replacement, any replacement will do.

Having a smart phone is enabling in several ways, enticing to me with the provision of geolocation services and email at any time. On the flip side, it also enables a degree of social remove, observationally and personally. It's not much fun going to a gathering where a large percentage of people are absorbed in whatever app or service is of more interest to them than their fellow attendees, and it's a guilty phone use for me to display the same behavior. Granted, a non-smart (dumb?) phone can still provide social distractions, but it's tough to pretend activity while staring at brief text messages.

I think I've ended up quite dependent on being able to access the web from anywhere with a signal, but I always imagined I could mitigate that on a dumb phone with a simple mail-to-web gateway.

Well. I think I'll end up with an iPhone this round. Maybe I'll be really and truly done with it all after another contract. Anybody want to join my family plan?

You must login to leave a comment