Thursday 14 January 2010

Shiny Happy Phones

Currently, I'm looking for a new phone. My present mobile phone is languishing an inch away from suicide, much like John Travolta I imagine, it's best days definitely in the past. So I've started feverishly researching, because frankly, any option that isn't covered in the world of technology scares me.

Until a couple of years ago this would've been all academic to me. Technology enthusiasts seem to operate in a strange little world reserved also for the likes of model army fanatics. A trip to the Carphone Warehouse is equivalent to treading along the alleys of a rough part of town. I just want to get out as soon as possible. The veneer of the displays and the shiny nature of the employees both dampens and numbs my spirit. Any encroachment into this world both baffles and pressurises me, the outsider.

This all changed with the iPhone, and latterly, the newfound consumer popularity of Blackberry. The iPhone, far from being the best phone on offer now, certainly allowed us who weren't knowledgeable about megapixels and social networking (otherwise known as talking, in the old tongue) to feel confident we had something in the palm of our hand that was both usable and powerful.

I'm enthusiastic about the iPhone. It's an exquisite piece of design and put simply, it works. Blackberry's popularity I'm not so sure of. Blackberry's appeal with the business client was that it pushed email directly to the phone, on the move. Work emails could be addressed there and then, without the need for manually checking back to a web browser every so often. Add to that improved internet use, 3G, etc, and you have the makings of a smartphone. However, Blackberrys do none of the aforementioned better than any competitor. Web browsing is unimaginative, screens are small, and menus often cluttered. Take away the email and you're left with an average, or at best "decent" phone. Why it's taken flight amongst students and the under 25's I have no idea. Do you really get any emails more important than "Uni Qlo sale now on! Viagra Pills Available Now! Your Amazon order has been dispatched"? The answer for must of us is no, and therefore negates the need for a Blackberry. My suspicion is that more and more people buy them as they see peers getting them, and so the popularity snowballs...

So back to my predicament. I'll keep looking for a phone, now that there's less trepidation in my step when approaching the mobile phone store. I'll try not to stare blankly as a salesperson offers me the benefit of "3 months half price". I'll listen to his or hers dulcet tones. And eventually I'll depart from said emporium with a shiny bit of plastic, which will be obsolete in 6 months. This is progress.



3 comments:

bearcat said...

you could negate all this heartache by getting a palm pre. it's less "user friendly" than the iphone in the beginning, but once you get used to it it's a really nifty little phone. best thing - being able to open more than one app at a time (a trait that annoys me ALOT about my ipod)

tree said...

Palm pre that has horrendously poor build quality and rubbish keys.

HTC phones are the way to go...

roym said...

htc is good, but not the ones that run windoze.

how about waiting for the xperia?