The Technology Keeps Changing

I have got to get moving (faster) in this 21st Century age of communications. More specifically, using technology to communicate faster and easier.

I remember sending my first text message several years ago from my Motorola flip phone. I thought it was the coolest thing except it wasn’t as cool as sending an email. That was because using the keyboard on a flip phone was not as easy as sitting down to a keyboard to type out a message. I actually remember logging on to the AT&T website to send a text message to my daughter who was in college at the time.  

Then a few years later Nokia came out with a flip phone. Way better voice quality over the crappy Motorola phone. I waited months for Nokia to come out with that phone and would not consider anything else until then. I really liked the added feature that allowed me to check my AT&T email. Who needs a Blackberry or a Palm Treo, I thought, when my Nokia is doing the job. And let’s not forget, all I really wanted was a reliable device that could handle a phone conversation. Sending email or text messages was not exactly a priority at the time.

Bad move! I bought a phone that accomplished what I needed then not what I could possibly need two years down the road. Then I also thought Nokia would stay ahead of the curve on smart phones but in two years, I can say the Finland-based company has been blown out of the water on technological advances in this arena.

So here I go again, behind in technology trying to stay up to speed in communication. I’ve been telling myself for months that I’m okay sitting on the commuter train every morning checking my AT&T email on a Nokia flip phone. Can’t really reply to emails cause it’s so cumbersome. The best I can do is delete the ones I don’t want to read. But lately, I’m asking myself, “how cool would it be if I could reply to email, update my Facebook page and actually send Tweets all before I get into the office?” 

This is all about a smart phone, the iPhone in particular. A good friend purchased the $499 model about 2 years ago. I could not phathom spending that much money on a cell phone and was perfectly content waiting for the price to come within my range — which was considerably less than $500. Now I realize, ”it’s not just a cell phone, Cathy. It’s a freakin’ hand held computer! You can practically walk a dog with the darn thing!”

So I’m standing in the local AT&T store talking to Alyssa and Nathan, two really cool sales associates, about the iPhone. I’m asking what I think are intelligent consumer-type questions. A guy in a Georgia t-shirt overhears our conversation and interrupts, ”You will love it! I bought one for my wife and she absolutely loves it!” And of course, Nathan and Alyssa smile from ear-to-ear for the unsolicited endorsement. They keep pumping me with all the benefits, all the fancy stuff you can do with an iPhone. They both whip out their iPhones and oddly enough, they both have their money in the same bank as I and so they show me the login screen and explain how they pay bills with the iPhone! Alyssa tells me about a book her husband purchased from amazon.com on the iPhone! And then I ask about my iPod. There’s an app I can download that allows me to listen to my music library on the iPhone as long as my computer at home is on — even if I’m driving in the car to Ohio.

Okay, so we’re on to something here. I’m about ready to pull out the credit card until I hear a voice inside me that says, “Cat, it’s a phone. Can you make a freakin’ call and the person on the other end will be able to hear you? Better yet, can you hear them? But wait, I say to myself, the fancy keyboard makes it easier to send text messages so who cares about voice quality or transmission? But wait, you can’t send text messages to your 90 year old grandmother. Neither can you send text messages to your best friend in Ohio cause she’s not down with texting. Well, but you can send email, right? Okay, so at least two people in my network still require an actual phone conversation. The rest are cool with email or text messages.”

Alyssa and Nathan get a sense of this internal conversation I’m having with myself and assure me that the iPhone has good reception and voice quality.

Before leaving the store, I make sure to get Alyssa’s information. After all, she works on commission and given that she just spent 20 minutes sharing all she knows about the iPhone, the least I can do is make sure she gets the sale. I make sure to let her know that I’m eligible to upgrade in June even though my contract expires in August.

If all goes well soon I will be one of millions of people walking around with an iPhone. The only difference between me and them is I’ll be the one with the silly grin on my face as I marvel at all the really, really cool stuff I can do with a cell phone! Oops! I gotta keep telling myself, it’s not just a cell phone. It’s a hand held computer! 

Sweeeet!