Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Phone vs Phone

I'm counting the days until April 22. What is April 22? It's the day that I qualify for a new phone with my wireless carrier. I currently have a Blackberry and I HATE it. Oh sure, almost 2 years ago when I got the phone, I believe I blogged about it being the best thing ever. I was so excited to have it. It could do everything, or so I believed. I soon learned that it's cumbersome to use and it has quirks. It freezes on me from time to time. The track ball sticks. The case smells like turkey burgers. Okay that's a very recent event as I had it in the kitchen with me when I was cooking dinner Sunday night. About a year ago, I had decided that the moment Verizon added the iPhone to their lineup, I was going to own one. Then I met Anthony who designed apps for Android based phones so I was introduced to a whole new world of phones, because he always had new phones that he was testing. It changed my thinking. The Android platform is very impressive and my friends Dan, Steve and John all have Android phones and they like them. They seem to function similarly to the iPhone, but they are more customizable. Then I got my iPad. I love my iPad. A lot. It does all the great things I'd like a phone to do. It's intuitive and super simple to use. Using it has given me a preview of what it will be like to use an iPhone. But...here's the twist. Apple has released a new version of their phone each year. All signs point to the iPhone 5 coming out this summer. But, if I want the most current phone, I would have to wait until maybe June or even July, which would mean another 2 - 3 months with the Blackberry. I don't think I can do it. And there's no guarantee that Verizon will even have the iPhone 5 at the same time as AT&T. I don't think I'll wait. I think that if I go iPhone, I'll be satisfied enough that I've dumped the Blackberry and enjoy it, even if a newer one comes out a couple months later. I talked to someone at the Apple store, he said "you're always going to be behind a generation because you're under a 2 year contract. A new phone will likely come out during that time." True. I posted on my facebook page that I was counting the days, and contemplating Android vs iPhone. I got lots of votes for both, but nobody actually stated their case. What are your experiences with these phones and why did you choose the phone you're using now. If you're using an iPhone and wish you had an Android, why would you switch? And vice versa. Make a compelling argurment for your device.