My New Baby

Even though I am a self-professed geek, I'm not really a gadget person; I have always been very happy with my cell phone that is just a phone, and was very happy to pay very low fees for my phone that was just a phone.

I was determined never to be one of those "texting people" - people that walk down the street texting, walk down the mall texting (the funniest scene ever:  three friends walking down WEM, two with their heads down texting and one on his cell phone talking, each oblivious to the others), and who basically ignore the beauty of the day, and the fresh air, and the blessings they have been given. 

However, back in April I decided to get a small texting package as a trial, it was only $5.00, and if I didn't use it, I would cancel it.  Days later, my son broke his arm and we were in the hospital for four days, and the texting was very useful.  I was able to keep my parents up to date on the situation without incurring long distance charges, so that $5.00 was worth every penny.  When we were in BC for my sister's wedding I was able to text and again saved myself long distance charges.  So, even though I text on a rare occassion, I'm still not one of those "texting people".

And I was also determined not to cave into the media juggernaut known as the iPhone.  I seriously think that people must have a screw loose since they spend a fortune on the "latest models", when the old models were just fine.  Now, with the new iPhone 5, not only are they spending money on the new phone (when the old phone was more than adequate), but the new phone is shaped differently, so they need to buy new cases, and apparently the headphones are different, and the docking system is different.  Apple is laughing all the way to the bank.

But then.....Telus was offering "old" iPhones (that were released a year ago) for $79, and I had always thought the voice recognition software was neat (the funny commercials with John Malkovich didn't hurt either).  So I decided to treat myself to a Gadget - an iPhone 4S that is amazing, and it makes me sad that millions think that they need to ditch this amazing piece of technology for the "next new thing", basically because they believed that this "next new thing" is better.  They must also believe it will make them faster, stronger, smarter, more popular, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.....oops, I digress.

I admit that I love my little iPhone 4S.  I have configured all of my e-mail so that I can easily check it straight out of my pocket, and I speak text messages now instead of typing them (so cool!), and it's very convenient and has made work a little bit easier.

However, the iPhone is still just a phone - it gets turned off at night, it gets turned off at church and in restaurants, and I will never interrupt a conversation with a friend to check an e-mail or a text message.

I love my iPhone, but it's just a gadget.....I wish more people would remember that.