So, yeah. I didn't see this coming.
Technolust is usually my middle name. While I don't have all the
latest and greatest gadgets I can tell you all about most of them.
Hardware specs, software versions, release dates...all right up my
alley. Android, Windows and iOS. I may not use them all but I try to
stay up to date with the happenings of them all. Lighter, faster,
thinner, better connected, more memory, longer battery life, newer
apps. These are the things that you expect to be able to say about
the newest bits of tech. With all of that being said, why can't I
come up with a reason to upgrade my phone?
Seriously, the end of my dreaded
contract is fast approaching so of course I've been eyeballing every
option even rumored to be released any time soon. Try as I might
though, I haven't been able to convince myself that I would see any
huge difference from upgrading. Right now I'm rocking a Samsung
Vibrant that I've had for a year and a half. It's rooted and I'm
running Cyanogenmod, so I am not dependent on my carrier to get me
the latest version of Android. It has a very capable 1Ghz processor
and a beautiful AMOLED screen and plenty enough memory . The camera
isn't all that, but I'm seldom far from my actual camera. Sure, it
doesn't have a flash or a front facing camera. I have tried to make
that a reason to get a new phone, but it just isn't enough.
Maybe I'm spoiled. The history of my
cell phones has been filled with upgrades that marked significant
improvements in technology. Revolutionary rather than evolutionary. I
jumped from a feature phone to a Crackberry. Things like email and
the web were suddenly available to me no matter where I was. There
was just no going back after I had tasted that. Then on to the
glorious intro to Android the G1. I kept that end all be all phone
for over a year. It was SO much different. A new way to do everything
and a touchscreen to do it on. After I became used to that phone, I
began to dabble with modifying it. Rooting and installing custom
firmware kept my interest piqued and kept the phone doing everything
that I wanted it to. Then came upgrade time. About that time Qualcomm
had launched the 1Ghz Snapdragon processor and Samsung had followed
with the Hummingbird also at 1Ghz. After spending about a month
forcing myself to type on a touchscreen I decided that I could live
without a physical keyboard. In comes the Vibrant. The screen was so
much more responsive and beautiful. Apps ran so much faster, and the
Google Navigation was amazing. Swype took a while to get used to, but
once I did it was incredible how easy and fast it was to type with
one hand.
I think that maybe this is why I can't
find anything out at the moment that gets me excited enough to plunk
down my cash or pony up another two years for. Cell phones have
matured enough that most of the really killer features that you can
come up with are already in place. There's a ton of great devices out
there with loads of great features, but I just can't seem to find a
problem that they solve for me. I find myself chagrined that after
having so many conversations centered around what phone someone else
might like best, I find that the one I already have seems to be my
best fit.
