No, I Don’t Have An iPhone!

I got my first (and until now, only) smartphone a year and a half ago, and I wasn’t at all torn over which phone I wanted to get. No, I wasn’t seduced by Blackberry, although I do love the name. All those Samsung phones weren’t doing it for me, although they do have my name in them. And I wasn’t tricked into giving homage to the iPhone either, even though it seemed like everyone else in the Verizon store at the time was sucked in by the massive power of Apple. Where was Bill Gates when I needed him? But all was good. I knew exactly the phone I wanted before I even walked into the store because I did my research. I know, it’s crazy. A guy doing research, but I did it, and I was in love with the Droid Incredible 2, so I bought it, no questions asked in store. My wife wasn’t so sure which phone she wanted. In fact, we spent about an hour in the store while the sales associate talked over the pros and cons of all the latest phones. In the end the iPhone won out over Blackberry for her, and she got some massive storage (and I hear some kind of cloud thingy) in the deal. Then, we got them home.

It was like learning to speak all over again, let me tell you. My old dumbphone (I coined the phrase) was a slide up screen with a full keyboard for texting purposes, but there is pretty much where it ended. I had no idea how large the world could be with a full service phone. And, believe me, my phone is definitely full service. Whatever I can think of to do from my laptop, it is all still possible (and sometimes even easier) from my phone. But I had to really work hard to figure out all the ins and outs of my new phone. I read the booklet from front to back. I aligned and put on the screen protector. And then I began to figure out the things called apps. Now, I had no idea what an app was until I got my phone, but I found out quickly how helpful they could be. I will gladly admit that I am now an app aficionado.

So, with all of that being so fresh and new back then, how have things changed between me and my phone? Well, to put it bluntly, they haven’t. I’m just as infatuated with my phone as the day I first took it out of the package and turned it on for the first time. I keep a charger in my car to make sure it maintains a full battery. I have a handy case that allows me to carry it on my hip like a real big shot. I even use it in the bathroom (don’t you judge. You know you use your phone in the bathroom too. Don’t lie). It’s an amazing piece of technology that allows me to check and change my Facebook page, to take photographs and manipulate them at will, and then to send them off to Twitter, to Facebook, to WordPress, or even in a text message to my wife and/or friends. I can check my email, create entire blog entries, and change my fantasy football lineup at the tap of a screen.

And it’s the ultimate in portability! I can take it everywhere, and use it everywhere. Thank heaven for 3G! I love 3G so much I don’t know if I’ll ever embrace 4G as much.

So, you’ve probably gotten the gist by now that I use my phone an awful lot. In fact, it’s always in my pocket except when it’s charging. It just vibrated, as a matter of fact, and I’m fighting the impulse to take it out and look at it. You should see me at work. I fight that impulse until I’m finally on break, and then I whip it out faster than Quick Draw McGraw and check my messages. So, do I lose focus because of it? Am I too attached to it so I don’t get anything else done? If I’m in a restaurant is it in my hand the entire time instead of talking to the people around me? The answer is no to all of those things, and I’m not even sure how it’s no. I just know that I work hard to maintain focus on whatever I’m doing  at the time. If it’s spending time with my kids, I’m spending time with my kids. If we’re enjoying a meal in a restaurant, it’s on enjoying that time. I somehow balance it, although sometimes I will sneak a peek in the middle of another activity. Hey, it could be an emergency!

I would say I’m probably addicted to my phone, but at least I know it, so I make sure I take some time for myself. Are you addicted to your phone? How do you separate your time?

Sam