My wife and I went shopping the other day and I asked my wife to check the hours of a store she wanted us to go to, on her smart phone*. She said, “I don’t have the number.” I said, “Just find it on your phone.” She said, “How?” I nearly got in an accident!
Here, I thought I was still a bit behind in fully using my Blackberry because I hadn’t bothered to learn how to sync it with the whole Blackberry calendar system, preferring to use my desk calendar that I buy each December (as I wrote and explained in I AM Keeping My Date Book).
I learned that my wife hasn’t used the Blackberry Curve she’s had for over 2 years once to surf the web or even to get a phone number or directions she might need. Heck, she didn’t even know how to check the weather? Thank you dear for making me feel so smart!
Well, after a brief tutorial from me, while I was still driving, she was hooked up to the Internet, finding out phone numbers of stores we hadn’t even discussed going to! Now, what have I done?
It made me reflect on how many functions I’m not using, besides the Calendar one, on my old Blackberry. Okay, tell me again why I have to get a smarter phone than my nearly 3-year old Blackberry Curve and I’ll continue to tell you, “later!” I may have to relent, though, after having lunch with my tech genius friend the other day.
Given we’re both very busy and dependent on our cell-phones, it was no surprise that several times during the meal our phones were whisked out of their holsters. Kind of like quick draw McGraw! Who was fastest (he was)?
Naturally, my tech-whiz buddy has the newest techie phone, while I have a long-retired Blackberry which I think has a special place in the Smithsonian next to my first cell-phone, which doubled as a dumbbell.
He sees my Blackberry and in his inimitable style of grace, calm, and class tells me, I mean yells at me, “Yipes, you still have that old phone!” I look up and say, sheepishly, “I like my Blackberry.” He pauses, collects his thoughts, gives me the look that you give the guy at Starbuck’s who can’t get your latte order right, and replies with, “Get a new phone today!”
I don’t know. I like my old Blackberry. I don’t like change. It works just fine for me. Besides, it’s one of my New Year’s Resolutions (not to get an iPhone or any other new phone, for that matter – as I resolved in My New Year’s Tech Resolutions). I’m sticking with my Blackberry Curve…for now. After all, it is still a smart phone!
*Boomer Tech Talk Guide to Technical Words Used in this Article:
Smart Phone: Mobile phones that have advanced functionality, such as internet access, website browsing, custom applications, and video capability.
