Mixing the Old and New

Four years ago I got my first smartphone. Over the weekend, I downgraded back to a basic phone. And I'm not looking back.

When cell phones first came out, I remember all the comparisons to Star Trek. A device you could carry around with you anywhere and use it to talk to virtually anyone? We were definitely living in the future. Then, as technology advanced and phones become fancier, people started laughing at the Star Trek technology. Kirk's communicator couldn't take pictures or receive written communications. It seemed like we were quickly passing this future technology by.

But with the advent of tablets, Star Trek is starting to look a little more realistic again. Why confine yourself to that small screen for email and internet browsing, when you can carry something more appropriately sized? Why not have specialized tools for communicating, exploring, and analyzing data?

It helps that I carry a purse, so it's as easy for me to carry a tablet around as a phone. But I love having two devices for different purposes. The phone has better call quality, and easier to navigate contact list, and fantastic battery life. The tablet has a great screen for reading articles on the internet, playing games, and watching TV. And my monthly bill is the same as it was with one device, since I just split my plan across the two devices.

On Saturday I re-entered all of my contacts into my new phone. This gave me a chance to consolidate information, which my android phone never handled very well. If I had two phone numbers, an email address, and a facebook link for someone, I ended up with four separate contacts in my phone which was a pain to navigate. Now I've eschewed a lot of that information, and can still have a single entry for people who still maintain a land line and a cell phone.

I also switched tablets. I still have my iPad Mini from work, but that's basically been relegated to a way for me to stay connected to the office when I'm home. I no longer carry it around with me. Instead I have a shiny, new Nexus 7 because I found a Verizon associate who was able to help me set it up, despite Verizon not officially supporting it.

The Nexus makes me so much happier than the iPad did. I love being back on an Android system where I can put widgets and to do lists right on my screen. I don't have to open apps to quickly check information.

It's also worth noting that the tablet has almost entirely replaced my computer. The only thing I really need my computer for anymore is formatting blog posts. And while the bigger monitor is nice for watching Netflix, I find I often get distracted by the internet when I try to watch TV on my computer. Better to just sit on the couch with my tablet where there are fewer distractions and I can cuddle with the animals. At this point I'm actually considering not buying a new computer when my current one breaks. I'll have to see if I still feel the same way a few years from now.

I'm really happy with my decision to ditch the smart phone in favor of a basic phone + tablet setup. I'd definitely recommend it anyone who's even the least bit interested.

New Tech

I'm several years behind the trend, but I finally got a iPad. From which I am writing this blog post, as a matter of fact.

Since I got the iPad from work, I'm mostly supposed to be using it for work. But given the nature of my job, that's rather difficult. So I've mostly just been playing with it and using it to make my own life easier.

The first night was pretty rough. This is the first apple product I've ever owned (aside from an early generation iPod) and the OS is very different from the Windows and Droid OSes I've become accustomed to. I spent several hours on the couch yelling at the iPad while Kevin laughed at me. Why is there no back button? Why do I need to enter my credit card info to download Chrome? How do I get rid of all these apps I don't want? Why is everything wiggling now? What do you mean you need my password again? I just entered it five times in a row.

But I persevered. I continued to play with the iPad and get used to a new set of shortcuts. One of my coworkers showed me a few things that I never would have figured out on my own, like locking the screen position and the need to close apps manually to save battery life. And slowly the good started to outweigh the bad.

There are a lot of things that are easier to do on the tablet than on my phone. Some apps, like blogger, work a lot better. As do most websites. I've been really impressed by the battery life, too, though I suspect a lot of that is because I don't have 3G. Being tethered to wireless networks has been more than adequate for my needs, though.

I've been getting some work functionality out of it. I can use it to take notes in meetings which has been surprisingly useful. And hooking up my work email means that I rarely need to bring my laptop home with me anymore, which is definitely a plus.

It hasn't all been perfect. There's still some functionality that I wish was present. Most importantly a sticky note or check list that I can stick on the home screen. I've gotten in the habit of leaving to do lists for myself on my phone's home screen, which ensures that I see them every time I use my phone. Having it hidden away in an app makes it too easy to forget about which makes it pointless. The home screen is also less customizable than I prefer. It doesn't let me just put apps anywhere I want or add calendar and weather widgets.

I also wish I could turn the GPS off, which is probably more of a paranoia thing than anything else. I can still be tracked through the wireless networks I'm connected to. But something about this device knowing exactly where I am all the time is a bit off putting, especially when apps that have no business knowing my location - things like IMDB and Netflix - then have access to it.

Still I can see the tablet replacing a lot of what I've been using my phone for. I'm considering downgrading to a dumb phone the next time my contract comes up for renewal and using the saved money to get a tablet. I'll probably switch back to a droid OS in that case, since it would have the customizability I'm currently missing. We'll see how things go in the next few months.