I'm going to try to do something different with this particular post. Rather than bitching about something that went wrong, I'm going to bitch about something that is...just plain wrong.
The cell phone. One of the most ubiquitous technologies in our society today. If someone doesn't have a cell phone or doesn't know how to use one, I usually respond with my expected Generation Y question, "Are you serious?" And then proceed to further explain how text messaging is the most wonderful thing ever created, and how I basically can't survive without my cell phone. Towards the end of our conversation, I usually feel pretty shameful that I rely on my phone so much. But at the same time, I know, if you don't have a cell phone, you're not "hip." God forbid such a travesty!
Not only must you have a cell phone among my peers, but you must have the newest phone. Take the iPhone for instance. Apple and their marketing team are geniuses for creating such an awesome device. When the first generation came out in June 2007, everyone HAD to have one. It was the "in" thing. I will admit, there was a point where I wanted one, but that keypad made me keep my distance. And since I text so much, there was no way I was going to adapt to that keyboard. It was also still operating on the EDGE network, which caused the Internet connection to be extremely slow. But Apple users didn't care, they bought the phone anyway. Then Apple introduced the iPhone 3G in July of this year, which meant faster Internet connection. But that was really it right? Oh, and it was slimmer and came in white. Not that big of a difference, but people still continued to purchase the phone. I kid you not, those links are exact versions. I didn't manipulate them or photoshop them or whatever. Look it up yourself.
But my real complaint is about another phone: the Blackberry, which is my phone of choice, and I've been an owner for about a year. I have a Blackberry Curve, and I haven't been this happy with a phone in a long time. The email is second-to-none, and the keypad is so easy to type on. I refuse to purchase a phone now without a full QWERTY keyboard. It's small and light and fits perfectly in my back pocket. It uses the "slow" EDGE network, but I'm willing to deal with it. Video playback isn't that great, and you can't record, either. I usually thought with a phone this high-tech, video should be a priority. But, after being a Nokia, Motorola, and Sidekick owner, the Blackberry is the best phone I have ever had. Why do I need another?
Why? RIM (the company that makes Blackberrys) will tell me why.
Because the Blackberry Bold and the Blackberry Storm are sooooo much better.
The Bold, in a nutshell, includes everything I mentioned the Curve does not.
The Storm is a whole other Blackberry. Think, if the iPhone and Blackberry were to combine, you'd get the Storm. It's the all-too-important iPhone killer. Why wouldn't anyone want that?
My whole issue is RIM and Apple's decision of when to release these new phones. The Curve just came out last May 2007, giving the Curve only a little over a year for life (May 2007 to November 2008). The iPhone 3G just barely missed the iPhone 1.0's birthday by about a month. So the 1st generation iPhone lasted for nearly a year and a month (June 2007 to July 2008). So, I'm going to ask a stupid rhetorical question: why do they do it so soon?
To those cell phone connoisseurs and my fellow Generation Yers, remember when Nokia only had 2 choices, and one like this, and everyone was content? Even if a new phone came out, we didn't care because that phone was the cool one to get. You could change the case and personalize it and make it your own. And as long as SNAKE was on it, you didn't care because SNAKE was only the best game ever!
The cell phone market has exploded, I understand that, and a lot has changed since those times way back when...when Nokia was the phone of choice. But I don't get why there are all these new models coming out of the same phone with minor changes. The reason we ended up switching from Nokia to something else was because there was something aesthetically and technologically different between the two. I went to a flip phone because not only was it aesthetically different, but the interface was more complex, and it was so cool. I switched to a Sidekick because the full QWERTY keyboard was awesome. I became a Blackberry user because email had become a huge part of my life, and it only seemed logical to find a phone that had a great email interface.
But Apple and RIM playing these games with their consumers by releasing "upgraded" and "better" versions of the same phone is such a scam/marketing ploy. And most people fall prey to it. Why? I'll be honest, I can't help but feel hypnotized by the way the Bold looks. I mean, it has a beautiful and improved interface, and there was a part of me that was going to shell out
Being a part of Generation Y holds true to me, I'm realizing. Always questioning, always asking for answers and reasons for WHY someone(s) want to screw us over.
But, Christmas is around the corner, and if someone wants to give it to me as a present...well, let's just say, I would accept it gratefully.
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