A New Age of Technology

On Black Friday, I got up early and hit the local Verizon Wireless store in the hopes of snagging myself a heavily discounted Samsung Galaxy S3. Unfortunately, Verizon was the only carrier not to put the smartphone on sale, but I went ahead and got it anyway. I'd been living in the stone age for too long, and it was time to start cooking with fire.

Honestly, the only reason I hadn't switched over earlier was cost. My new phone bill is almost double what I used to pay and I'm still not entirely sure it was worth the price. That said, I'd been sitting in the upgrade sweet spot for a while and it was as good a time as any to pull the trigger. In one fell swoop I got:

(i) internet access in the palm of my hand (which was incredibly helpful when traversing Portland last weekend); and

(ii) a portable music player that could hold all my music; and

(iii) the ability to save myself the hassle of carrying around my digital camera (the built-in camera on the S3 is just as good).

Now don't get me wrong, it's not all roses and sunshine. As mentioned above, switching over to a smart phone can drastically raise your monthly bill (about +$40/month for me) and it tends to make folks more antisocial. But assuming you can afford the cost and have the willpower to turn off your phone when hanging out with friends, I highly recommend you pick up a smartphone.

Any day now I expect to start pontificating about the cold, dark days when I tried to get by with a phone that only allowed for simple texting. Texting! What are we, animals?! *scoff*