I have been waiting for the iPhone 5 for a very long time. I was already completely ready to turn mine in for an upgrade last year at this time. Why? I have been using the original since 2007. No joke. Today, it's a beautiful, sleek, antique metallic phone on which I can receive and place calls but effectively use very few other features. I don't tend to be in a hurry to have the latest, greatest thing. For examples, I resisted upgrading to the 3G, the 3GS, the 4 and the 4S. But unfortunately, by waiting until I was entirely fed up with mine, I finally became determined to upgrade just when the whisper on the street was that a new model was on the horizon. I decided to wait... and wait... and wait...
Historically, I am not particularly a gadget enthusiast; my phone was a really nice gift, and I was quickly won over by its practical applications. (No game apps for me, thanks.) I loved being able to pull over if lost while driving and access maps and driving directions, use the Internet on my phone to find locations or phone numbers or otherwise Google needed info on the go, have a high-quality camera on me at all times, and catch up with emails during occasional slivers of downtime - like in a waiting room - instead of necessarily needing to formally sit down for personal computer time each day. So I am not concerned with whether the new model is 18% thinner (it is) or has a 20% larger screen (it does). I just need to be able to use the device's extra-phone features without a wait that has me longing for the Internet rapidity of the old dial-up days.
One review called the 5 boring, uninspiring, so-so, pedestrian and even - catch this - "samey," clearly heartsick for the line's early "magical" and "revolutionary" days. Sure, we were all captivated the first times we encountered the futuristic touchscreen, the little end-of-list bounces, and the amazing orientation-adjustability of the picture. Those days brought on something akin to the delightful paradigm shift - albeit a fiction-based one - Sci Fi fans experienced with The Matrix. It was such a jolt, really, that who then could help but be disappointed by its highly anticipated sequels? So to the technology thrill seekers who look to their smartphone device to provide something more than convenience and a slightly heightened sophistication of lifestyle: One can never watch The Matrix for the first time again. That doesn't make its Universe any less compelling or worthwhile. Critics can sniff at the 5 all they like; I'll be taking the red pill.
- Sarah
Historically, I am not particularly a gadget enthusiast; my phone was a really nice gift, and I was quickly won over by its practical applications. (No game apps for me, thanks.) I loved being able to pull over if lost while driving and access maps and driving directions, use the Internet on my phone to find locations or phone numbers or otherwise Google needed info on the go, have a high-quality camera on me at all times, and catch up with emails during occasional slivers of downtime - like in a waiting room - instead of necessarily needing to formally sit down for personal computer time each day. So I am not concerned with whether the new model is 18% thinner (it is) or has a 20% larger screen (it does). I just need to be able to use the device's extra-phone features without a wait that has me longing for the Internet rapidity of the old dial-up days.
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| Five Years in Real Life Is Like Five Decades in Tech Years |
One review called the 5 boring, uninspiring, so-so, pedestrian and even - catch this - "samey," clearly heartsick for the line's early "magical" and "revolutionary" days. Sure, we were all captivated the first times we encountered the futuristic touchscreen, the little end-of-list bounces, and the amazing orientation-adjustability of the picture. Those days brought on something akin to the delightful paradigm shift - albeit a fiction-based one - Sci Fi fans experienced with The Matrix. It was such a jolt, really, that who then could help but be disappointed by its highly anticipated sequels? So to the technology thrill seekers who look to their smartphone device to provide something more than convenience and a slightly heightened sophistication of lifestyle: One can never watch The Matrix for the first time again. That doesn't make its Universe any less compelling or worthwhile. Critics can sniff at the 5 all they like; I'll be taking the red pill.
- Sarah
4 comments:
I can totally see you gearing up to take that picture. :) I've never had any of the phones you are writing about. We take the ones they give for free and have the simple texting and phone call making and receiving. I know, I live in the dark ages of the cell phone life. But hey...it works for now. I still use mapquest and google maps and carry an atlas in the car. One thing is for sure...when I post to Facebook, it's not through my mobile device. Congrats to you, my friend...patience paid off. :)
That was me before the iPhone - always the most basic model. I never felt inconvenienced.
A car atlas is a great idea!
Patience has ALMOST paid off - I'll have to wait for a while yet. They were all reserved before the first shipment had even arrived. But hey, what's another few weeks?
- Sarah
Love your picture! How clever. I have to admit that I had to google the term, "red pill." I was raised on too many musicals and didn't quite get the sci-fi bug. I agree with you. The iPhone still beats a Blackberry or old flip phone any day! Glad to see you writing again.
Well, I do love a good musical, too. (We've been watching quite a bit of Mary Poppins around here lately!) Yes, I must recommend the iPhone. It just helps life function much more smoothly... for the first four years, anyway!
Thank you for your note. I've been enjoying catching up with your writing, too. And congratulations on being published! I think you need to formally celebrate, if you haven't already. Then post about it so the rest of us can live vicariously through you :)
- Sarah
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