30 Days of Thanks...Day 17

Day 17:  I am thankful that technology still has the ability to amaze me and make me feel like a kid who got the item on display in the window. 

My name is Monica, and although I am fascinated with all the latest technology, I tend to wait until the bugs have been worked out or it goes on sale in order to obtain it.  Perhaps it stems from the way I was brought up, but I don’t see the point in blowing over $700 for anything electrical if the basic necessities have not been met.

I have never gotten caught up in the whole iPhone vs. Android debate.  My thing is whatever phone serves my needs while maintaining affordability is the one which gets my vote. 

I got my first cell phone back in 2001.  Back then, all I wanted it for was emergencies.  I wasn’t interested in games, camera, Facebook, none of that. 

As times changed, so did the phones.  I adapted to the times, but I was also a bit slow in doing so.  I’m not saying I’m against change, just that if the old use had me satisfied, why mess with a good thing?  The new phones and their abilities fascinated me.  The cell phone was more than just for talking.  You could do messaging, gaming, texting, navigating, photography---it’s like having a mini computer in the palm of your hand, and a few of them involve a pretty big palm.

My favorite phone from the days of old was a Motorola.  It had a dragon design on it and it was a flip phone.  It served me rather well.

Once I came to terms with the fact I was a bigger texter than talker (guess some things never change—the whole preferring writing letters to phone calls), then I fancied the phones which had a keyboard. 

Although I loved the keyboard on the last phone I had (a Motorola Charm), it was the phone, along with the Blackberry, which gave me the most problems.  I didn’t cash in an early upgrade, like I had before, but did decide to wait things out.  I knew I risked not getting the speed of 4G, since the Charm was 3G, and I was missing out on the amazing innovations, but I opted to wait until it became more affordable to me or until my Charm played out.

Well, my Charm played out.  I would like to call it possessed by the “You Need An Upgrade Demon.”  It would cut off for no reason (even when it had enough battery life).  It would freeze in the middle of texting and calling.  I deleted my Facebook app off of there because it kept freezing, but even after the delete, it was still having problems.  Neither battery (cause the Charm came with two) was alleviating the problem.

I had known for quite some time the top two contenders for my upgrade.  One was an HTC One S and the other was a Samsung Galaxy S II.  Both of them had features I really liked. 

However, I was sad because everything was touch screen, and I had gotten so used to having a physical keyboard.  I worried about the adjustment. 

Plus, the HTC One S didn’t have a SD slot for memory expansion, and I was used to having a way to store pictures and other items, externally.  The Galaxy S II did but it ran about $50 more than the HTC One. 

I was still doing battle with it in my mind when an early Black Friday special popped up stating the Galaxy phones could be free, after the mail in rebate of course, and the Galaxy II was in the running.

So…having to deal with a dysfunctional charm or to walk away with a functioning Galaxy?  Guess put in that way, what happened next was inevitable.

I still feel like that kid who got the thing she always wanted in the store window.  I haven’t played around with all of the features yet, but the ones I am enjoying so far…

The camera, especially the self portrait feature.

Photo editing.

The automatic brightness feature.

Being able to voice search items on the Internet.

Being able to join Instagram

Customization of the font, although I like the default the best.

The weight of the phone (I know some people have complained about it, but I like being able to feel where my phone is at.  With my smaller ones, it has been harder to tell.)

Impressive load time.

Clarity of screen images, video.

The ease of deleting certain text messages or all text messages.

I am thoroughly enjoying my S II.  It was in the budget I had (which was limited), and although I have to wait about eight weeks, I’ll be getting the money back, so it will be as if I had gotten it for free.