The Fry Side

As many of you are aware, I’m a rather tech-savvy guy. It’s, in fact, a part of my job. I need to know about what’s new out there in the digital world and need to know it well enough to explain things to people who have questions about it.

So it’s practically a given that I wanted an iPhone. I got an iPhone, I have an iPhone. All else in this world pales in comparison to the iPhone. Jesus, Mohammed, and Buddha all would have had iPhones (and by miracles would never be out of service, of course.)

I figured out how to unlock and jailbreak my phones (yes, we’ve run through the gamut of them in my house) so we can make use of our better-cost T-Mobile plans. I also was quite clever to avoid data charges since it was never long I was away from a wifi connection. All the power and none of the extra crazy costs? Totally win.

However, it turned out I barely used my phone. I would text, and twitter, and occasionally play a game. I didn’t have data, nor a 3G, so there was no GPS for me. (Which, by the way, I use a map, the sun, and my feet in dense areas, so I’ve never been at a loss there.)

Tweetie is a great app, and I liked being able to read some of my RSS feeds on the fly, but I have those on my computer. As for games, I would play occasionally but never sat down long to play anything. For that, we also have two Nintendo DSes in our house, as well as a Wii, so games are covered. Though I’m still waiting to try out Dragon Age once I have a computer that could possibly run it.

So I’m done with it for now. More than anything, I realize I’m never far from my personal computer. I’d rather read and write on my laptop. Plus, the main thing I want to do on my phone outside of calling and messaging is tweeting, and I can do that via normal text messaging.

The less in my pockets, the better. I already have to carry around two handkerchiefs to cover myself and whichever kid has a runny nose this week. Plus I keep my keys, pocket knife, and a compact pen in there. Oh yeah, and my great wallet with its built-in note cards.

That last piece really was the killer for me. I don’t like keeping notes on the phone. I found it a little clumsy to take out, unlock, open the notes app, get to the right note, then slowly type away, usually one-handed. If I need a note for something, I keep a small notebook next to my computer, or I jot something in my wallet to look back at later when I’m at my computer. Groceries? I keep a note pad in the kitchen. Shopping? Same note pad. To do lists? Yup.

In my pocket is a very beat-up Motorola phone my wife abandoned four phones ago. The reception is good, battery life is fine (cheap replacements were procured online a while back), and it’s smaller. Done deal.

Now I just need to sell those two 2G iPhones and get some of my money back. Maybe I’ll buy a high-tech toothbrush once I do.