Showing posts with label technology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label technology. Show all posts

Sunday, October 7, 2007

Techno Junkie (Part Deaux)

Yeah, my technology obsession continues today . . .

In the last two weeks I have purchased a new cell phone and a new iPod.

But it's not just any iPod, it's an iPod touch! It is so amazingly cool, it's sick. If you've seen the iPhone, it's pretty much the same thing. And before anyone says, "well why didn't you just get the phone instead?" let me say that I didn't want to switch services or pay for the internet and all that extra stuff. Plus, who wants to consolidate electronic gadgets when you can have more?? I like my extensive collection of chargers, so complex that I have to label them just to keep them straight, thank you very much!

So my new iPod has wireless internet. I don't pay for internet, it just picks it up when it can! It's so hot. I was at class last week (grad school) and while waiting the teacher to come, I was browsing on Television Without Pity (best. site. ever.) and listening to a relaxing playlist. Yeah, it's that cool. I have three complaints, two of which will probably be resolved in a few weeks.
1. There's no hard case for it yet. I had to buy these weird colored socks to protect it. But I want something hard, and something I can clip to my belt for when I walk around.
2. There are no games. I loved the solitare on the old iPod, even the ghetto black and white version I had.
3. The battery life seems frighteningly short. I guess I've been mostly playing on the internet (cause I can!) and watching movies (cause I can!), and that wastes more battery power. I'm a little nervous about traveling with it though. (this is the one that I just have to deal with. Oh well.)

Anyway, I am ridiculously excited about my new gadget.
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But even more recently, I got a new phone. I did not intend for this to happen. I knew I was due for a new phone soon (in November, I figured). But I was at the mall (ugh) recently to go out to dinner with a friend (ugh to mall, cause I hate malls, not to my friend) and the Verizon store happens to be right by the mall exit. Now, the store also just so happened to be completely empty. How often does that happen? And being the courteous gal that I am, I would never want to bother any of those nice Verizon sales people with such a dumb question when they were busy. But a store that's totally empty?

Well, not exactly empty. There were four (yes, four) sales people, looking extremely bored. And because I am such a nice gal, I thought I should give them something to do. To relieve their boredom, of course.*

So I mosied on in, and noted the expressions of relief of the salespeople to see someone to actually wait upon* and asked them, oh so nicely, when my contract was up. You see, this way I could know the exact day I could purchase a new cell phone. I was told the date (early January) and then clarified (since he was sitting there, so bored and all*) that I could get a new phone on that date in November.

The sales person, so eager for a customer*, then said NO, in fact I could get a phone that very day if I cared to.

What?!? But I thought Verizon allowed you to upgrade your phone two months before the end of your two-year contract. "This policy has changed," the oh-so-eager* salesman told me. "We now allow it up to four months ahead of time. You were eligible for an upgrade in September."

Well, I was just appalled. One month late? I am usually right on top of this stuff! I got my iPod touch on the very day it came out!

Then the four salespeople were eagerly attempting to show me all of the new phones, to stave off their boredom* but I just browsed a little and went home to do some research. Everyone was all psyched on the RAZR when it came out, and it turned out to be a piece of crap after a couple of months. I don't want that to happen to me!

So the very next day (not an exaggeration!) I went back to the (slightly more busy) Verizon store and purchased a bright orange enV. So far, I love it!

I love the keypad, and how it flips open. The actual phone part (the front) has an automatic key lock that kicks in after 7 seconds (but you can change that) so it won't press buttons in your pocket. The keyboard is awesome, and great for people who love to text (me) or email (not me, too expensive for a phone!) The camera has 2.0 megapixels, much better than the 1.4 on my old phone. Perfect for taking pictures of my adorable niece and nephews and showing them to everyone, as I tend to do. You can even open and close the camera lens, so it doesn't get scratched! Oh, and did I mention that it's orange? How cool is that?

But best of all, the reception is 10x better than my last three phones. I used to have the old-school Star-Tac (my first one!) and had no problem with reception in my apartment. The last three phones have had awful reception in my place. I had to stand by the window for every conversation. I hate standing still when I talk on the phone. I like to be doing something, like driving or pacing or doing random things.

But today I was talking to my mom, and I could wander around the apartment! It was great! I watered the plants, washed some dishes, and paced to my heart's content!

Yay for technology!



*parts of this story may be slightly exaggerated

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Thursday, August 23, 2007

Techno Junkie

I have a confession to make . . .

I am a techno-junkie.

Not a crazy one (I can't afford it!), but definitely up there. I see some new-fangled technological device and I instantly want one. It doesn't even have to be new fangled. Once the idea gets in my head, I think about it constantly until I buy it. And then I love it forever.

Some of my technological devices that I own are iPods (yes, 2! a Shuffle for the gym, and 20 gig for everything else), Nintendo DS, portable DVD player, DVD-R player, flat screen tv, wifi, DVR (like generic TiVo), laptop, mini digital camera, cell phone (but who doesn't these days?), and I'm sure there are others that I can't think of right now.

Today, I am the proud owner of my latest example of techo-whoredom: a GPS.

But not just any GPS: it's the Garmin Nuvi 360. Oh yeah, baby! It comes with all these cool features that I will never, ever use! It has restaurant reviews and foreign language translator. Maybe I'll use that feature when I bring it to Finland in a couple of years (2009 baby!) and navigate through the streets of Helsinki with my fancy Europe package.

Yeah, it works in Europe too.

I can also talk on the phone through it.

Now, I know some people will scoff at me for calling myself a techno-junkie because they've had all these devices for years, and better models too. But for what I make, I do buy an awful lot of stuff.

And it's not just that. It's the unreasonable amount of excitement I feel when I get these devices. And it doesn't fade! I still marvel at the cool click wheel of my (very outdated) iPod and feel cool walking around the streets of (insert name of city here) with my white headphones. I laugh at everyone rifling through dumb airplane magazines and craning their necks for a look at what's on my cool DVD player, or what level of Mario Cart I got to on my Nintendo. I love being able to go out whenever I want, and watch all my favorite shows commercial-free! (Seriously, DVR is the best invention ever!)

So yeah, technology rocks. Alright, gotta go play with my GPS!