Somehow the cell phone companies have taught us that it's okay to throw away phones after two years of use. It was different when the phones were cheap with very few features. Getting a new phone every couple of years meant the difference between a monochromatic and a colored screen.
But now phones are all about how many features can we stuff into them. And people look forward to the two year anniversary of their contract signing because that means swapping one expensive phone for another equally expensive phone. Or some don't even wait until their contracts end and just drop the $100+ to cancel. Are the new features really worth it?
I upgraded from a pay as you go flip phone to an iPhone a year ago. Best decision ever. But I'm really hoping this phone will last longer than two years because that upgrade made a serious dent in my wallet. I have yet to find another phone that will radically change the marketplace after the iPhone.
Though... that new Google phone looks damn good.
Showing posts with label contraptions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label contraptions. Show all posts
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Sunday, December 28, 2008
New Gadgets
In an attempt to bring back the joy of opening presents to the holiday season, I bought myself an iPhone today. And since our family collectively decided to forego all Christmas ceremonies this year (no decorations, no presents, no parade, and a filet mignon dinner that I made), I was left to my own wits to pamper myself. That's where The Baron, aka new iPhone, comes in.
My purchase is entirely justified, though. At least enough to settle my own cognitive dissonance. I'm not usually one for purchasing expensive toys, especially ones that are trendy, so I had quite a time convincing myself that I needed or deserved sch a fancy gadget. Keep in mind that my previous phone was a $10 pay-as-you-go phone with a different SIM card stuck into it. So this change is quite an upgrade.
The reason that finally convinced me to buy an iPhone was not just because of the incredibly fast network, nor the ability to access the internet whenever I want to, nor even the vast array of apps available right at my finger tips. No, my main reason was far more trivial.
It's important to stay on top of the trends when you work for a technology company. My main reason for purchasing an iPhone was to step into the 21st century and understand for myself just how mobile technology is revolutionizing the population. I couldn't use my dinky old phone to do so, so a new high-powered phone was necessary. Exactly how are services on these new phones monetized? Where are advertising dollars going? These are very important trends to follow.
Or maybe it's another way of saying "I wanted one because everyone else has one."
My purchase is entirely justified, though. At least enough to settle my own cognitive dissonance. I'm not usually one for purchasing expensive toys, especially ones that are trendy, so I had quite a time convincing myself that I needed or deserved sch a fancy gadget. Keep in mind that my previous phone was a $10 pay-as-you-go phone with a different SIM card stuck into it. So this change is quite an upgrade.
The reason that finally convinced me to buy an iPhone was not just because of the incredibly fast network, nor the ability to access the internet whenever I want to, nor even the vast array of apps available right at my finger tips. No, my main reason was far more trivial.
It's important to stay on top of the trends when you work for a technology company. My main reason for purchasing an iPhone was to step into the 21st century and understand for myself just how mobile technology is revolutionizing the population. I couldn't use my dinky old phone to do so, so a new high-powered phone was necessary. Exactly how are services on these new phones monetized? Where are advertising dollars going? These are very important trends to follow.
Or maybe it's another way of saying "I wanted one because everyone else has one."
Saturday, August 9, 2008
The Ergonomic Grater
You know how when you walk into a room and you notice a contraption that you've never seen before, you're automatically drawn to it and want to touch it until the owner comes running and screaming at you? That was the feeling I got when I walked into my room the other day and saw an ergonomically designed grater sitting on my desk.
I had seen the above commercial on TV quite a number of times, and each time I cringe because seeing anyone's gross feet is likely to cause that reaction. Yet my fascination with infomercials (which might or might not be the topic of a future post) holds my attention captive every single time that commercial comes on. So imagine my surprise when I find the object of my grotesque fascination sitting on my desk.
Well, of course I had to try it. How can anyone NOT when a personal infomercial product lands on her lap? It was begging to be used. So consider this my official review of the glorified cheese grater.
Because it really is essentially a cheese grater graciously grating off shavings of a foot that, on occasion, does smell like a ripe Limburger. But for someone like me who cannot stand to have a stranger touching my foot, this quick-fix solution is actually very appealing. I still don't think my pride will ever let me go out and purchase another one should this one stop grating, but having one so conveniently placed in my room at least gave me the desire to give the egg a go. And at least I can safely say that I don't have nearly as many shavings as was dumped onto the green towel (why on a towel?) in the video.
I had seen the above commercial on TV quite a number of times, and each time I cringe because seeing anyone's gross feet is likely to cause that reaction. Yet my fascination with infomercials (which might or might not be the topic of a future post) holds my attention captive every single time that commercial comes on. So imagine my surprise when I find the object of my grotesque fascination sitting on my desk.
Well, of course I had to try it. How can anyone NOT when a personal infomercial product lands on her lap? It was begging to be used. So consider this my official review of the glorified cheese grater.
Because it really is essentially a cheese grater graciously grating off shavings of a foot that, on occasion, does smell like a ripe Limburger. But for someone like me who cannot stand to have a stranger touching my foot, this quick-fix solution is actually very appealing. I still don't think my pride will ever let me go out and purchase another one should this one stop grating, but having one so conveniently placed in my room at least gave me the desire to give the egg a go. And at least I can safely say that I don't have nearly as many shavings as was dumped onto the green towel (why on a towel?) in the video.
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