TECH - I'm an iPhone, I'm a BlackBerry: A Personal Journey

In the world of smartphones, there are two very distinct camps: the iPhone on one side, and the BlackBerry on the other. Much like the “I’m a Mac, I’m a PC” campaign, each phone seems to say something about the user. BlackBerry users seem more business-oriented - the men & women pulling the levers behind the curtain, while iPhone users come across as more artsy, creative & spontaneous.

As a die-hard Apple fan, when the iPhone came out I spent hours upon hours pining for it; I asked for one every Hanukkah and every Birthday after it came out and never got one. When the time came for me to step up to a more capable cell phone, my heart swelled at the thought of finally getting my beloved gadget. Unfortunately, cell phone contracts being what they are, the iPhone was just not a viable option so I crestfallenly headed to the Verizon store to get a BlackBerry.

Usually the purchase of a new tech gadget makes me giddy beyond belief, but as I sat on the subway and dejectedly played Tetris on my soon-to-be-degraded LG EnV2, I had to ask myself, “Does simply choosing the smartphone that comes with my service plan rather than cancelling my contract, paying a bunch of fees to do so, and signing a new one with a different provider really say that much about me as a person? Am I less cool because I won’t have an iPhone? Does this mean I’m going to stop dating musicians & writers and start dating lawyers & finance guys?”

The answer, of course is no, my choice of smartphone says nothing about me. I was always obsessed with checking my email, and now that every message gets delivered to the palm of my hand, it doesn’t matter which device is the vehicle – I’m in heaven! Ultimately, the design isn’t as slick, the apps are pretty lackluster, and it’s kind of confusing at first, but I’m in love with my BlackBerry Curve none the less.

-pn