My
husband is a gadget freak.
He
loves anything electronic, as long as it serves him and makes his life easier or more efficient. If it’s new and bigger
and better and faster, he’s talking about it.
Oh, how he talks about it. He
talked about wanting to get an iPad when they first came out, and finally got
one two years ago.
I
did the math, and that is about two years of hearing about how he wants an
iPad. It’s maddening, the frequency with
which the love of my life can talk about electronics and how much he desires
new electronics.
TVs,
phones, computers, headphones, speakers, and I don’t know what else – the
thingy that sits under the TV and works out whether we watch TV or a DVD? – I
don’t know what that is. But the man is
obsessed. Did you know that they come
out with new electronics every 6.8 seconds?
I’m
sort of a Neo-Luddite.
I
rarely watch TV, have a three (four? five?) year old laptop, own a Kindle that
I sometimes use. I don’t get excited
about gadgets, do not geek out when something that fits in the palm of my hand
allows me to operate more efficiently.
We got a DSLR camera recently because our point and shoot was comically
horrible, and I am still so discouraged that this new camera didn’t immediately
improve my photography skills that I can’t even bear to figure out how to use
it. It’s overwhelming.
Do
you need a nap? I think I need a nap.
Up
until 2012 I had a flip phone – you know, the one that was so small you could
fit it into your sock? Or lose it in the
bottom of your purse? My husband raged
against its inadequacy. It had a prepaid
plan (hello, one-income family), had horrible service, and was never turned
on. He hated that I was not available every
second, hated that I didn’t text because it was too hard, hated that I couldn’t
use it everywhere. I loved it for all of
these reasons.
I’m
such a fun wife.
So
on Christmas of 2012 he gave me an upgrade: a rectangular smartphone with a
slide-out keyboard. I liked the
keyboard, but because the phone was on the same network as my little flip, it
still had horrible service in our area and the smartphone technology was just
not up to par. In addition, it had its
own little quirks - sometimes it would turn off and I couldn’t get it turned
back on. It ended up lost in the bottom
of my purse, too. I actually hated this
imposter phone.
Determined
to make me love electronics, my husband purchased for me this past Christmas a
real smartphone, the kind that has a touchscreen keyboard and all these
linky-appy things that people use when they’ve got their noses in their
phones. He set it all up for me, and
when he handed it over, he might have held his breath hoping that I would
finally embrace the Information Age.
It’s
sort of magic. When I take pictures, the
phone makes some of them sparkle. When I
first logged onto the phone, everyone who I have ever communicated with on the
internet was right in my contacts list.
I can do facebook, twitter, read books from my kindle right on my phone. A few times I have used it to give me
directions! The other day I toyed with
the idea of entering all my activities into the calendar so I don’t have to
drag my book calendar with me to the doctor’s office when I need to make an
appointment, something that my husband has asked me to do electronically for a
few years now and I have dug in my heels because you don’t need to know what I’m doing.
I
love this phone.
I
hate it when he’s right.
A picture of my phone, taken with my DSLR.
Watch out, Annie Leibovitz. I’m coming.
|
*******
This post inspired by:
Prompt 4: Something new
you’re loving.
Before my smartphone, I didn't know I would need it so much. Bah. :)
ReplyDeleteYeah. I don't know that I 'need' it as much as I 'love' it.
Deletehaha! I have changed my opinion so many times about this. I used to think my flip-phone was the end all. Then I got a DROID. It was terrible! Now I have an iPhone and I could never imagine life without it.
ReplyDeleteYes. This experience has taught me to never underestimate the power of a crappy phone. It has the capability to throw us over to the other side seemingly against our will.
DeleteNext he'll say you need new eyewear, and hand you a pair of Google Glass(es). Electronics addiction was never so much fun (and you'll put Leibovitz to such shame)!
ReplyDeleteIf anyone sees me wearing Google glasses, I trust that they will tackle me and forcefully remove them from my face. ;)
DeleteI resisted cell phones for quite a while, but I'm glad I too have a smart phone now. I'm good about not having my nose in it all the time, which can be tempting at times. Little (electronic) things can make life more convenient, especially having a high quality camera with you at all times!
ReplyDeleteYou know when it's most convenient to have my nose in the phone? When everyone around me is doing the same. It's like an invitation to be rude. And yes to the camera. Except my photog skills are AWFUL.
Deletemy husband bought me an iPhone 2 years and I love it. before then I really didn't think I'd ever want one. Funny how we change. Stopping by from mama kats kelley at the road goes ever ever on
ReplyDeleteI was against them for the cost factor alone. Now I find myself saying - "It's really not that expensive." It really is, though.
DeleteI used to love my keyboard too. And my husband is risky the gadget freak but he can never leave them alone... he changes the software and then gets mad when it eventually screws everything up. ;)
ReplyDeleteI find that if I just go with the glitches, I'm much happier with my electronics.
DeleteOur phone evolutions sound exactly the same, Andrea! I went from flip to slide-y side keyboard to touchscreen brilliance. I love my phone. I even wrote it a love letter. It is my go-to camera because I don't have a DSLR. I feel so much more efficient with it and can never imagine going back. :)
ReplyDeleteI couldn't go back, but the other day I went without it and didn't miss it at all. But when I have it, I'm glad I do.
DeleteI had no idea I'd love my smartphone so much...the Hub's techno-geek has converted me.
ReplyDeleteThis is why you're a good wife - you can appreciate your techno-geek. Mine is more abrasive about it AND he loves to say "I told you so" AND he's a poor winner. Which makes it hard for me to admit that he's right about anything.
DeleteHa! He finally pulled you to the dark side! I didn't need a smart phone for the longest time, but when I finally got one I was singing it's praises too!
ReplyDeleteMost of my reasons for not having one were that I didn't want to be so available. But I learned that lots of things are easy to ignore.
DeleteThis is my marriage as well. I live in the Stone Age and my husband lives in the future. Whenever I come into the room, he guiltily closes the web page on the latest camera equipment he has been pouring over. :-)
ReplyDeleteMine holds no guilt about the gadgets he covets. I guess it's okay, but I find myself wondering aloud about how much we really 'need'.
DeleteI have a Cosmos LG...very ancient and basic. i'm heartbroken that they don't make it anymore. A smart phone would be lost on me.
ReplyDeleteBefore I had a smartphone, I thought everybody but me had one. I know better now. I hope your phone still has many years to go!
DeleteI hate how much I love my smartphone. But I do use it like a mini computer, so it does make me more productive. Especially when I'm on the go. I still get a smug smile when I walk past the long lines of people waiting for the doors to open for the next big phone upgrade. I'll use this smartphone until its dying day, and then upgrade to the cheapest smartphone of equal quality. No long lines for the latest and greatest for me. I'd probably just break it immediately if I did.
ReplyDeleteI have yet to see my phone as much more than a distraction. I do love it, but so far it has just made things like checking Facebook and taking pictures more convenient. I sill rush home to respond to most emails and still don't use the calendar function. I'm sorry to say that most of its features are lost on me. I'll probably use this one until my husband gets me a new one.
DeleteOh my gosh, you're caption on the phone pic!!! BAWAHAHAHA!!!
ReplyDeleteMy husband is the same way. Want me to BLOW. YOUR. MIND? He just finished building (yes, on his own) a new media computer and I can now watch previous t.v. shoes, movies, etc. on my t.v. in the bedroom by controlling them from my iPad. BOOM! Right? That man, he is good with the gadgets! ;) it definitely has its perks!
I like your phone too...