For years, I have resisted the urge to join the world of smartphone users. I kept telling myself that I didn’t want to become a techno-geek, even though deep down I knew I was one.
Sure, I had a cellphone, who doesn’t these days? But I was as old school as it comes when selecting a phone to use. I wanted a cellphone that I could actually use as a telephone. “No bells or whistles,” I told the clerk at the local cellular store. I wanted a phone where I could actually hear the person on the other end.
My wife and I both had these “flip phones” that were used instead of having a home landline telephone. I would tell people, “I have a phone, so call me. Don’t text me or send me pictures. Call me.”
Those people would often give me a strange, quizzical look as if I were speaking a different language. And I probably was to them since I was not using acronyms like “LOL” or emoticon smiley faces.
I was probably one of the last of my friends to take the technology plunge and it was not without a great deal of thought and research on the subject. Who knew there were so many decisions to make when picking out which phone to get? My wife had no such problems. “I want that one,” she said.
End of discussion. No, what about this model? How about that one? Nope, she had no interest in comparing, contrasting or reviewing any other phones. My decision was not as easily made. Ask 10 people what their recommendations are, and you will get 10 different answers. So needless to say, I spent countless hours reading reviews online and articles on technology websites before making my decision.
Figuring out how to use the new phone has been a challenge as well. The first time it rang, I had no clue how to answer it. How was I supposed to know that you have to swipe your finger across the front of the screen. Imagine my frustration as I kept tapping the “Answer call” button, only to hear the phone keep ringing.
For a while, I was convinced my phone was possessed, because of all the beeps and dings it would give me, sometimes at all hours of the night. I didn’t realize I had set it up to give me a notification every time I received a work email … and we get a lot of emails here at the newspaper.
Trying to use the nifty “voice activated” feature has been an adventure as well. In theory, I should be able to say “Call Dave Bates,” if I want to place a call to our newspaper’s salesman. Instead of getting Dave Bates, though, my phone will politely talk back to me, “Did you say ‘Call Patty Jennings?”
What? How is that even remotely close? I try it again and get, “Did you say ‘Call Aunt Polly?’” I probably should call my aunt, but that was not what I was thinking at that particular moment.
Just last week, I showed Pastor Randall Burns the phone when he stopped in to our office. I showed him the voice thing and he heard the response back to me. He suggested we say a prayer for the phone.
Eventually, I am sure I will figure it all out and start texting people in complete gibberish like everyone else does. Seriously, who doesn’t understand “OMG, 2moro I will BCNU. TTFN.”
Joseph Cyr is a staff writer for the Houlton Pioneer Times. His opinions are his alone and do not reflect the opinion of the newspaper. He can be reached at jcyr@pioneertimes-me.com or 532-2281.
