Don't do what I do

A good rule of thumb when making technology purchases: if I buy a gadget, wait for the next incarnation of the gadget.

I'm not an early adopter. I'm actually rather skeptical of technology in general. I'm dubious of hype. I don't part with my cash easily either. Alright, that last part is a lie, but if I had any cash to part with, it might be true.

In spite of this, I really seemed to miss the curve this time when I picked my phone. The newly released Handspring Treo is a better version of my own mammoth PDA phone, the Kyocera Smartphone. I just helped a friend switch from her Psion (which had a broken hinge) to a Handspring Treo, and she's delighted.

Besides having a mini-keyboard, it's also small. Or at least not much bigger than a regular Handspring. And much smaller than the Kyocera Smartbrick Smartphone. The dork factor is better too. People look at it and say "Oooo, neat," instead of "It's so big..."

Though both phones suffer from the sebum factor: the pressing of the display of a Palm PDA against the face may be responsible for selling a lot of screen wipes and facial cleanser.

posted 9:52 PM | link |