I'm A Smart-Phone Virgin

Sunday afternoon, I went to Verizon and came home with this:

Exciting, right? 

I was like a kid trying to choose a piece of candy as hubby and I browsed all the techy gadgets. Since neither of us have upgraded our phones since 2003--(We both had flip phones which we both loved.) I figured they should have given us 5 free phones, but let's not get into that. We decided to be frugal and choose a model that was free to upgrade. The Droid Mini. It's not really 'mini,' but it's smaller than the 'Ultra.' Whatever.  

Choosing from the 'Free phone' counter is almost like an arranged marriage. Verizon is like a matchmaker who chooses a model for you. You either learn to love it, pay the cancellation fee (which is cheaper than a real divorce,) or you live in misery until the two years are over. In any case, hubby and I are still in the wedding-night stage with our phones. 

Anywho, I immediately downloaded VZ Navigation (for a $4.99/month charge, of course.) because when I'm driving alone, I can't find my way out of a wet paper bag. I like the turn-by-turn directions, and that my phone will talk to me as I drive. When I got home, my daughter informed me that Google Maps does the same thing. Oh well.

Then, I learned how to take photos. This phone takes really good photos, which will be great for my e-baying, sending Tweetpics and Facebook statuses. 

I downloaded Facebook and Twitter and set my morning alarm. I plugged my phone into the charger and plugged the charger into an electric strip by my nightstand. Unfortunately, I don't know how to shut off the alarm, because this morning, just as the song that took me about 10 minutes to choose, started playing, the phone shut down. Apparently, I had forgotten to turn the strip on. Not apparently--I just forgot. I should probably stay away from electronics.

Anyway, all day at work, the phone buzzed, booped, beeped, and vibrated, letting me know I had an e-mail, a Facebook notification, a Twitter mention, and texts. It drove me crazy. I tried to figure out how to turn off notification sounds. I'm still trying. 

In the meantime, I removed Facebook and Twitter until I can decipher it. Besides, I stumbled across all the things I was permitting Facebook to do with my phone. I wasn't too happy. Have you ever read those permissions on your phone? You should. I would've shared that with you, if I could have found it again. Sorry.

There's a long road ahead of me, figuring out this phone. It will probably take me another 11 years to love it. Do you think it'll last until 2025?


If not, I still have this one:

 just in case.

What kind of smart phone do you have? Are you in love or eagerly awaiting your next upgrade?