Dreaming of Electric Sheep

"Folks who want porn can buy [an] Android phone."

-Steve Jobs (supposedly)

I freely admit that I'm a gadget guy. There's always some new "toy" that I want to add to our house under the thin premise that it will make our lives "easier," but really I just want to be able to play with it and see what features are available. As such, it's really surprising to me (and my wife) that I've been able to hold off getting a smart phone this long. I've often looked at the different offerings, drooling over the possibilities. I think part of the delay has been the fact that I've always heard that Windows Mobile is horrible and Blackberries were too business-oriented for my tastes. That and Tracy was always there when I'm shopping for a new phone. When the iPhone came out, it was a huge step forward in usability, utility and (let's face it) fun, but it was on a network that I had no interest in tying myself to.

However, all of this has recently changed. We've realized a few times over the past couple of years how handy it would be to have internet access wherever we might find ourselves. Also, smartphones have taken significant steps forward, spurred on by the head start that Apple has given themselves with the iPhone. There have been constant rumors about the iPhone coming the Verizon (my carrier of choice because I'm an American and never leave the country), but nothing definite has materialized as of yet.

I had often thought that I'd wait until Verizon received their own version of the iPhone to take the plunge and own a smartphone. But as time has gone on, more of the decisions that Apple has made concerning what can and cannot be installed/done on the iPhone. If you read the quote at the beginning of this post, you'll see the reason that Steve Jobs supposedly stated in an email to a customer as far as why they have such tight controls on what can be done on the phone. I should point out that these are the exact same reasons that the People's Republic of China state as the impetus behind their vigorous filtering of the internet in to and out of China. However, I think that any reasonable person examining what is being done both with the filtering in China and Apple's position on the iPhone will see that it's not about porn, it's about control. I don't think Apple views people who purchase an iPhone as the owners of the iPhone, but rather a person that Apple has graced with allowing them to use Apple's phone. I have no interest in putting pornography on my phone. None whatsoever. I'm completely against it, in fact. However, I also have problems with a corporation dictating to me what I can or can't install or do on my phone.

One of the final straws for me was in listening to Leo Laporte's podcast network where he stated in several shows that he has dumped his iPhone for an Android phone, specifically the Nexus One. That started me down the path of planning to get an Android phone myself when the time came. Last week, pre-orders started for the HTC Droid Incredible on Verizon.

The family and I went in to the store as soon as they got a demo unit. I tried it out and found it satisfactory. Why merely satisfactory? Well, one of the big things about the Android platform is that it's very tightly tied to a Google account, so I'm not able to get a complete feel for the platform without being able to type in my username and password to get my contacts, email, and calendars on there. I did come away impressed with the speed with which it moved from screen to screen and the different little widgets to play with.

So, I pre-ordered the Incredible. Now I wait until April 29th, which is the release date for the Incredible. I'm looking forward to it, but at the same time, I find myself a bit nervous about getting it configured exactly the way that I want it to be and how I'm going to be managing the functions that I use two different devices for today (cell phone and iPod Touch). It's exciting but a bit daunting. It reminds me (on a much smaller scale) of when our first child was born. I know that I'm about to embark on a new adventure, but there's a part of me that has always hated change.

That's why I'm writing here. I'm hoping to document my transition to the new platform on this blog and sharing my experiences and lessons learned with everyone else.

Hope you can join me on the journey.