Unleashing My Inner Techie

It turns out that I'm kind of a tech geek. Not hard core or anything, mind you. But enough to be uber-excited about new model DSLR camera's and pda phones.

This past January I began seeing commercials for AT&T's new Samsung Blackjack.I was actually in the market for a pda-phone at that time, and completely fell in love with it's sleek, slim design. Come tax time I spent my throw-away money on a close to full-priced one on ebay, rather than going to AT&T and taking on a contract to get it cheaper (our contract ended last September, so we can drop them anytime we want now). When it finally came in the mail a few days later, I took it out and marveled that it was just as beautiful as I imagined it would be! The fact that it got mostly stellar reviews helped a lot, too. And it's still a great phone and pda. I love it. BUT then in March I saw the Treo 750 and was so impressed with the touch screen (yeah, I don't know either) that I wanted one of those. I browsed reviews and checked prices religiously for a few months. Since the Treo really doesn't have features that are above and beyond the black jack (they actually came out pretty even, with the blackjack coming out on top for call quality), I stayed my course. I just couldn't justify spending a few hundred dollars for a lateral move, rather than an upgrade. So my Treo fancy began to dissipate over the summer. Until the Blackberry Curve came out and I saw how beautiful and functional it was. But again, I couldn't much justify spending so much money on upgrades I could do without. If you look here, you'll see that there isn't much of a significant difference between the three phones. But then just a few days ago I checked the AT&T website to see what kinds of promotions they had going on, and I saw that AT&T is selling refurbished Blackberry Curves (8300 model) for $30 (with a two year contract, of course, but still- $30!) My heart jumped into my throat and pools of drool began gathering at the corners of my mouth.

I began doing research on reviews comparing it to the black jack and came up with basically the same conclusion as with the Treo- the Curve looks much nicer, I think, and it has a 2 mp camera as opposed to blackjacks 1, but is it enough to make me trade it in? For $30! Hell yeah!!! But then as I'm browsing for reviews on the 8300, I come across the recently released 2nd generation Curve 8310. From everything I've seen, user reviews and official specs and features, the main difference between the 8300 and the 8310 is that it has a built in GPS system. Oh, my! And it also comes in two colors- titanium and crimson. Personally, I would go for the titanium, but that's just me. Oh, and also the price. BIG difference in the price- $199.99 after a $100 mail in rebate with a two year contract for the 8310. Bummer. But I hit the cyber-highway to discover whether or not the built in GPS is worth the $160 extra and found nothing conclusive. Hmmmm. There was only one thing left to do.

I went to a real AT&T store to check one out. The store I went to didn't carry the 8300 at all, but again, not a big deal because these two phones are the exact same except for the built in GPS system on the 8310. So the kind and knowledgeable AT&T lady (she let me play with her Treo last month when I ended up in that store getting a new sim card for my blackjack) points me in the right direction and lets me have-at-it. The track ball was kinda cool- not a feature I've ever used. And it had some built in apps that I didn't have on my blackjack like a password keeper. I had to buy a 3^rd party app for my blackjack. But anyways, the 8310 was lovely! While I'm scrolling through one app to the next I finally come to the GPS system demo. Hmmmm. Well, I'm here, I think. So I may as well check it out. I open the app, agree to giving away my first born child if I violate the terms of agreement and the GPS demo fires up. And THEN it starts TALKING TO ME! Turns out, this is part of the GPS feature. You can get point-by-point directions by voice as well as on the screen. On a cell phone. How fucking cool is that?! Super cool, if you ask me.

So now I have this dilemma- do I grab the $30 phone that doesn't talk and give me vocal directions? Or do I suck it up and go for the $199.99 phone that does talk and give directions? I have to mention that although the 8300 doesn't have a built in GPS, it does have blackberry maps pre-loaded onto it, so if I'm lost I can still get directions from it. It just won't talk. And also, the 8310 GPS system can pinpoint my exact location… I mean, what if I take a wrong turn at Albuquerque and I don't know where I am? How will I know which way to go then? Or if I end up locked up in someones car trunk? How will the cops know where to find me?

Argh! Now I don't know!

My birthday and Christmas are just around the corner, and I'm sure these prices won't last very long… Oh, the pressure!!!

What do I do?