For the longest time, I have used a cheap flip phone.  The only “feature” it had was the ability to drop it on the floor and it would continue to work.  The main criteria I had for phones was that they had to not drop my calls.  Thus, we have been Verizon Wireless customers.

Cell phones for years were pathetic.  The User Experience was the worst in all of techno-topia.  The pricing sucks, the customer support sucks, the sales people are cheesy and awful.  Generally, I was praying for a way out that never arrived.

Our phones had hit their limits after a few years and really needed replacing.  Her phone stopped charging and mine was cracking in half.  I replaced her phone with basically the same phone she had, but with a slightly nicer form factor.  The UI is almost identical, but with snazzier graphics.  Free (with 2 yr activation) was the criteria.

I was about to do the same for my own phone, when I paused.  The iPhone is pretty cool…for AT&T customers.  Android phones are slick…for T-Mobile customers.  The Palm Pre looks cool…for Sprint customers.  What’s a Verizon customer supposed to do?  Blackberry?  Hells no.  Blackberry devices can kiss my ass after that horrendous server setup.  So I was up the creek, until recently.  I saw the HTC Touch Pro 2 had received really nice reviews.  It looks like a real PDA.  It has a touch screen and it had a qwerty keyboard.  The software lookspretty slick.  I finally buckled.

How could I continue to put my head in the sand regarding mobile user experience?

So I purchased my first smart phone.  It should arrive in a few days and I will start to put it through it’s paces.  If I am very lucky, I will not drop it on the floor and break it.  I was about to pay for the insurance on it, but the deductible was really high.  I hope I don’t regret it.  Stay tuned for posts on how I like it.