Well – I’ve Gone And Done It

Forever known as the guy with short arms and deep pockets, I’ve gone and done it. I’ve splashed out. I’ve ordered an iPhone.

The trigger came when my trusty and long serving Motorola Razr finally decided that charging its battery was a complete waste of time. I’m lucky if the charge lasts for more than one call and given that a new battery was likely to cost almost as much as a new phone (I exaggerate possibly), I decided to replace the whole thing. Once consigned to the ‘old techie bag’, it’ll join another 10 or so, perfectly workable mobile phones in there, all waiting for a trip to a developing nation where ‘old’ phones are prized and much sought after.

Of course, J and Guy have both had an iTouch since our trip to the US last April and I’ve looked on with a combination of envy and fear at the technology with which they strut about the house, picking up their e-mails in the kitchen, reading my Blog in the bathroom (best place for it some would say), surfing the net beside the pool – you get the picture.

So why have I waited so long before splashing the cash? Well, I have a philosophy of letting technology ‘settle down’. I don’t want to be the guy who is first in the line to get one and then be last in the line when there’s a queue outside the shop to take them back because they’re faulty. OK – maybe this wait was a trifle long but I wasn’t convinced I needed one but with the new iPhone 3GS offering significantly better internet connections and the bewildering multiplicity of applications available for it, I thought my time had come.

Another thing – I never buy myself anything. I cannot think of the last thing of any value I bought for myself – maybe my laptop in the US last year, so I was due a little extravagance.

Despite that however, I detected a significant amount of jealousy last night when I was ordering it on-line from the SFR (Vodaphone) web site. ‘Guy – what does this mean – I don’t want to order the wrong options’. ‘Aw Thomas – can’t you see I’m watching Suzy Perry on the Gadget Show – can’t you do it yourself?’ And then I suppose he remembered I’ll be paying out a significant amount of cash to have his scooter serviced tomorrow so he reluctantly took his gaze off Suzy Perry’s legs and helped me configure my contract. I’ve no real idea what options I’ve got and what the final monthly payment will be but I reckon in a few weeks when I’m sitting in the Midi with my new toy and I connect to the stock market and buy, buy, buy or sell, sell, sell, the real cost will be forgotten – unlike Suzy Perry’s legs!