So, I’m in the market for a new cell phone and have been looking around for a little over a month for a phone that I feel is the perfect fit. Basically I need a phone that will let me check my Twitter, Facebook, Blog, Email, and allow me to keep track of the sales for my book, The Dragons Enigma (and yes that was a shameless plug). Oh I also need it to be able to look for agents and/or new publishers that may or may not be willing to take on my current trilogy as a whole plus a few other things. But I really don’t think I’m asking too much. Am I?
Ok. So all I really need is to be able to keep track of the social media madness that I’ve somehow thrown myself into and my email. The other stuff would just be a bonus. And yes I know that today’s cell phones would allow me to do all that and more but, honestly, I can use an actual computer for keeping track of my books and looking for an agent and a new publisher.
Anyway, as I was saying I’ve been looking for a phone and in the process have been seeking the advice of friends and cell phone retailers all at the same time and I still have no idea which way to go.
Of course, I could always get the new iPhone 5. After all it did come highly recommended from the guy at the cell phone store for the low price of $900 flat out. Wait…what? Seriously?! Why in the hell would I pay $900 for a cell phone or any phone for that matter? And why on Earth would that be the guy at the cell phone store’s first option?
Now, I know they need to make money but quite frankly for $900 that thing better come equipped with a time machine, or some future telling capabilities. Maybe even a fingerprint identification mechanism or turn into a car or a truck like a transformer. Or I know how about some 3D projection where it can put my world in HD Projection, 360 Degrees around me and all I have to do is wave my finger to move the circle and choose what I want to do. Ok so no phone is capable of that. I’m just saying for that price, it better be able to stop crime or something equally cool with the push of a button.
Nonetheless, I listened to this guys spiel about the phone, which was rather comical considering it got a bit awkward, when he started describing its features and capabilities. If I didn’t know any better I would have thought that he was in love with a phone. Come to think of it, maybe he was because when I told him that I preferred android phones over the amazing iPhone I thought he was going to have a heart attack. I guess you never mess with a person and their phone.
And just so you know, I don’t hate the idea of an iPhone. It just isn’t for me. Not to mention that I know way too many people with the new iPhone who swear that the phone is only worth it if you can crack it and get the android market on it, which coincidentally voids your iPhones warranty. So it’s a double-edged sword. But I also know people who wouldn’t have any other phone but the iPhone. Again, it’s simply a matter of preference.
Anyway, I proceeded to tell this guy what I used the phone for and he proceeded to push the iPhone. So I laughed and said: “Look, I appreciate the fact that you are trying to sell me this amazing piece of futuristic artistry, but honestly, I hate phones. I literally only have one out of necessity, convenience, and the fact that it’s literally the only way I keep in touch with my family.” I mean who writes letters or sends post cards through snail mail anymore…right?
And besides that how many times do I have to say that I’m looking for an android phone. I never even brought up the iPhone so when he said the price to buy the phone outright I literally laughed. Come on, it’s not like I meant to but for $900 that thing better have the ability to save my life in an emergency situation, plus all the other stuff I mentioned earlier.
At any rate, this guy finally gave in and stopped talking about the iPhone 5 and it only took about twenty minutes to get him to do it. I don’t know, maybe he was pushing so hard since sales on the new iPhone 5 haven’t been very good. Who knows? Either way he stopped talking about it and then we moved over to the androids where I wanted to go in the first place.
However, he wasn’t very enthusiastic when it came to talking about the new Droid DNA, or the Galaxy Note II, or any android phone for that matter, so me being me, I started to look disinterested in what he was saying. Once he realized that my attention was anywhere other than on him he asked me if I had made a decision. I turned my attention back to him and told him that I was thinking about maybe going with a prepaid, old school phone, and I swear you would have thought the world had ended. He looked at me with wide-eyes and a curious look on his face when he asked “What?” all dramatic like.
It took everything in me not to laugh but I kept my serious composure and simply answered: “Well, you don’t sound very enthusiastic about any of these phones which makes me think that they’re not really any good. So why would I want to pay an arm and a leg for a phone that’s not up to par. And since I’m not an iPhone person that leaves the prepaid phones that are cheap enough that if I don’t like it, it won’t really matter because I’m not out hundreds of dollars on a phone that really doesn’t fit what I’m looking for.”
He literally stood there dumbstruck for a few seconds before looking back to the android phones, then over to the prepaid phones, and then back to me. It was becoming hard to keep my composure but this guy was way too easy to fluster and after looking from the phones to me for a minute or so he asked if I wanted to go take a look at the prepaid phones. I shook my head no and said: “You’ve given me a lot of information to consider. Maybe I’ll be back once I figure out what phone will best suit my needs.” At his confused look I simply smiled, thanked him, and turned and walked out the door.
After that I went home and I still haven’t decided which phone I want but I’ve narrowed it down to a few and besides that I don’t really need to decide until next month. Who knows maybe next month I will actually go back to that store and get my phone from that guy. Although he would probably run and hide if he saw me walk through the door again. Either way, the point is that we spend so much time getting flustered over the littlest of things that we forget about the big picture (like the guy and his iPhone). A phone is a phone, and while it makes life easier to have the world at your fingertips it is more important to make yourself personable and focus on the things that matter most. Besides life isn’t supposed to be easy, it’s supposed to be a hard-earned lesson with success at the peak.