I have finally made the decision to switch from a plain old “cheap” cel phone to a phone that has data, web access, email etc etc. It has been a long road for me to get to this point. I have watched many friends use these smart phone devices (think: Iphone) and have drooled at the thought. What has kept me from getting one up until now? I absolutely despise monthly service charges. My wife and I have managed to keep our bill down to $50 per month for two phones for a long time. I don’t like spending $50 a month for the service but there is no question that it is worth it for the peace of mind that comes with always being able to reach each other in case of emergencies or for convenience. With company discounts I might be able to add data to a new plan for about $20 per month so it’s really only a delta increase of $20 per month. The real question is whether I’ll get enough benefits from the phone to justify the extra expenditure. I have a sneaking feeling that I will…..
It’s finally time for me to suck it up and join the smart phone crowd. I have considered buying a Tmobile G1 or HTC Windows based device but I have memories of borrowing friends phones and thinking that the interfaces were so clunky and “un-user friendly” that I just can’t bring myself to buy one. That leaves only one option at this point. Like millions of other people on the planet I’m thinking I’ll probably buy an Iphone. Unfortunately there couldn’t be a worse time to buy an Iphone. With all the rumors floating around out there, it’s pretty clear that they will be launching a new Iphone in the June time frame. I’m not going to finally join the ranks of the smart phone elite only to have it obsolete within a couple months. (Sure it would work fine for the two year contract but if I’m this close to the new launch, I might as well wait).
The other phone that is generating a lot of hype is the Palm Pre. I’ve done some reading about it and it appears to have excited a lot of industry people. While it’s going to be much weaker on the application front (Apple seems to have the corner on the market for applications due to the app store), maybe it will make up for it with other features. I just submitted my name to Palm as a potential “beta” user where they will send me a phone to use for 6 months and pay for the data/phone plan. Of course, they haven’t selected me at this point, but if they do, it could throw another wrench in to my plan to buy an Iphone. Who knows, maybe the Palm device has a better user experience than the Iphone. If I get selected to participate, you’ll know it because I’ll be putting multiple posts up talking about it with a theme towards getting my money’s worth out of it with increased productivity and accessibility.
Either way, now that I’ve made up my mind to go the smart phone route, it’s going to be very hard to wait to pick one up, whatever it ends up being.
Your blog is confusing to me. You’re thinking about purchasing an extra home, getting an ATV, you’d rather take your car to the expensive dealership for service, and now you’ve decided to get a suped-up cell phone?
What gives? Are you joking? It may seem like each decision is seperate and distinct with well thought out, lucid, and sensible reasoning but aren’t you really just spending? Consuming without *justifiable* cause? Isn’t that exactly what you started this blog to eradicate as much as possible?
Take a look back and see what you’re blog centers around . . . (hint: it’s spending).
Sheese . . .
I took the plunge about a year ago when the iPhone G3 came out.
Previously I tried out the smart-phone route with an expensive Nokia smartphone. It sucked. It really sucked. The OS sucked. The interface sucked. The apps sucked. I ended up with a phone that was bigger than a simple phone, with features sucked too much to, you know, actually *use*, and I paid a bunch for it.
Comparatively, the iPhone rocks. It’s the first smartphone I’ve seen that people actually *use*. How often do you see someone in a store doing comparision shopping on a blackberry? Never? Exactly.
However I am intrigued by the Palm Pre. The interface looks like it might be better than the iPhone.
Clear Minded,
This blog is about personal finance and all the trials and tribulations that go along with it. Over the years I’ve fretted about spending and saving. I’ve worried that I’ve spent too much and then fretted that maybe I was depriving myself and family of “wants” by saving too much. I think it’s a constant personal dialog about what’s right for my family and I.
It’s funny that you submitted this comment today. I was just thinking about the fact that I’ve been spending more lately than I have over the last few years. I think part of that is driven by the fact that we are maxing out a number of our investment areas, have no debt, have a sizable emergency fund and have a lot of disposable income at this point. I’d also point out that when we do spend, it’s cash. I would never, ever spend money that I didn’t have on “wants”.
So, you’re right to be confused by my blogging. The reality, though, is that I try to be honest so you see me when I’m making popular financial decisions (saving, investing etc) and no so popular decisions (quad, new phone etc). For me, it’s all about living for today AND planning for tomorrow.
I’ve been having the same feeling lately. I’ve had my Treo for a few years and I keep worrying that it’s going to die on me. And Palm OS will end up going away. So what next? I have a nice Blackberry for work, but I wouldn’t want one for personal use. The iphone is very tempting, but it just kills me that my monthly charges would double. And since I have two ipods, it seems like overkill! The real dealbreaker is that Pocket Quicken doesn’t exist for iphone– they have some finance apps but nothing that seems to sync with desktop Quicken, which is key for me.
MadameX,
I’m only considering the Iphone because I get 25% off the cel phone plans so my costs won’t be quite as bad.
Look at it this way. Sell both your Ipods on Ebay and consolidate your music to a new Iphone. The proceeds from the old Ipods will pay for the additional data plan for the two year contract at which time you’ll own the Iphone. Just an idea.
Here’s my solution. I got an iPod Touch which is, essentially an iPhone without the phone. I also got a Tracfone prepaid phone.
Yes, I have “issues” with committment, especially ones involving paying a monthly fee.
With the iPod Touch, I have most of the advantages of the iPhone. And with the Tracfone, I don’t have any monthly fees.
It’s pretty frugal this way!