I?m married to my Nexus S 4G, but I was weak and I strayed.
I?ve had a Nexus S 4G since May 2011. She?s a beauty. Though she has been a good partner, she?s not perfect and she has her problems. We sometimes don?t get along. So I Window shopped?
As a Sprint SERO user, I will probably be sticking with Sprint unless I move to one of the MVNOs. As a Sprint customer, I was stuck with paying for 4G that I cannot use in my hometown, and I didn?t have many other options. And I was yearning for a physical keyboard. Long-term relationships with a Palm Treo and a Palm Pre, were the basis for increasing frustration with the software keyboard. Swype never worked well for us and the tactile sensation of a Palm stayed with me. I used to go back and type on my old phones. Just to feel it again.
And then there is this young, elegant OS: Windows Phone 7. And here is the HTC Arrive: physical keyboard, no 4G. Something new. Something different. Flashy. Beautiful. Elegant.
But I?m on contract, so I can?t do anything, right. So it starts with eBay. There?s no harm in looking, after all. Then the rationalizations flood in: with no 4G, I can save $120 over the coming year. And then I see her. She?s brand new. She has Mango(s). She?s clean (ESN). Only $175. Over a year, that?s just $55 for a physical keyboard - I tell myself. This could quell this burning inside.
So I bid.
And I win. There is no turning back.
* * *
I await the day of her arrival. She comes home, and she?s beautiful, different, alluring. I?m now fully in. I am exploring. I activate her.
And we continue for a day like this. Exploring. Finding her strengths. Her weaknesses. What can she handle? What does she like? What do I like about her?
But her keyboard, which looked great in the pictures, doesn?t really work that well. My fingers can?t quite make the slider mechanism work. She just isn?t receptive. The Windows Marketplace is barren. And then there is Google?
I may be married to my Nexus S 4G, but I married her because of Google. For better or worse, I am addicted to Google. I use Gmail, Calendar, Docs, Music, Search, Chat, Reader, Picasa. Google completes me.
But I just can?t get Google to work well enough for me on my Arrive. They are compatible. But not compatible enough. They just aren?t communicating.
And my thoughts wander back to my Nexus S 4G. Her crummy radio, Wifi, and GPS. Her software keyboard. The 4G symbol that never gets turned on. But she works with Google. WE used to work together?
So I come back home. After one day with the Arrive, I activate my Nexus S 4G and I embrace her like I never have before. I discover SwiftKey, and for the first time we are typing in harmony. I can live with the 4G that never turns on. I can live with her other problems.
* * *
The HTC Arrive is a nice phone. She?s beautiful - with her smooth lines, and elegant OS. Some of you may deride me, saying, ?If you were so into Google, why did you run off with Windows Phone 7?? Well? I was weak. I was stupid. I looked at the other side and saw something that I didn?t see in my phone, and I wanted that. Those things blinded me to what my phone was and is.
I can?t say I?ll never be tempted again. How could I not be tempted? But I?m in love like I never have been before, and I think we?re in for the long haul.
I?ve had a Nexus S 4G since May 2011. She?s a beauty. Though she has been a good partner, she?s not perfect and she has her problems. We sometimes don?t get along. So I Window shopped?
As a Sprint SERO user, I will probably be sticking with Sprint unless I move to one of the MVNOs. As a Sprint customer, I was stuck with paying for 4G that I cannot use in my hometown, and I didn?t have many other options. And I was yearning for a physical keyboard. Long-term relationships with a Palm Treo and a Palm Pre, were the basis for increasing frustration with the software keyboard. Swype never worked well for us and the tactile sensation of a Palm stayed with me. I used to go back and type on my old phones. Just to feel it again.
And then there is this young, elegant OS: Windows Phone 7. And here is the HTC Arrive: physical keyboard, no 4G. Something new. Something different. Flashy. Beautiful. Elegant.
But I?m on contract, so I can?t do anything, right. So it starts with eBay. There?s no harm in looking, after all. Then the rationalizations flood in: with no 4G, I can save $120 over the coming year. And then I see her. She?s brand new. She has Mango(s). She?s clean (ESN). Only $175. Over a year, that?s just $55 for a physical keyboard - I tell myself. This could quell this burning inside.
So I bid.
And I win. There is no turning back.
* * *
I await the day of her arrival. She comes home, and she?s beautiful, different, alluring. I?m now fully in. I am exploring. I activate her.
And we continue for a day like this. Exploring. Finding her strengths. Her weaknesses. What can she handle? What does she like? What do I like about her?
But her keyboard, which looked great in the pictures, doesn?t really work that well. My fingers can?t quite make the slider mechanism work. She just isn?t receptive. The Windows Marketplace is barren. And then there is Google?
I may be married to my Nexus S 4G, but I married her because of Google. For better or worse, I am addicted to Google. I use Gmail, Calendar, Docs, Music, Search, Chat, Reader, Picasa. Google completes me.
But I just can?t get Google to work well enough for me on my Arrive. They are compatible. But not compatible enough. They just aren?t communicating.
And my thoughts wander back to my Nexus S 4G. Her crummy radio, Wifi, and GPS. Her software keyboard. The 4G symbol that never gets turned on. But she works with Google. WE used to work together?
So I come back home. After one day with the Arrive, I activate my Nexus S 4G and I embrace her like I never have before. I discover SwiftKey, and for the first time we are typing in harmony. I can live with the 4G that never turns on. I can live with her other problems.
* * *
The HTC Arrive is a nice phone. She?s beautiful - with her smooth lines, and elegant OS. Some of you may deride me, saying, ?If you were so into Google, why did you run off with Windows Phone 7?? Well? I was weak. I was stupid. I looked at the other side and saw something that I didn?t see in my phone, and I wanted that. Those things blinded me to what my phone was and is.
I can?t say I?ll never be tempted again. How could I not be tempted? But I?m in love like I never have been before, and I think we?re in for the long haul.
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