iPhone ownership

I am officially the owner of an iPhone 4S. After holding out on getting a smartphone for the past few years and planning to waiting until after graduation, I gave in and upgraded to the iPhone. 

As I described to my sister, buying an iPhone is not just like getting a new phone, it's like buying a new lifestyle. My dad spent two days setting up his smartphone upon purchase, and I've spent the past few days adjusting. I now have full access to internet with 3G (whatever that means), a GPS, my email, the weather, a camera, apps, voice activation and my own personal secretary...her name is Siri. 

As obsessed as I am with email, my favorite tool is voice activation. I don't have to text and drive anymore because I can dictate what I want in a text message and it will type it for me. You can press a button and ask Siri pretty much anything, and if she (yes, I'm speaking as if it's a person) doesn't know the answer, she'll look it up on the Web. I was Christmas shopping in Target and when they didn't hold the gift that I needed, I asked Siri what the phone number for GameStop in Glenview, IL was and it called it for me. So much for phone books, Google-ing phone numbers or any of that...smartphones do the work for you. 

Half of the issues in my life have now been solved. I can type (or record) a message on notes and it will send it to my computer. I can check my email from the train. I don't have to open my computer and scavenge weather.com each morning. I don't even have to take out my digital camera to take a picture, upload it to my computer and put it online...I can snap a photo and Twitpic it in seconds. There are no PNC banks in Missouri, so I can take a picture with it, submit it on my VirtualWallet app and the check will clear. 

There is definitely a price to pay for the convenience--the insurance for two years costs more than the phone itself (with an upgrade). The cost adds up by the time you buy a phone case, car charger and additional applications. I run the fear every day that I will drop the phone and lose everything. 

But I feel like after waiting so long to get a smartphone, it's acting as not only the gift it is, but a reward. I no longer have to stop in a parking lot and call for directions. Call friends to Google phone numbers and text them to me to call businesses. Mail checks home. Look up Mizzou sports scores. The phone does it all. It's truly fascinating. 

Naturally, I'm pretty competitive, but having the iPhone really is a daily "YOU WIN!" You followed the blue dot on the GPS to find your way to the restaurant, win! You don't have to log on Facebook later because you cleared your notifications, win! Downloaded a new app for free, yay! Look forward to further posts, updates and stories about the usage of my personal secretary and phone that does everything for you. 

iPhone 4S