One Part Robot

Well, first world people, it's that time of every-other-year again. I got a new phone. The Verizon sales guy ridiculed/pitied me for my time with the Palm Pre (or as he kept referring to it, the Fisher Price "My First Smart Phone.") Basically, I have been able to check my email and slowly Google addresses to places I was trying to find, but not look them up on Google maps because that application stopped working about 4 months ago.

via Mobiussite

Anyway, I finally had to face the music and decide to which faction I would eternally belong - iPhone or Android. I find cell phone debates unbearable the first time around and therefore won't rehash, so long story short, Android it is. I decided on the Motorola Razr. Hello, almost indestructible Gorilla Glass!

Even though I don't feel compelled to expound on the virtues of one cell phone operating system over another, I would like to make a list of things I'm excited to be able to do/use on my new phone:

1. Better photo sharing. And a better camera to begin with.
2. GPS-related applications: Not just finding my way, but also tracking my rare outdoors jogs.
3. Better connections to social media. It will be nice to have Hootsuite in my pocket, and I'm excited to figure out Foursquare and how to use it without psyching myself out about who might be using it to track my every move to eventually hunt me down and kill me.
4. Endless possibilities for exhausting my data plan. I find it unlikely that I'll really ever find it necessary to  stream Netflix on my phone, but I can if I want. Maybe I should book a flight with a really long layover so I can learn to better appreciate that feature.
5. Voice-activated stuff. So I don't have Siri. Big whoop. I tested Siri on a friend's phone over New Year's and it worked one out of five tries. It was like trying to ask El Greco a question while he's playing Team Fortress 2. And I can do that anytime I want without an iPhone. But with the Razr, I'm sure I can speak into it and command it to do things for me. I can't wait to figure out how.

I know I'm way behind the curve when it comes to smart phone literacy, but my commitment to learning the ins and outs of my mobile phone's fully capabilities will help distract me from the nagging guilt that suicidal factory workers probably assembled my phone, and that young children in Asia will eventually dissemble my old phone for recycling and will consequently die young and ill of heavy metal poisoning. Goodness me, this post took a dark turn.

On a lighter note, I finally cut the SC cord and switched my phone number. Hello, 216!

Now, to play in the snow. My phone's live wallpaper tells me it's 19 degrees and sunny out.