Thursday, October 25, 2012

Feeling BlackBerry shame

In the words of a wrinkly flasher I know I'm now embarassed to get it out in public.

Last week I was at a press conference and I looked around me at a sea of iPhones, tablets and Droids. Sheepishly I pulled out my BlackBerry and hid it under my notebook in the hope nobody would notice it.



It used to be so different back in the day. When my late father-in-law would jet in to London en route to Milan and then on to Rio his BlackBerry was his constant companion. It's somewhat poignant that it was with him on his death bed, pinging away notifications to the last.

My problem is I only acquired one recently. Even at the time I had evidence the days of the Crackberry when users were so addicted they were at risk from walking into utility poles were long gone. I oped for it because I rather liked the hard sticky up, pressy buttons as they are technically called as opposed to on screen buttons.

Although I upgraded recently to a slicker version, at a stupid cost, I still feel like I was Canute trying to hold back the tide; a bit like opting for a streamlined Brontosaurus as a pet at two-mintes-to-Meteor strike.

Now the news is not great from Planet BlackBerry. A recent report in MSN money stated even White House staffers have discarded the BackBerry in favor of the iPhone.

The decision was apparently influenced by the President himself who now prefers his iPad. for national security briefings.

A spokesman for the White House declined to comment (but promptly hurled his BlackBerry from an upper floor window).

Even my 2-year-old isn't interested in wrecking my BlackBerry or throwing it down the toilet and says he prefers to play Cut the Rope on an iPhone.

Over the last few weeks I have been starting to feel the onset of BlackBerry shame. It has manifested itself in an unwillingness to pull the infernal thing out of my jacket pocket in a public place in case people openly chortle, a pleasure I have not enjoyed since the days of small dog ownership.

It's all rather unfortunate given that I was once at the cutting edge of cellular phone techology. I owned a cell phone (read mobile phone in UK parlance) when few other people did. Admittedly it was the size of a compact water heater, cost about $10 per call to use and you could only get a signal if you climbed half way up the only cellphone tower in London. Still, it was a status symbol, even if I ended up going around with lacerated jacket pockets that the thing had gouged its way through en route to the molten heart at the center of the earth.

Now when I procude my BlackBerry and hit the big clunky buttons I feel as if I am hanging out in Starbucks asking if the WiFi will hook up to my typewriter.

 

18 comments:

  1. Why didn't you get a Samsung Galaxy with buttons? That's the one I want.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. really - not really aware of it Sarah but may check it out when I upgrade - thx

      Delete
  2. Ha! Your phone is cutting-edge technology compared to the one that I have. I'm quite OK with that though. I can use it to call people and people can call me on it. I can even use it to text my sons, and they can text me back on it. That's pretty much all that it does, and that's quite all right by me. I like things simple. hahaha! :D

    ReplyDelete
  3. I never did get a Crackberry but my ex-h had one. I just have a basic Samsung on which I can text and get calls, with very basic Facebook. Works fine for my needs.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. well at least you get FB JoJo - a BlackBerry was addictive for a while for sure

      Delete
  4. Ummm don't you realize how cool you are now? You're going against the trend. Everyone has an iphone these days. It's like starting a smoking habit right now, when everyone is against it. Like a bad ass.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hmm never saw having a Blackberry as being bad ass but am fine to be persuaded that's the case Jen.

      Delete
  5. You think you have problems? I have the most basic cell-phone there is and would have no clue what to do with a blackberry.

    xoRobyn

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. do you have one of those old pay as you go things Robyn?

      Delete
  6. I think I have everyone beat. I still have the first model of prepaid Tracphone that came out. All it does is make calls and text. Oh, and there are 2 games that wouldn't look out of place in the 1980s. I used to be ashamed, but now it garners attention because it's such a novelty - like having a gramophone in the living room.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. oh lord that is an old pay as you go thing - tis like a gramphone - I had one once but it only allowed me like 5 mins a day or so Li

      Delete
  7. I miss my Blackberry! Just this morning I was cruising around reading the reports on the company and hoping - no - praying - that they are improving.

    I miss texting and writing emails with my thumbs even though I was getting tendonitis. I hate swyping (new Samsung). I miss the smaller footprint, or should I say handprint.

    I miss the LED blinking, telling me I have an important message (ha!). I loved hearing it vibrate.

    Don't have shame. Be proud!

    Which one did you get? The Porsche? I have envy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. OMG Deborah - yes the LED blinking so why did you get rid of yours? Mmmm think it's the Torch..

      Delete
    2. I knuckled under to pressure. I am cowardly!

      My carrier didn't have any good options for Blackberry and my BB Bold was dying. Oh the sadness!

      Delete
  8. I definitely prefer actual buttons and miss my blackberries dearly. They didn't get hot after just a few minutes of talking, and they did whatever else just fine.

    Great piece and..., great comments too.

    I didn't know Samsung had actual buttons, must check it out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes sure I'll miss it when I leave Shopgirl - thx for the visit.

      Delete
  9. You shouldn’t be ashamed for having a BB, but instead be proud that you have one! BB has lots of amazing features that makes communication faster and easier. Anyway, you can always choose to purchase an upgraded version of the BB if that will make you feel confident and make you feel proud of carrying it everywhere.

    -Kelly Brueggemann

    ReplyDelete

On Blog PTSD

Now then. What the heck. It seems I had forgotten about my blog completely rather than just neglecting it this time. To return after so long...