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A Gadget Guy’s Broken Heart

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A few days ago I shared that I had decided to give it up for a Palm Pre on June 6th when it rolled out. As noted in my comments on that post and through my tweets on the same subject, I’ve spent a great deal of time on the phone with Sprint talking price plans. As of today, it looks like my first ever attempt at being “one of the first” to get a new smart-phone has been thwarted…and it’s breaking my gadget guy heart… But it’s also provided me with a decent customer service experience and a chance to  learn a few things.

Here’s the scoop, I walked into my local Sprint store and was told that I would need to upgrade all of the phones on my current account to handle the data plan that the Pre will require to operate in full bells and whistles mode. The only data plan currently available for the Pre. At first, I thought, “There’s probably a better price that ‘Mr. Personality’ at this particular Sprint outlet doesn’t know about.” So, off to Sprint Customer Service I went.

After many emails I found out that ‘Mr. Personality’ appeared to be right. This upgrade in plan is necessary for a Pre and represents about a $600 annual increase in my phone expense. Okay look, two of the phones on my plan only require voice and text, so
I don’t need the internet, video or the ability to stream TV on those
phones as it appears that is what the Pre needs…though I doubt it. In
addition, the monthly voice minutes would either far exceed anything I would ever need or go down across the
three phones. Now I realize that the additional expense is not all that
much (by early adopter standards) but I have a real hard time paying
for
something that I don’t need or won’t use. And within the current economic landscape,
paying for it is really foolish.

Not content with this email exchange I took Sprint up on an offer, made in one of the emails, to call them. Robert was incredibly helpful as he methodically dissected my plan and looked for the best possible way to get me as close to my current expenditure without services I didn’t need. Well, as hard as he tried, it couldn’t be done. Sprint is just plain set on pushing the increase in fees to all existing customers, no matter how long they’ve been with them or how many phones they have.

I applaud Robert for working so hard at this. The fact is that customer challenges will arise and how the company’s people handle it is the true judge of customer service. But, no matter how pleasant and helpful Robert was, a satisfactory rate was not to be had. Too bad.

Here’s some of what I learned from the experience, other than I’ll likely be holding off on the Palm Pre purchase:

  • Sprint customer service was generally positive. Robert even suggested that I wait and see what happens after the roll-out. Plans change once the bloom is off the rose. This, of course I know. But I had real gadget envy going.
  • There sure is a hell of alot of chatter about the Pre in the social media space.Though in all my tweeting about this on @plam_pre_for_me and my posts here, I received zero contact from Sprint or Plam, so they are either not monitoring the social stream or they have chosen not to reach out via that channel.
  • With this delay in purchasing the Pre, I can actually wait and see what the iPhone upgrades and rumored new AT&T plans could offer me. I may be able to move to the super-model sexy standard in smart-phones for less than I think.
  • My insistence on being logical does not allow me to be a “stand in line for the first one” kind of guy.

Oh well, my heart will heal. I’ll just have to continue saving myself for that perfect phone.

Filed Under: Early Adopters, Gadgets, Mobile, Palm Pre, Social Media

I’ve Been Saving Myself For the Right Phone…

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…and I’ve decided to give it up for the Palm Pre!

Okay, it’s pretty clear that I’ve gotten in touch with my “inner-geek”, right? While that may be a fairly recent realization for me, I have always been a “gadget guy”. And there is no better gadget for me right now than a really cool smartphone.

The challenge for me has been deciding on when and to which “phone” should I commit. I mean, c’mon this is a big step. While maybe I’ve fooled around with a Treo 650 for years, taking that next step, allowing myself to care deeply enough for a phone for which I am willing to give it up (the “it” being my cash and possible two year contract) has taken plenty of will power and more than a few iPhone/Android induced cold showers.

 But I’m going to do it. On June 6th I’m going to step on up and lay down my money for a Palm Pre. The reasons are many. Some logical and some down right emotional and perhaps irrational. Let’s start with the emotional/irrational.

Top of the list: It’s not an iPhone. Blasphemy! I know! I’m a big fan of Apple. I crossed over from a PC last year and have been thrilled ever since. I’m an even bigger fan when I’m cursing my Windows machine, which I still use more than I’d like. But the fact is, I know the iPhone is great. I know that it is the standard by which all mobile devices are judged. I know I can always count on two of my colleagues at Minnov8, Steve Borsch and Graeme Thickins (as well as many with whom I hang) to go on and on about how the iPhone has changed their lives. They record with it, shoot video, edit, Skype, listen to music, comb their hair, make toast, blah, blah, blah. Yes indeed, in Apple’s words, “there’s an app for that.” But I want something different.

What about a G1 Android phone you say? Well, here’s another emotional response…It ain’t at all sexy. I could have given in to the Google phone…believe me I was tempted. It satisfied my “not an iPhone” criteria, it’s all about open source, and I was slightly swayed by some pimpin’ from my mobile developer business partner Justin Grammens. But the truth is, it’s a brick and not all that good to look at. Okay, I’m sorry if I’m being shallow and superficial but I just don’t want to wake up with “that” every morning.

Okay, so how about some rational reasons to pick up the Pre.

Let’s talk about the ability to multi-task. The Pre allows multiple applciations to be open and working at the same time. Though there may be “an app for that” for the iPhone, you need to run those apps one at a time. Running multiple apps at the same time sounds more like a mobile browser than a mobile phone.

Admittedly the apps are fewer for my…oops, I got a little premature there…I mean…the new Pre, but the fact that it’s is built on the WebOS platform means developers can easily work in Java, HTML, and CSS. OK that was real geek speak way of saying the it’s easier to build applications for the Pre3 and that means an explosion of apps should be around the corner.

Call me old fashioned but I like the concept fo the slide out QWERTY keyboard. Look, though I’ve been typing (or keyboarding as you kids say) for years and frankly, I still suck at it. A touchscreen keybord only makes it worse.

Also, if you’re to believe the hype, the battery life should be pretty sweet. Oh, and the wireless charger should make it easy to juice back up. (Yeah, I’m not thrilled by the fact that I’ll have to pay extra for that charger but, life is not perfect.)

Maybe this is too emotional but the look and feel is pretty sexy too. Though it’s not a supermodel-sexy like the iPhone, it’s not an ugly Betty like the G1. It’s more of the “look innocent until we’re alone”, curvy sexy. I like that. There’s
also a bit of mystery involved just to make it a bit more exciting.
Though I’ve been a Sprint customer for years, currently with three phones in
plan, I’m not exactly sure what it will cost me. Hopefully,
Sprint will make it easy to upgrade.

Finally, a feature that doesn’t get a lot of hype is that, as important as it is to me to get a Pre, it’s more important to Palm to get me. Let’s not sugar-coat it, this is a make or break play for Palm. Like me, many are about done with our frumpy, rumpled, “all I wear is sweat pants around the house” Treos. Palm really wants me to be happy with their new phone. They want me to take it out on the town and show it off to my friends. They have spent a great deal of time making it appealing and they want it to be very faithful to me. So, I’m thinking it will deliver.

So there it is. I’ve made the committment and I’m going to do my damnedest to get the Palm Pre on June 6th. Now, I know there are lots of gadget guys like myself that do it, but I’ve never camped out, stayed up late, or waited in a long line for anything before. And I’m not sure I will now. But there’s about 2 weeks left between now and the Pre launch and I’m going to watch intently what happens during the ensuing hype-fest.

In fact, being the social media enthusist that I am, I can’t pass up making this a project. So I’m going to chronicle the ramp up to the Pre launch and my purchase via Twitter. If you’re interested, follow along at @palm_pre_for_me as I get all Pre-geeky. Who knows, I might be inpsired to see what all the attraction of being “first” is. I just hope that Palm understands what I’m giving up here, considers my true feelings, and…is gentle.

Filed Under: Early Adopters, Gadgets, Mobile, Palm Pre

New Mediarati or New Yorkers?

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I enjoyed a great article by New Yorker staff writer Joan Acocella in the latest issue of Smithsonian magazine. Her subject was her experience with New Yorkers and why they many believe they are smarter (and per chance more rude) than other Americans. Though I’m sure she didn’t realize it, I think she may very well have also been describing characteristics of those active in the on-line world.

Here are some of those things that Ms. Acocella points out differentiate New Yorkers from the rest of the population that also apply to New Mediarati (Nice made up word, huh?).

New Yorkers are people who left another place to come to New York, “looking for something, which suggests that the population is preselected for higher energy and ambition. Who on the web is not from somewhere else? Okay, maybe a few that have become far too involved in Second Life think they are from the web, but most who are really into this space are very ambitious and entrepreneurial. Just follow a few sites like Mashable and TechCrunch and you’ll see you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting a startup. My experience with these folks in-person has proven to me that they are incredibly high energy.

The article points out that New Yorkers are willing to forgo basic comforts, instead willing to share the the amenities. Again, you can’t be more into sharing than the open source movement. Many New Mediarati will choose to live on Raman noodles as long as they have a smokin’ laptop…so they can share online.

According to Ms. Acocella, it’s possible that New Yorkers just appear smarter because they make less separation between private and public life.  Bingo! Is this true of those online geeks we all know or what? Face it, we’re willing to spill our guts out in blogs, a Facebook page, or the odd tweet on Twitter, something we would have never done as little as 5 years ago. All of this to share knowledge with anyone willing to listen or read. Just like New Yorkers, Mediarati like to be experts. And as, Aocella points out, “all people like to be experts.”

Why do these two groups, who share so much, behave this way? Why, as pointed out in this Smithsonian article, do they go against psychological principles, the ones that say being bombarded by so much stimuli causes most to recede into themselves and ignore others? Well, there are some of “those” people in both camps, most however share a sense of common cause. For New Yorkers it manifests it self on the street, for Mediarati it happens online.

To me, the similarities are striking and really emphasizes how the online world really is a community…a big ol’ mother of a community…but one that brings so many different types together in one world.

Filed Under: Early Adopters, Geeks, Media, New Media, Social Media

Being an Early Adopter…OK, Maybe Not the Best Way to Meet Women.

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I got a peek at some info from Ipsos I-Say regarding early
adopters. As usual, according to this article, the whole “gotta have the gadget” world is still
predominantly male. Beyond the psychology of the report here are some basic facts from Ipsos…

Wait…before we talk about the stats, as a card carrying male,
I need to point out a few things that impact this research. First, admit it
gents, as guys when someone asks about stuff like this we usually always say we
know what the heck we’re talking about. Remember, we’re the ones who don’t ask
for directions. (Of course now we don’t have to with GPS gizmos. See how this
whole thing comes full circle.) Second, God forbid, we should even remotely
come off as not being hip. iPhone? Hell yeah, I’ve got one! (OK not really but
does the researcher need to know that.) Early adoption is clearly a great way to reinforce our male ego. On with the stats…

According to the Ipsos study, over 44% of males consider
themselves to be technology-savvy and 51% think they have better technical
skills than the average person, whereas women aren’t as confident about their
technological abilities. Actually 34% admit that complicated electronics make
them feel apprehensive.

Almost 49% of males are excited about cutting-edge
electronics compared to only 35% of females. Men also like to have the newest
gadgets and high tech products (33% vs. 22%). More males than females believe
they embrace new technology more quickly than the rest of society (38% vs. 23%).

Now that we’ve seen the numbers, some observations;

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Early Adopters, Gadgets, New Media