These days, it’s easy to get bogged down with multiple pieces of technology.
Photo by Gaetan Lee
Right now, I carry around my cell phone, my work Blackberry, and my iPod almost everywhere I go. Three different devices to perform three slightly different tasks in my life. Three things that fill up my bag or pockets all the time. Sometimes I add a camera to the mix. That’s a lot of single-purpose things to carry around!
My iPod is about 4 years old now (20GB 4th Generation) and the battery is losing it’s ability to hold a charge. I used to be able to charge it once a week and listen to my music on my walks to and from work each day. Now I have to charge it every day or every other day for the same usage.
I want to replace it. I love the new style iPod Nano (so adorable!) and would really like to get the red one, but while I was pricing them I realized that instead of simply replacing my mp3 player, I could condense the number of devices I carry around while I’m at it. It would also greatly reduce my need to get a proper charging station.
If I get a “smartphone” type cell phone plan, then one single device could act as my cell phone, my work-email link, and my music player! I could go from carrying three separate devices to carrying only one and still retain all of the functionality! Sweet!
Of course, this plan is slightly flawed by virtue of the fact that I live in Canada. Not only are our phone and data packages outrageously expensive compared to similar American plans, we don’t even have access to some of the major players in the smartphone game, such as the iPhone. Though Rogers has recently announced a deal with Apple that will allow the iPhone to come to Canada “later this year”, that doesn’t really help me now unless they give a more concrete time frame. Last time they said this, it never happened.
My husband has a Blackberry Curve 8300 for his job and he uses it for email, phone, and music. It also acts as a decent 2MP backup camera when I don’t have my good
Canon PowerShot SD800 IS with me. I think that would work nicely for me, since I will have to do email for work on it, and I need the full QWERTY keyboard for that. I hate typing on a numeric keypad!
I will have to talk to my boss and see if she would be willing to cover some of the cost of a personal Blackberry, as the company currently covers the full cost of my (ancient) business Blackberry 7520, if I put my work email on it. Hopefully she’ll go for it!
It would be so nice to reduce the number of electronic devices I carry around!
How many do you carry on a daily basis? Do you have a cell phone? A PDA? Do you carry your laptop everywhere? Let us know!
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I just carry my BlackBerry device around most of the time, and use it for e-mail, instant messaging, web, telephone, calendar, note-taking, tasks, alarm clock, calculator, maps, and as a back-up camera. When I expect to take decent pictures, I also carry my digital camera. When I expect to go somewhere unfamiliar, I also carry my Bluetooth GPS receiver. That’s about it.
That sounds much more convenient than carrying all that stuff around individually all the time!
I think the odd additional item is fine (camera, GPS, etc.) because they can be things that you don’t need to bring with you every time you step outside the house.
I carry my 2 y/o pocket pc phone from Alltel – for IM’s, twitter, calendar and camera, but thats it.
I used to carry my laptop, phone, ipod and pda but simply refuse to be overcome with gadgets anymore. I’ve liberated myself with just the pocket pc – no more, no less.