Introductions Please

In the past 11 years, I’ve owned 13 smart phones, six iPods, three Tablets and one PDA. Here’s a chronological list: Nokia 6590, Palm m500, iPod, LG VX3100, iPod Mini, Kyocera Koi, iPod Video, Motorola RAZR, Motorola KRZR, iPod Shuffle, Samsung Juke, iPod Touch, LG Dare, 2 iPhones, Motorola Droid, Motorola Droid X, iPod Nano, iPod Classic, original Samsung Galaxy Tab (7-inch version) (biggest mistake), Motorola XOOM, Droid Charge, Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 10.

My passion for technology can be traced back to my Palm m500. With its black and white screen, stylus and sleek design, I was the miniature combination of Q and James Bond. All of my prior electronics were either games (Gameboy, N64, Tamagotchi) or toys (Furby, RC cars, light-up Sketchers). None of these allowed me to express my creative side. With the Palm m500, I could finally personalize my device, even if it was limited. I always loved customizing my phones, be it with different wallpapers, fonts, ringtones, etc. The release of the iPhone in early 2007 on AT&T came as a blow to my 15-year-old heart, for I was on Verizon. My teenage tech-angst was cured later that year with the release of the iPod Touch, but my yearning to customize and tinker with my new toy was squashed. I couldn’t even set a simple wallpaper! I soon discovered jailbreaking (the process of hacking and unlocking your iOS device in order to use unsanctioned apps and aesthetically customize the software and layout) and its online community. This became my hobby. I created icons, compiled themes, tested apps and even made a case for my iPod that turned it into a VOIP powered phone. Friends would give me their iPhones with cracked screens so I could tinker on updated hardware. My m500 on steroids: color touch screen, even more minimalistic design and the possibilities for customization were endless. Then, in October of 2009, Google and Motorola released the Motorola Droid on Verizon. The Android app market was full of different ways to customize your phone without having to hack it and void the warranty. Instead of having my iPod touch and Verizon feature phone on me, I could carry one cool smartphone that synced my email, calendar and contacts without having to plug it in to a computer, while also providing me free voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation with Google Navigation, which helped with my terrible sense of direction. From then on, I've been an Android user.

Originally posted on Jan 31, 2013 on thecolgatemaroonnews.com