Smartphones

Even though it seems like everyone has a smartphone, the fact is only 40% of wireless phone users have them.  The other 60% use regular phones like bar-style, flip phones and sliders by Nokia, Samsung and LG.  Doesn't that make you feel better?

Six months ago, I joined the minority when I got an Apple iPhone through Verizon.  We qualified for a pretty sizable monthly discount on our family plan (after switching from AT&T), so we decided to sign up.

Here's my advice: never buy a smartphone. Why? Because they're totally awesome.

I can check my e-mail, tune my guitar, stream my favorite radio station in Truckee, California, and find the nearest three Chinese restaurants to my present location, all while driving 85---no, 65 miles per hour down the interstate freeway.  It's amazing.  Don't get one.

The great thing about the newest generation of smartphones is that they're highly customizable.  You download to your phone little programs called "apps" from some magic fairy person located in the sky and you can have the exact games, utilities, news feeds and shopping tools that you want.  There's over a half million apps available for the iPhone and 37% of them are free.  I only have 68 on my phone.

Next post I'll talk about my favorite apps.