Dragon Mood? -- excited and cowed at the same time

Because I have far more things to report and share here than I took time for in December, I'm still in the catch-up mode. One highly anticipated change was and is my transition from 20th century phone technology to the 21st!

So, here's my old cell phone, a sturdy Samsung that served me well for over four-and-a-half years.



My new phone is a Motorola Droid 2, operating on the cutting edge Android 2.2 operating system. (I imagine someday I'll look back at this posting and chuckle at my breathlessness for a then-antiquated technology! New today, out-of-date tomorrow, eh?)

I wasn't planning on buying a Droid 2. Beyond it being cutting edge, I heard it was a little big for a woman's hand, a little heavy perhaps. All true.

I was in a Sam's store, waiting while a prescription was filled, poking around in the store. A kiosk inside sells cell phones, a separate entity owned and operated by Radio Shack. I was actually looking for the HTC Incredible, another Android phone, when I noticed the price of the Droid 2. Ordinarily they were selling for $250- 300, but this one was listed at $49.97. Whahhh?

Turns out Radio Shack was having a 'special' that weekend, the weekend before Christmas, selling the Droid 2, applying rebates up front and then discounting it some more. I talked to the manager for a few minutes, asked him to set one aside for me, picked up my scrip and called S. We ended up revisiting the store later that day, purchased my Droid 2 and began a technological adventure that continues to this day.

See, cell phones used to come with 1/2" thick little user manuals that you could read and pour over, discovering and testing all the ins and outs of the phone. Not anymore. That's way too tree-killing for the 21st century. Now, the cell phone manufacturer gives you a 18"x24" piece of paper, printed on both sides, folded up like an origami Rubic's cube with all the basic info you need. After that, Google it. (chuckling) Oh yeah!

So, in a nutshell, I've struggled with the phone. While I like to think of myself as being pretty computer and software savvy, I'm not so sure anymore. Maybe for an old fart, but certainly not compared to the Gen X and Gen Y folks. Part of the issue is the lack of documentation. I've read online tutorials, watched YouTube videos, found a little "HELP" button buried in the Droid 2 apps (who'da thunk to look there?). I've consulted my daughter (who is a strong iPhone user and afficionado, not at all impressed with my fancy-schmancy Droid 2), along with S herself, who ended up buying a Droid X one impulsive trip to the Verizon store.

Slowly, day by day, I'm getting more comfortable and adept at using this phone. Not there yet, but I'm making progress. At one point, I was so discouraged and angered over some of its shortcomings, I thought about returning it (still within that 30-day grace period). Well, the grace period ended three days and so now, I'm stuck and committed to making this damn phone work.

And I will!