Smith Family Weblog

I’ve had a BlackBerry for about three years now. I bought it for work, telling Bryan that it would help me advance my career. Six weeks later, I was promoted to the director of public relations in my organization. If I had been allowed an acceptance speech, I would have thanked my new phone first.

As I became more attached, Bryan’s hatred only grew. (I secretly think he was jealous.) Soon, I was hiding in my nightstand drawer, but more often than not, he would spy the green light when I tried to sneak it out overnight.

I became a pro at typing on the thing–BlackBerry thumb be damned. It was a constant connection to my job, my family, my friends. I’d hide in the bathroom to send messages at home, hoping to avoid the inevitable, “Will you put that thing down?!”

The great thing about a smart phone is that you’re always connected. The downside? You’re always connected. When you have constant access to email, there’s an inexplicable need to respond immediately. And, if the person with whom your communicating is also furiously typing on a tiny keyboard, it just escalates. Then, before you know it, you’re sending emails to coworkers at 4 a.m. From the hospital. Ninety minutes before giving birth.

Still, I haven’t had any desire to part ways with my BlackBerry. Not until recently.

When Apple introduced the new iPhones, I decided I had to have one. Bryan talked me into waiting for the second generation product, which just came out a few weeks ago. Ours have been on order for a week and a half, and we just picked them up today.

But, I’m finding that I’m not completely excited. I will miss my BlackBerry. At the risk of sounding even crazier than I already do, I will tell you that I’m mourning a bit today. I’m terrible at typing on the iPhone’s touch screen. I can already feel my productivity diminishing. And, now instead of enjoying free text messaging to other users over the BlackBerry server, we’ll be back to paying 15 cents for each. My daily communiques with Katie alone might offset the savings of the new monthly package.

I will say, though, the new phone is pretty. And, I’ve always been a Mac girl. I even requested a MacBook Pro as part of my negotiation in my new job. My BlackBerry doesn’t exactly play nicely with it, so I should be thankful to have a phone that will.

Still, I feel a bit adulterous, turning on the one that’s always been there and replacing it with something shiny and new.

Seeing as how I’m publishing this entry from my iPhone, though, I suppose this feeling will pass.