I need a new phone

The time has come for me to get a new cell phone. I have mixed feelings about this because I really like my current phone. Contrary to what many who know me might think, my phone is not a smart phone. It is just a regular, boring, phone with a sliding qwerty keyboard for texting. It does have a music player built into it and a IR camera which is fun to take very low level light pictures with, but other than that, it just makes calls and texts. Even though many people around me were getting smart phones with data plans, I resisted. I had an iPod touch to meet my "smart" device needs. What was the point of getting a smart phone when it would do the same thing as my iPod? That, and I enjoyed the fact that I could listen to music, play games, and a host of other things until the battery went dead on my iPod and still make phone calls on my phone. Well, while both of my devices are still functioning they appear to be on the decline and since they are declining at similar rates and I imagine they will both go "kuput!" at about the same time. Is it time to combine?

I have very mixed feelings. On one hand, I like my set up. It means I rarely have to worry about a dead battery on my phone regardless of how much I listen to my audio books. My phone is also very, very portable. I can fit it into the watch pocket of some of my trousers. It also has a physical qwerty keyboard which is very easy to use. My iPod, regardless of it's issues, is very familiar also rather portable, being smaller than many smart phones. On the other hand, it means I end up carrying two devices. Also the screen size of both devices is rather small when compared to current mobile devices. And while I hate to say it I must face the fact that when my wife upgraded her phone to a Galaxy S3 I had screen envy. Probably the most compelling reasons that I am planning on shifting to a smart phone are: 1) the "dumb" phones on the market all appear to be of very poor quality as the phone companies are trying to get people to guy the phones that require a bigger service plan, and 2) my trip to Boston showed me that having a phone that can access just about everything is indeed very handy and useful.

Since sitting down with Angel to talk about the situation (she's been advocating, but not pressuring, that I get a smart phone for a year or more) and deciding to get a smart phone I've put a lot of thought into what kind of phone I want. Leeroy, her brother, and I was talking a couple of weeks ago about phones and he mentioned the new term "Phablet." While I have contemplated getting a miniature tablet for internet usable around the house or work, ebooks, and entertainment, I don't want my phone to be that cumbersome. I want something that I can fit in my front or shirt pocket or in the leg pocket of a pair of carpenter jeans without difficulty. There comes a point where these phablets are no longer conveniently portable.

For me, i think the limit is a 5 inch screen. I understand that 5 inches is considered the low end of the phablet size, but I've had the opportunity to look at a couple of phones of that size and try them out. I have a couple of advantages that others might not when it comes to manipulating and carrying that size. My hands are, on average, much bigger than most other peoples. I have large palms and long fingers which make it easy for me to work a big screen. In portability I also have trousers with large pockets. All but my dressiest pair have a large carpenter like pocket on the leg, and one pair has cargo pockets large enough to hold a paperback book. I really like these leg pockets as they don't make it uncomfortable to sit down with the phone in my pockets.

While I'm not 100% sure, I'm pretty decided on a phone. But I'm keeping an open mind for when I actually go to the store to get everything set up. I am now excited for the outcome - a reaction I always look for.