Just Say No!

[Steve]

Steve Laser over at Mobility Site (where I write now, too) might have been more accurate than intended in his I Want a New Drug article. If you find yourself getting bored with your current PDA or phone (or any tech accessory), consider this -- you might be a junkie. No, you probably aren't hanging out on street corners looking for somebody selling hot phones in their trench coats or turning tricks for a new piece of software, but you may have a problem nonetheless.

This may sound like heresy, but remember that a PDA or phone is just a tool. It should make your life easier. Do you get bored with your hammer and feel that you need to buy a new one? Do you sigh with ennui every time you use your electric drill? Do you get frustrated with the toaster because its interface hasn't changed? I hope not.

Don't get me wrong -- I'm a techie. I've had Windows CE PDAs since Windows CE 1.0, I have four LCD TVs in my house (if you count my daughter's) plus a few tube TVs, I have three working Replay TV PVRs (plus two that died) and so on. However, I very rarely buy gadgets to add spice to my life -- they either fill a need I have to get something done or they're replacing a product that's going bad. For example, I upgraded my original Motorola Q to a Q9m not because I had to have the latest device, but because the Q9m had HTML E-mail (thanks to Windows Mobile 6), allowing me to link to my Google News alerts that I use to keep abreast of the tech world (and because it was almost a free upgrade).

So, if you find yourself getting withdrawal symptoms because your phone isn't sexy enough, consider checking into rehab. If you want excitement in your life, take up skydiving, bungie jumping or street luge.