Feeling not-so-smart with my smart phone

Finally, I have taken the plunge. After more than five years with the same old flip phone with the same bubble ringtone (And I quote Salek: "You've had that same ringtone for my entire four years here"), I am now the proud (?) owner of a Samsung Galaxy S4. Smart phone. Smart user? Not so fast! Woo-hoo. I have a Smart Phone. And I quote my good buddy Sean T. McMann: "That's great, Pete. Welcome to 2007." Nice.

The burning question in my phone world the past few weeks has not been if I would get a Smart Phone -- the battery life on my flip phone was about as short as our patience is with this persistent cold weather -- but rather which type of phone I would get. Apple vs. Android; iPhone vs. Samsung or Nokia or others. After much consultation with everyone who cared to offer their advice, I went with the Galaxy -- mostly because of the big screen and my rapidly failing eyesight (hey, I turn 50 in a few months, remember?). Almost everyone in my immediate world has an iPhone. But I've tried to text on an iPhone. I might as well have fingers like bowling pins, in terms of clumsiness and accuracy is concerned.

For a while, the inside track was on the Windows phone, mostly because Doug Ainscow spoke highly of it (Deedy too, but he doesn't count ...). But alas, Doug's Windows phone crapped out on him for a short time, and Deedy soured on the idea of a tech moron like me having such a complicated device. And hey, I trust these guys (yeah yeah, even Deedy, all right?) Then, I was left to freshman mid distance/sprinter Nate Lungarini and junior mid distance man Kyle Hannafin as the chief proponents of the Galaxy. Both had compelling arguments, and both were convincing. Ultimately, the right price and the big screen won the day.

And now ... what? Will someone please teach me how to use this thing? No worries, I'll figure it out. Give me a year or so.

One plus: Once I figure out how to use the camera, look for more photos on the fancy blog. But not for now. Spring Break looms, which gives me 10 days to figure out how to take a picture of something other than my blurry thumb.