Confessions of a Social Media Junkie

I want to buy a smartphone. Not because I need one. No…I definitely do not need a smartphone. Oh but do I ever want one.

Yes, yes I want to be just like the cool kids who can browse the web, text, tweet, FB and foursquare update, and even shop from their phones. Oh and I guess it would be nice to make the odd phone call now and then.

Now that I’ve fully declared my consumeristic desire for something I don’t really need, let’s move on to the important question:

Which smartphone do I get?

When I asked as much on Twitter, I received plenty of advice from different camps. And most of the responses were from people in the “iHeart”-my-iPhone-camp.

In commiseration with my smartphone dilemma, @capitalmom sent me a link to a post she wrote about her own experiences searching for a smartphone. Hey, it feels good to know I’m not alone. 😉

Because I live in Canada and am a Rogers customer, it really comes down to the big three: iPhone, Blackberry and phones based on the Google Android OS.

So my first step towards a smartphone purchase…research.

Thankfully, there are some people who have done the legwork for me. But reading the reviews and recommendations I found online doesn’t make the decision any less confusing.

For example, over on lifehacker.com, I was able to download a smartphone comparison chart created by Apollo Clark, a lifehacker.com reader. The chart’s alright but includes a lot of specs I don’t understand. It’s the same as visiting the Rogers website and looking at the phones there. I see the features and the specs but I still don’t know which is the best phone for me personally.

Back to Google for more research.

This comparison chart posted to the Daily Contributor is a little dated – January 2010 – so it doesn’t include the iPhone 4. Besides, I don’t even know if I can get a Nexus One in Canada. It’s not offered by Rogers so forget about it. Also – they list the chart and then say this as a disclaimer: “The chart is not that accurate but it will give you the idea.” Umm…ok, thanks.

TechRadar.com’s article is the most useful smartphone comparison I’ve found. Of course because they are UK-based, they’re comparing all smartphones available in the UK market. The article uses a drop-down menu which helps you quickly navigate to each phone review (there are 20 phones in total). But I live in Canada, and am a Rogers customer, so a lot of these phones aren’t available to me.

My conclusion? The Internet is not making the decision-making process any easier.

Let’s face it. I need to go in and talk to a representative at Rogers. They’ve been harassing me lately anyway with promises of a “special” smartphone offer…you know…because I’m a valued customer. 😉

I’ll write a follow-up post summarizing my field trip to the Rogers store. My goal is to keep it a fact-finding mission only, but you never know…I may end up writing about why you need [insert ridiculous-sounding smartphone name] because “ohmygosh – it’s just so COOL!”.

Do you own a smartphone? If so, tell me why you bought that phone and what you think of it. I really want to know!