My New Mp3 Player

I remember a post I made to simplify my life by having less gadgets. I had to modify that premise. Having done my homework on reviewing the pros and cons of having an iPhone, I had decided to buy the iPod Touch 5th Generation. I don’t need to justify why I bought it, but the main reason why I did is that I don’t want to be bothered by messages while immersing myself in music. In fact I am ready to ditch my Samsung Galaxy when the chance comes, but in this age of connectivity, it would not be possible. I don’t know but maybe someday, I would invest on an iPhone when I am financially capable. Owning an iPhone while living in my city is not that practical yet. If I lived in New York, Berlin…I would really use the iPhone’s full potential to explore new places and such things. So for now, I am happy with my iPod Touch. It does what the iPhone 5 can do, minus the price and the ability to make calls.

Footnote: My brother got my mother’s iPhone 4s instead. He offered to buy my mother a generic Android tablet, which my mother loved with delight. The only downside with the trade is that my brother found that the battery in his iPhone 4s drains faster than how the ice cream melts on a summer’s day.

Gadget Barter

For Christmas, my sister gave my mother a used iPhone 4s. The problem is that the phone is still locked with the US carrier. It never occurred to my mom until she put a micro sim on it. Well, the phone is still really usable. My mother being not used to very small screens finally decided that she would barter her iPhone 4s to my iPad Mini. I consented on one condition: have the iPhone unlocked! A few days ago my iPod 4th Gen died and I really needed to have an mp3 player. My goal this year is to reduce the gadgets I have. There was a time that I had a computer, an mp3 player, a phablet, a camera, an iPad. They really made somewhat dazed when they are all being charged at the same time. There is just too much stimulation from them and all I want is to reduce the consumer electronics I own and live in a simple way as what Thoreau once wrote:

“Simplify, simplify, simplify.”

On Smart Phones and Other Follies

Having a smart phone won’t make you smart. At least that came to my mind when the smart phone hype started a few years ago. At that time I was still using a Nokia 5800, and it lasted until last year when the camera button and volume rocker started to disintegrate, like petals from a withered rose. There were suggestions to get an iPhone or the latest Galaxy series from Samsung. In fact, it was tempting to acquire these and join the crowd. But is it worth the pain in the pocket? I don’t have anything against people lavishing themselves with expensive gadgets. It’s just that the gadget market has somewhat become awry with the latest phone that can do everything except make coffee, of course.

We have become a culture of zombies with phones on our hands. And the realization might sound like gross, but we really are. And I do not know what will humanity transform into in the coming years.

And yet, I celebrate this technology that has made our lives easier. Twenty years ago, it was way different. Kids had only TV (sometimes no cable) and NES to keep themselves busy during weekends. Now kids are glued to tablets, phones and other gadgets. Will it do good then? To what extent? While others are blatantly protesting against the use of smart phones during a meal, I tend to just ignore it. We are a humanity of changes. In every century, let alone decade, change has swept through the old, to give way to the new.

In this world, change is the salt which brings out the flavor in our existence.