photo credit: Denis Dervisevic

I stopped reading

Instead of reading books, I downloaded the Kindle app.  Then I ignored it for months and played Angry Birds during my commute.  Instead of grabbing a physical copy of the Onion, I downloaded the Reuters app and ignored that too.  Part of it was just my general news detox, but a lot of it was the phone.  There was just so much ELSE to do.  Why should I waste my time reading instead?

I stopped talking

Staring at my phone was the ultimate shield.  I wasn’t ever alone — I was always connected to somewhere else.  I could send emails, check Facebook, send a text or two … communicate with others without having to communicate with those around me.  I was so connected that I became disconnected.

I stopped thinking

Instead of watching the clouds move across the sky while waiting for the bus, I would hop onto my phone, load the CTA bus tracker website, select my route, select my stop … wait for it to load … wait for it to load … wait for it to — oh, there’s the bus.  Instead of remembering a map and an address, I’d plug it into the phone and let the GPS tell me where to go.  And I stopped discovering anything new, because I stopped getting lost and taking ‘shortcuts’.

Seriously?

Well, kind of.  There are obvious economic reason why it makes sense to sell an electronic device that still holds >80% of its original value instead of delaying and allowing it to become worthless.  And the overall cost to own an Android-powered phone is just starting to drop off a cliff (Virgin’s Samsung Intercept along with its $25 plan, AT&T’s new $15 data plans).  That timing make sense too — I can re-enter the market and be a few hundred dollars ahead.

Yes, I’ll buy another smartphone in the future, but I’m a dumphone guy for now.  And maybe that will make me smarter.  Those Windows Phone 7 ads cut a little too deep.  We’ll see how long this lasts.

• A prepaid phone.  I don’t spend much time chatting it up, so I don’t have a need for a monthly plan.  I send a few texts each month, and my phone can handle that.  In the last year, I’ve paid close to $8 per month for cell phone service.
• An iPod Touch.  I needed an mp3 player for a road trip so I sprung for the Touch.  Now I have apps and emails and pretty badass mobile browsing.  And there are no monthly fees associated with its WiFi.
• Skype … with my mom.  I set her up and now we video chat to keep in touch.  I also have the Skype app on my iPod Touch, but I tend to only use it on my laptop.
• A land line … which I may ditch.  I’m looking into dropping my land line.  Skype has $3 per month calling to the US.  You just have to make the calls from your computer.  But since I have the land line, I use…
• Google Voice for all long distance calls.  And it transcribes my voicemail very entertainingly.  And it rings my office, home, and cell phone when people call.  It’s great.

All this seems like a lot of work, but it just isn’t.  It’s like Facebook and IM and email — I use different communication mediums to communicate with different groups of people.  BUT if Boost Mobile offers a prepaid Google Android phone, I’ll be the first to buy it.  And as Google Voice grows and allows VoIP calls, I’ll have less use for Skype and my land line.

So the cheapest iPhone ever is: iPod Touch + prepaid phone + Skype and Google Voice.  Which just leaves the camera.  Luckily, I married a photographer.