Back to the Future: Cherie Gets an iPhone (Again)

Post date: Oct 4, 2015 2:33:23 AM

Blog Post for the Week of October 2

I still remember that magical moment back in the summer of 2009: there we were at Best Buy when Mike and I plunked down what seemed to be a big chunk of cash and walked out of the store with two iPhones.

It was the iPhone 3 and we were in love (the four of us). We went on a trip to Door County a short time later and I laugh when I remember how many pictures I took that show Mike staring down at his iPhone fondly, while the viewer sees a beautiful lake behind him. We took pictures of each other at restaurants (including one with goals on the roof), of our ride on a Ferry, and of the food on our plates.

We discovered the apps that would change our lives, or so it seemed: not just Gmail, Facebook, and Twitter, but the Weather Channel, E-reader apps, Audio Memo, Calendar, Google Drive, Flashlight, Koi Pond, Dictionary, and Bubble Wrap pop.

Not only did we love exploring apps and using them but the camera became such a handy tool: I snapped pictures in stores to compare products and prices, I took pictures of books to find, I took pictures of my friend’s schedules on their doors, and once the grandchildren arrived, I took lots of pictures of them! Then, once you took a picture I could instantly upload it to Facebook, send it in a text, or save it for future reference.

We went on to get the iPhone 4 and the love affair continued. However, Mike had reading about the Galaxy S4 and he suggested we try switching to Android for our next phone. The biggest appeal was the size of the screen and the opportunity to figure out what the Android experience was all about with smartphones.

We used our Galaxies for a while and then realized that we had some real issues with battery life; we went back and got sleek little black phone chargers on the go. My husband plugged his phone in while driving; I carried my charger and cable with me everywhere. We adapted more or less to the Samsung side of smartphones, although I still carried my old iPhone4 with me everywhere, because I still had lots of apps, music and pictures on it.

Then, about three months ago I began having serious issues with my Galaxy; I would have it plugged in all night and wake up to find it at 1% or once, actually shut off because it was so low. I went to Verizon and found out that I had a wobbly/loose port and that is why the charging was not consistent. In addition, it was a known issue. Then, Mike tried to call me and couldn’t reach me; the phone had turned itself off.

Finally, with my daughter coming the next week, I told Mike that I could not wait any longer and we went to Verizon to switch phones. I decided that I would not try to hang onto the S-4, so I spent time beforehand getting all of the pictures off my phone, including the ones on the little storage card.

I walked out with a new iPhone 6—and realized how BIG it was! I laid the old iPhone 4 down beside the new one – no doubt, the competition from Galaxy and other androids made Apple consider a bigger size screen. There is also the iPhone 6 plus and it looks sort of like Apple’s answer to the Galaxy note.

I’m happy with my new iPhone (yes, in a purple case) for several reasons: battery life, bigger screen, and battery life! When you have grown accustomed to dragging cables and chargers everywhere, it is wonderful to look down and see 81% at 8:25 pm. I’ve downloaded a few new apps and lots of the older ones. Overall, I’m not sorry that we switched to the Galaxy, because we loved the bigger screen and getting a better feel for the potential of Android; however, there are some built-in apps and features that come with any phone, and I think I used fewer of the Samsung apps (sorry, Samsung). As we all use our smartphones for Googling, Facebooking, and snapping photos, the single most desired feature is reliability, and I feel that I have that again!

Last updated Oct. 3, 2015