You Want Me to Do WHAT to My SD Card???

As you might be able to tell from Episode 1 with the calendar, dealing with the DROID can be a bit geeky.

This was confirmed the first time I saw that to access my SD card that I had to "mount" it. Looking over various DROID / Android forums, questions as to what this means are quite common.

As a long-time UNIX / Linux person, I knew exactly what it meant but it clearly confused numerous others and brought to mind little jokes that Spanish-speaking people from different countries use to tease each other. For example, a verb that means "to take / catch" when used in Argentina means a very explicit sexual act. So if an outsider asks where to "catch" a taxi, this leads to some giggles or raised eyebrows. And there are more cases like that.

Even though I was now firmly in like-very-much with my DROID, I was more motivated than ever to experience Apple's vaunted reputation for ease of use and whatnot.

I was finally committed to have a separate cell phone when an old issue came bubbling back: Skype.

As I mentioned previously, Skype had been a bit of a lifesaver while working and tele-living from Vermont. Unfortunately, my Skype experience on the DROID was very disappointing.

The disappointing part was that the Skype app for the Android platform makes a cell phone call on my behalf when I place a call, even when I have a wireless connection and not at all with only a wireless connection. The problem with this is that I already have paid for SkypeOut minutes! This would mean paying more than double.

What's with that? Not good.

Two points:

1. I solved this in the short term by using Fring (and I believe there are other solutions). Fring will use a wireless connection and can transparently frontend a number of services like Skype. Very impressive, IMHO.

2. Just last week, Verizon and Skype announced a new alliance where Verizon will allow Skype calls to be placed over it's 3G network at Skype rates. This definitely applies for Skype-to-Skype calls and in some way will apply to SkypeOut calls. I'm waiting for the details and not deleting Fring yet but I believe that Verizon has shown some standout foresight with this agreement. Bravo Verizon!
http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/16/verizon-to-allow-unlimited-skype-calling-over-3g-starting-next-m/

However, several months ago all this was still under wraps and it definitely made me rethink what I really needed from a device. Did I need another cell phone? No, not really in the traditional sense. Did I need another camera / video recorder? No. I barely use the one I had.

And then there was the aha moment when I remembered the iPod Touch. The Skype app worked on the iPod Touch so it certainly worked on wireless only.

I did a little bit of research. Not being in the - ahem - typical iPod demographic, I wasn't sure that I would be downloading a lot of video (although I'm now rethinking this signficantly). But it did appear that there were good reasons to go for the 32 GB iPod Touch rather than the 8 GB.

For approximately $100 more the 32 GB provided the current generation internals that were significantly better than the 8 GB particularly for voice. The 32GB also ships with a headset that includes a mic while the 8 GB does not. Having to buy an additional headset with mic cut the price difference still more. On the other hand, for me the 64 GB hit the diminishing returns curve.

I picked up the iPod Touch 32GB at CostCo (my second favorite place to express the shopping gene) and moved into Apple world.

Next up: Surprise! Apple doesn't do everything perfectly.