I’m jonesing for an iPhone.  But as an e-mail addict, I’m wary.  And since they’re gonna come out with a 4G model soon, why should I buy an iPhone now, and be locked into a contract?

So I’m missing out on the apps.

But I’ve got great e-mail.

Everybody I know who’s a road warrior uses a BlackBerry.  Unless they’re on an exchange server, whereupon the iPhone works seamlessly. But I depend on my e-mail and everyone complains about it on an iPhone, assuming you’re getting a couple of hundred e-mails a day and time is of the essence.

For the uninitiated, RIM uses a unique technology, that’s why their e-mail is so good.

But if only they’d apply some of this expertise to their OS!

I upgraded my BlackBerry Bold’s OS.

Didn’t exactly know I was doing it.  Just went to sync and I was told there was an upgrade.  Thought it was an upgrade to the synching software, not the OS of the BlackBerry itself.

But no big deal, we all love incremental advances, RIGHT?

But this was no incremental advance.  This was a whole new operating system, with a learning curve and imperfections AND WHY DIDN’T THEY TELL ME?

Now it takes forever to download the update, so don’t plan on leaving the house, which I was.

And, of course, the process hangs.  Meaning I’ve got to force quit the BlackBerry app and then the BlackBerry itself reboots and dies.  And then I reboot it again.

And it looks totally different.

And it works totally different.

I’ve got to push a button to see all my icons.

Then again, maybe if I slide left to right I can see all of them or my most used…  At this late date, thirty years on, isn’t an OS supposed to be intuitive?

But the new BlackBerry OS is not.

And it changes my ringtone, I didn’t even know I was getting a phone call, I didn’t know it was me.

And you used to press "N" to go to next message and "P" to go to previous.  Road warriors know this.  Now those keys still work, but they do the OPPOSITE!

Meanwhile, all the BlackBerry hype is about the PlayBook.  I don’t want a damn tablet, I just want a phone that works, that doesn’t require me to study a manual to figure it out.

Not that the new BlackBerry OS comes with a manual.

And it’s slower.  And the type is smaller, so I have to wear my glasses.  Used to be easy, you just picked a text option, now there are icons, so many of them and so small you just can’t see.

And don’t ask me to explain.  Because I’m still figuring it out.

And if I’ve got a problem I call…who?

Verizon is helpless here.  They’re servicing so many phones that the tech help is clueless, they’re looking up the answer, they don’t know it.

And there’s no retail outlet to go to, no Genius Bar.

I mean yesterday I had a computer problem.  I was restoring from Time Machine and the disk wouldn’t boot, twice.

But I called AppleCare, which I gladly pay for, and they kicked me up to an advanced tech, since I’m an advanced user, and we troubleshot the problem and solved it.  I mean I’m on the phone theorizing with the tech, whereas there’s nobody servicing my BlackBerry who even knows the basics!

And this is a problem with Android too.  Too many interfaces, too many manufacturers and an unpoliced marketplace.  Windows taught us that worse can win, so I’m not counting Android out.

But I was never a Windows person and I’m never gonna be an Android person.  Because I want a last resort, I want someone who stands behind the product, all of it, who I can speak to, who can solve my problems.  That’s one of the reasons I go to the dealer for car repairs, if there’s a problem there’s a manufacturer standing behind the work.  I’ve gotten reimbursed from the manufacturer a number of times, try getting reimbursed from the independent!

But this isn’t cars.  This is phones.  Then again, I no longer have to know how my automobile works and I shouldn’t have to get up to speed on the workings of my mobile phone.

I mean how long has Apple been unspooling this movie?  At least a decade while everybody was watching.

It’s not about flashy hardware, even though Apple does sell this, it’s about SOFTWARE!  It’s about ease of use, it’s about elimination of bugs.

I mean the number one thing an adult lacks is time.

Maybe a kid will spend all afternoon figuring out the features and flaws on his mobile, but I’ve got better things to do.

And so do you.

RIM is toast.