Hamlet may have had to struggle with his own tough decisions, but I assure you they were mere child's play compared to the decision I am wrestling with! I speak, of course, of the yet to be released Palm Pre cellphone (due out sometime in the first half of 2009 exclusively on Sprint, my carrier luckily enough) and my monumental paradox of whether to update from my current phone on day 1, OR to wait a while for the price to settle down and the bugs to be squished out of it.

The decision may seem a bit trifle without some back story, so let me explain. About a year ago, I decided to finally upgrade my boring ol cellie for something a bit more fun. Being that I am: A) on Sprint, who notoriously gets the leftover crumbs of the "hot new" cellphone releases, and B) on a limited budget and not looking to spend much over 100 bucks for a new phone, my choices were slim. I agonized over the pick, and finally decided to pick up the Upstage from Samsung. It fit the bill nicely: it seemed fun in the store, was right around $100 (with the requisite 2 year contract that is!), and it played music! Well, it wasn't too long before this "fun" little device turned into the bane of my existence.

OK, so at this point in the story I am screwed right? I have just signed up for a new two year contract to get the subsidized price of this torture device (read: cellphone). As luck would have it, turns out that some wires got crossed somewhere and I did not show up in the system as getting the subsidized price. Meaning, I could again get a discounted cellphone by signing up for yet another 2 year contract (and not having to wait an additional two years to do so). Hooray, right?! Mostly, but remember, I am still on Sprint and still not looking to spend much money.

As if by some divine intervention, in the spring of last year I start hearing about this new phone from Samsung called the Instinct (exclusive to Sprint and due out in mere weeks). Hallelujah! This phone was marketed as the iPhone killer. (SIDE NOTE: Ah yes, the iPhone. I should've mentioned this sooner as the backdrop to all things cellphone. Of course I want one. Of course I am jealous of those who do. But I am not switching to AT&T to get one. Enough said.) I was there on the day it released and picked up one for a "discounted" price of $200, more than I wanted to spend, but THIS phone was going to be worth it. Right?

I have now had the phone for about 7 months, and I can say with all certainty that it is by no means an iPhone killer. It does some things well, and yes it can even be described as "fun" every now and then; BUT, more often than not I find it lacking in many ways from what I was wanting/expecting. Add to that the multiple buggy issues and the lack of any fun or useful applications being added, and you can see why I am now ready to move on to greener pastures. Unfortunately, no wires were crossed this time and I do need to live with it for the full 2 years in order to get my next phone at a discounted price.

SO, this all brings me back to the Pre decision. Do I live with my "broken" phone another year and a few months, wait for the fully subsidized discount, wait for the Pre price to come down and bugs to be fixed, and wait to see if it truly what the hype suggests. OR, do I do the impulsive, American thing and just throw caution to the wind, buy it for most likely $400-500 (of course, I can make some of that back by selling my Instinct for a couple hundred), and hope for the best?

Oh, Shakespeare! Where are you when I need you most??