Another birthday tech toy

I know it is a week past my birthday, but I got some birthday money from my parents and a phone upgrade credit just waiting to be used. So I got a new phone for my birthday. I have been wanting a smartphone that would sync with my email accounts.

It has been really busy at work (being pregnant and working 2 jobs probably doesn't help matters), so I have also been heavily relying on my Outlook calendar to keep me organized with my meetings and commitments that having two offices entails. I thought a smartphone would at least help me to manage my email influx when I was between offices. Since I will become a working mother, I know that being organized is a pretty important thing when managing work and family. I felt that this little piece of technology might help to make things a little easier. When Baby Bear comes I will need all the help I can get.

So I did my research, as I always do. I didn't have a lot of options since I did want to stick with my existing wireless provides, so that I could take advantage of my upgrade credit. My family uses Verizon wireless, so that left me with only a few choices. I kind of wanted an iPhone, but Verizon does not offer that phone. So I turned my research to Verizon phones.

It was very important that the smartphone I chose sync up with my Outlook at work. First, I considered the Blackberry Storm, which is Blackberry's version of the iPhone. It did look very cool and felt nice. But I had read some reviews about bugs in the system and I knew it would take a little more work for me to figure out how to configure it with my Outlook at work (according to our work website, they do not support Blackberries. It can be done but my IT dept. won't be able to really help me). Not a good sign for the Storm.

So I looked at the Samsung Omnia i910. Also a touch screen phone and very comparable to the Blackberry Storm and the iPhone. I looked at reviews online and there were many favorable reviews, both by users and professional reviewers. Some touted the Omnia to be better than the Storm and the iPhone. Definitely, a worthy competitor to the iPhone. It operates on Windows Mobile, which allows it to work very well with Outlook. That was definitely a plus for me. Plus, Verizon was offering a rebate for the purchase of an Omnia.

So I went to a Verizon store to take a look at the Samsung Omnia i910 in person. I liked the feel of it and the way it worked in the store. The rebate coupled with the upgrade credit helped to make it very inexpensive in comparison to other phones, so it seemed like the way to go. I've only had it for a day so we will so how it holds up. So far I am pleased with my choice.