When the iPhone first came out I laughed at people who made complete fools of themselves.  Some of them actually slept on a sidewalk outside the store so they’d be sure to get one of the first units available.  What morons.

I was smugly amused at their antics.  There was no way I’d ever just flip completely out over something as simple as a telephone.  Okay, so it’s a cell phone.  Okay, so you can play games.  Big deal.

And then came last week.  With smart phones all around me……..even Emil has one……. I finally took the plunge.  No, I didn’t exactly get the latest and the greatest.  I got yesterday’s wonder toy……the Apple iPhone 3GS.

The thing was a bit difficult to get set up.  You have to hook it to a computer so in can do something called ‘sync’ with Apple’s site…….the one where they try to sell you all kinds of music.  It took a while but finally it was working and I made a call.

Nothing special about the call.  I dialed.  I talked.  I hung up.  Big deal.

And then I thought I’d look into these things called ‘Apps’…………..applications that you can get for the phone…..a lot of them free.  That’s when the light went off.

There are apps for just about everything you can imagine:  News, Weather, Business Tools, Music, Videos, File Storage.  You can write a letter and email it around the world with this thing.  You can get directions to a street address in New Mexico and this lady talks to you the whole way there and tells you where to turn……she’s such a nice lady.  It’s got a compass on it in case you get lost in the woods……oh, and it’s got a flashlight app too.

Email, Facebook, Weather Radar and the Al Gore’s ENTIRE internet……right here in the palm of my hand.  How oh  how did I ever live without this device.  Now I understand.  And the next time they’re gonna introduce a new version………….no way I’m sleeping on a sidewalk to get one.  I’m not THAT big of a fool.