Why I’m Doing This
Because I’m a gadget-freak, pure and simple. I don’t really have an engineer’s brain—I’m drawn to the blinking lights, and the toy-factor, and the way the best-designed devices are like something from the sci-fi future of my childhood. What I realized, after a while, was that almost nobody I know shares this enthusiasm for consumer electronics. Because of that, almost nobody I know actually knows how to use their phones, computers, DVRs, etc.

The manufacturers don’t help. Have you seen the User Guide for the Nokia N95? It goes on and on, and yet it only offers the most basic information, and by virtue of being a corporate-sponsored document, it isn’t always honest. For example, it won’t tell you, “The GPS device in this phone is horrid. If you live in New York City, you simply will not get a satellite.” (That’s been fixed to some degree with firmware upgrades, thankfully.) Or, “Yes, this phone is 3G, but no, you will never be able to use it on a U.S. 3G network.”

As I collected more and more information on how to make the most of my phone, I realized I wanted to put it online, for two reasons: so I’d have a handy way to reference everything I’ve learned and collected, and so I could share it with other N95 owners.

This site, then, is a place where you can find out how to make the most of your N95. And if you have a different opinion, or better advice, or just a suggestion, please let me know and I’ll add it to the site.

It’s not “What Computers Have Become”—It’s what will replace computers*
*for normal everyday use

For many people, this probably seems like overkill for a cellphone. But the secret behind N95 is that, all marketing language aside, it really is a little computer. No, it will never be as beautiful to look at or to use as an iPhone. And no, it won’t crunch data at anywhere near the level of “real” PCs. On the other hand, I spend entire weekends now without opening up my laptop, because I can perform all of my basic computer functions—quick trips online, reading and responding to email, viewing photos, listening to music, and playing games—on my phone. This is remarkable. I think the mainstream press hasn’t quite grasped this yet. They’re all still scratching their collective heads about UMPCs, or making sweet love to the iPhone, when I can replicate a fundamental PC user experience with my N95 and my Bluetooth qwerty keyboard—while also having music, photo, video, and phone capabilities.

More About Me In Case You Can’t Get Enough
I’m a copywriter by profession. You can find out more at my professional site.

I also have a few other blogs. Why? Because blogs are free, and because I like to multitask. Funeralisto is a consumer’s guide to the funeral industry, because it is jacked up and we need to pay better attention to it.  Monkeyskull is a blog of creepy and unusual things online—you know, serial killers, haunted toys, asylums, ghost ships, brain surgery, spider bites, those sorts of things.