Taking the plunge into smartphone mania

Finally joined the modern age by getting my first "smartphone," but I don't feel any smarter.

Yes, it's been seven years since the first iPhone came out and 15 years after the first BlackBerry.

There wasn't any rush for me to jump in earlier. I don't use a cell phone much, mainly because the quality of the phone reception is so poor. Of course, why talk when you can text.

Also, I didn't need a smartphone to ignore the person I was meeting. I'm perfectly capable of ignoring someone I'm talking to without the crutch of an iPhone.

And, I didn't need another reason to trip and fall, which happens to smartphone users who are so absorbed surfing the internet that they didn't see the curb or the person they walked into.

Basically, though, it was the ridiculously high cost of the smartphones and their attendant data plans that kept me using my Samsung t369 slider cell phone.

Well, some smartphone prices have come down along with the cost of data plans.

Also, I need to be able to use Skype when away from home to be in touch with my daughter, who is in Central America. 

I got the Moto G, an unlocked Android phone from Motorola, for $199. The T-Mobile data plan will cost $10 a month with no overage charges. Those costs are bit lower than a $700 iPhone or a Samsung Galaxy with a $30 monthly data plan.

Yes, I would definitely like to have an iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, HTC One, LG G2 or Nexus 5, but I wouldn't want to pay for them.

Not when you consider that the phone reception on an iPhone is just as bad as it is on a $30 "dumbphone."

Also, after years of buying computers, printers, televisions, cd and dvd players, I've learned one important thing: the more you spend on any electronic gizmo, the more aggravated you'll be.

As with anything that comes at a premium price, you expect more from it. With electronics, you'll always be disappointed when you pay top dollar.

And, since it seems every other smartphone out there has a cracked screen, it will be less expensive to replace the Moto G.

So, I'm not expecting a whole lot from the Moto G. It doesn't allow you to change the battery or add more memory, just like an iPhone. It doesn't support LTE, which matters to geeks but not to me.

The camera is considered weak, but I don't use a phone as a camera in the same way I don't use a camera as a phone.

It comes with GPS, which I can use since my Garmin is six years old and out of date.

Naturally, the day the Moto G arrived by FedEx, an even cheaper Motorola was announced, the Moto E. 

In the end, the Moto G is just a phone and if the battery lasts a whole day, I'll be pleased.