The Writers Coin

I’ve been a PC guy my whole life. I’ve learned all the tricks to make them run faster and get things done more efficiently. And for the most part, I’m happy being a PC guy.

But Macs have something PCs don’t have: they’re sexy. They’re alluring. They’re magical. They call out to you and beg to come home with you.

The temptation is hard to resist—until you see the price tag.

And that’s why I’m still a PC guy—I have trouble rationalizing the extra money spent on a Mac when you can get the same specs for cheaper. Remember, I’m the guy who has eaten the same boring lunch for five years.

But lately I’ve been feeling the pull to switch becoming stronger and stronger.

I think it’s because I’ve been using an iPod Touch since A was born (we use it to track her sleeping, eating, etc.) and it’s so intuitive and feels so different from every other device out there that you just want to always have that feeling.

Why Macs are Better:

• Sexier: No contest here. Even if you compare them to top-of the line machines like Dell’s Adamo XPS—Macs still have the upper hand. Look at the pictures on Apple’s site: it’s like gadget porn. No other company can say the same about their products.
• More user friendly: This is true, but it doesn’t matter much to me because I’m a power user. I know how to do all the complex stuff on a PC. Sure, it’ll make the transition smoother for me, but it’s not a big plus for a user like myself.
• More stable: This may or may not be true. In my limited usage of Macs (at work), they have issues just as much as PCs have issues. I’d have to actually own one and use it every day to know for sure, but I do get the sense that when a problem arises, it’s more easily solved on a Mac.
• Je ne sais quoi: Macs have that something. It’s special and it’s hard to quantify or even name, but they have it. JJ Abrams put it best in this TED talk when he says that sitting down at his Mac, he feels he has to write something worthy of the machine. You don’t hear anyone talking about their Dell Inspiron like that.

Why PCs are Better:

• Cheaper: This is the big one for me. Why pay more for something so hard to quantify? When you see the price tags side by side, it makes it really hard for someone like me to go above and beyond to get a “cooler” machine. I’d rather have the plain, black box with the faster processor. It’s what’s on the inside that counts…right?
• Familiarity: I know PCs very well. I can fix pretty much any issue that comes up without having to call tech support. I like being an advanced user.
• Compatibility: I’m told this isn’t a big deal because Macs can run Windows emulators, so you can run any program you can on a PC.
• Choice: There are thousands of options here, versus the limited amount available on the Mac side. But then again, don’t too many choices make us unhappy?

I’m curious to hear from people out there that have made the switch, have to interest in switching, have switched and then switched back (never met anyone that did this, by the way), etc.

It’s no secret: I’ve been obsessing over buying a new cell phone for months. I counted down the days until my two-year contract with T-Mobile was up so I could get the latest and greatest phone.

It did not go as I expected.

I found out I was on a weird plan that was cheaper but didn’t offer discounts on phone upgrades. Which meant I would have to pay retail.

Which sucks because retail smart phones cost over $500.

But I did have two things in my favor:

1. I wasn’t in a contract, which meant I was free to go anywhere I pleased and get a new phone on a discount elsewhere.
2. My existing phone, the G1, was the first Android phone ever and so was selling pretty well on sites like Craigslist and Ebay. Selling that phone would help to pay for the new one.

Keeping all that in mind, I went out there to find the coolest phone I could get without spending too much money. I wound up getting a really nice phone I’m really happy with, but it took a bit of work.

To Leave T-Mobile or Not Leave T-Mobile

This was the first decision I had to make. Should I abandon T-Mobile to take advantage of some of the crazy deals on phones out there and sign a two-year contract?

I am a happy customer of theirs. No issues with them, their service, or their coverage.

And you can’t beat their prices—T-Mobile has the cheapest plans I’ve seen.

So this was a pretty easy call—I would be staying with T-Mobile for the time being.

If the iPhone was on Verizon I may have considered it, but no way I was going to go to AT&T after all the horror stories and the Consumer Reports slam they took.

Picking a Phone: The Research

This is my specialty: I am obsessed with reading about phones, so I did my due diligence with a few phones: the Samsung Vibrant, the G2 (which is the sequel to my G1), and the Nexus S, which just came out two weeks ago.

All had great features and all would be a HUGE upgrade over my now ancient G1. I just had to decide if I wanted a keyboard on my phone or not.

Where I Looked

I tried to find good deals on phones that I needed to pay retail for but guess what — they don’t exist.

Carriers will give you sweet deals if you sign up for another two years, but if you’re just looking for a new phone without any contract hogwash, you’re not going to find a deal anywhere.

Except for the Internet: sites like EBay and Craigslist are a great place to find deals.

I used Craigslist and found a guys selling a Nexus One phone in pretty good condition (so he said).

The Nexus One, by the way, is a phone that is no longer made and came out back in January of 2010.

Why I Bought an Older, Used Phone

You’d think I would want to but the newest, fanciest phone out there, but when you’re cheap like me you don’t drop $530 for a phone, no matter what it can do.

The Nexus One is a great phone that gets updates from Google before anyone else because it’s a “developer phone.” I could go into all the specs and details of the phone but I’m guessing you’re not interested in that.

Suffice to say, the phone is a huge step up from my old one, it’s in practically brand-new shape, and it’s rare. That will make it easier to sell when I want to upgrade.

How Much I Paid

I bought my “new” phone for $365. The guy I bought it from had a protector on the screen and the body of the phone since the day he bought it.

So when I say it’s brand new, I’m saying this is the best a phone can look after being used since January of 2010.

Then I turned around and sold my G1 on Craigslist for $150. Not bad for a phone that’s over two years old. I helped things out some by hacking the phone and upgrading the phone to a more advanced version of the software.

Which made my phone somewhat unique from the other listings for that phone.

So the net cost for my new phone was $215.

It took a lot of research, I had to overcome buyer’s guilt, and I didn’t get the latest and greatest phone, but I’m really happy with my “new” Nexus One.

Image by Johan Larsson

A month ago I thought my contract with T-Mobile was up, so I called them up to see why I couldn’t upgrade to a new phone on their website.

I had been obsessing over buying a new phone and I was finally ready to pull the trigger.

Here’s what they said:

Sir, you aren’t on a contract. You haven’t been for months. You’re on a contract-free plan that doesn’t feature any handset upgrades. Good day.

In other words, no phone for you.

Seeing as how I had been counting down the days until my contract was finally over so I could get a new phone, I was surprised. And I was pissed off.

My Mysterious Cellphone Plan

Turns out I had changed my phone plan months ago without reading the fine print. Here’s what my plan consisted of:

• 500 minutes per month
• Unlimited data
• Unlimited Texts
• No contract
• No phone upgrades

The plan is called Even More Plus and T-Mobile recently (and quietly) took it off their website. Which leads me to believe it’s either a really good deal for customers or people just don’t know/care about it other than the morons who accidentally stumbled into it.

Why This is All Moderately Interesting

Here’s what makes this plan so unique: you pay less on a per-month basis and in exchange you give up those “generous” phone subsidies.

In other words, I have the same amount of minutes and texts and all that as the “regular plan,” but I pay $20 less per month. So basically T-Mobile is saying, “We will give you a monthly $20 discount on your bill if you pay for your own phone. Oh and we’ll also let you leave whenever you want—no contract.”

The downside is that, when I want to buy a new phone, I have to pay retail.

Which for a smartphone will run you over $500.

Which sucks.

Math Time

It’s simple math. Let’s look at what each plan costs over a two-year span (assuming you already have a phone):

My plan: $59 * 24 months = $1,416

Regular plan: $79 * 24 months = $1,896

Pretty simple, right? My plan kicks ass to the tune of $480.

But after two years the regular plan will get a subsidy when the person upgrades their phone. Instead of paying over $500 for a phone, they’ll pay around $199. The carrier is essentially “giving” you $330.

Back to the math:

My plan: $1,416 + new phone = ?

Regular plan: $1,896 – $350 (new phone) = $1,546

And this is assuming you upgrade after 24 months. For every month that I delay my upgrade, the gap between the two plans widens by $20. So if I go three years with the same phone, my plan just got $240 cheaper.

So Which is Better?

The math shows that my plan is better, but it doesn’t account for how much money I will have to spend if/when I decide to buy a new phone. And it also doesn’t factor in the monetary value of not being in a contract.

I can leave whenever I want (which I like), but then I’m leaving this plan because no one else has anything like it that I know of. And it’s the cheapest plan I’ve ever seen for a smartphone.

I’m curious to hear what other people out there think: is this a good deal?

Would you rather pay less on a per-month basis and in exchange give up your privilege to upgrade to a new phone every two years at a discounted rate?

Image by pittaya

We think we know what we want, but we don’t.

We think we want lower prices so we can spend less money and buy more things.

We think we want to read blogs that give us good advice on how to manage our money.

We think that controlling when and how we spend money will make us feel good.

But all we really want is a little magic.

Why Are Fountains Around the World Filled with Change?

Go anywhere in the world, even if it’s off the beaten path, and if you see a fountain you’ll also see a bunch of change thrown in there. One day I walked by a homeless person begging for change outside the Chicago Public Library and his cup was empty.

Then I walked into the library and saw a bunch of change in a water fountain.

It made me wonder if the homeless person was better off sitting next to a fountain somewhere to guilt people into giving him money.

The answer, of course, is magic. People don’t expect wishes to come true, but that doesn’t mean they don’t believe.

Apple and Disney: Magic Providers

Apple is a great example of a company that sells magic. Sure, they’re in the computer business, the music business, and the phone business—but people buy Apple products because they like a little razzle dazzle.

They like the magic so much they’re willing to pay a premium over other similar products and once they’re converted other companies don’t stand a chance.

Here is an early iPhone commercial that gets the point across with Apple’s patented simplicity:

Apple doesn’t always have the best hardware in their products, but that kind of rational argument doesn’t matter. Not when the company’s CEO goes on stage to present the latest product and does this:

Disney is the same way: it’s expensive to go to Disney but for young children it’s almost a pilgrimage to go and experience the magic of Mickey and friends.

People take their kids there for the magic.

What Am I Getting At?

I’m about to make another blanket statement: no matter what you do or what your job/hobby is, you should always try to sprinkle a little magic.

That’s why Wal-Mart changed it’s tag line to “Save Money, Live Better.” Their sorry little attempt at generating some magic.

If you’re a blogger, don’t tell people how they can generate more traffic. Tell them how their dreams can be fulfilled because of it.

If you’re an interior designer (like M), don’t tell your clients what matches or will look good in a room. Tell them how updating a room will change their lives.

It’s about thinking big, thinking abstract, and not totally bullshitting the people you’re dealing with.

It’s about giving them what they want: a little magic in their otherwise predictable lives.

Image by kennymatic