A Season for Giving

I am right now sitting with my backup Treo 750 once again and without the presence of my grey Nokia E71, and this is for good reason. I felt the impulse to give freely and within a matter of moments answered to it willingly.

A very close family member happened to be getting by with a Treo 750 of his own, but never really got the hang of it in his daily usage. He isn't the kind of smartphone user who takes the initiative to find a device's full potential, but instead he relies only on the PDA aspect and QWERTY keypad. Once I found out that he had been using the Treo, I knew immediately that he was in over his head with such a complicated gadget. After over a year of treating the phone like it was a flip model, all access to the touchscreen interface had been lost permanently and no kind of resetting could help. After being unsuccessful in my attempt to provide assistance, it appeared that getting a replacement Treo via the warranty was the only solution. This didn't make sense to me when it was quite obvious that a better handset with a non-touchscreen interface was the best way to solve this problem. For a few months I have been singing the praises of the Nokia E71, and nothing makes me feel better than to talk about the benefits of worthwhile tech toys. However, what made this situation strange was my sudden desire to be giving in the most meaningful way.

I had remembered that my E71 had been gazed upon by friends and family in comparison to their network locked BlackBerries and Treos, so I then offered it. Taken aback by my decision, this family member had of course accepted the E71 with much gratitude. I figured that if anyone could really benefit from the stability of the Symbian OS, it would be him. This was partly inspired by teachings that had been bestowed upon me by my mother in my early years that were primarily based in the Christian faith. Although I am not a church-going citizen and don't necessarily claim to be Christian, I do have beliefs that are rooted in this background. I guess I simply wanted to atone for past sins of wreckless indulgence via careless spending in addition to being a helping hand to someone in need. While this giving moment may not be the same as feeding the homeless, I believe that it at least puts me in the right direction of living selflessly in this one lifetime that I have.

Left without my E71 right now, I am using my Treo 750 full time. As much as I honestly go through withdrawal for the Nokia, I am happy to hear that it is being enjoyed thoroughly by someone who was in need of it. Deep in my heart I suddenly felt a yearning to free myself of my materialistic nature and do what was ultimately right in regards to being a blessing to someone else. It certainly makes me feel good inside to share the pros of the Symbian OS with someone else who will eventually become another Nokia fan! The Treo is actually not that bad in regards to providing the absolute BARE minimum for smartphone tasks like email and texting, so all is not lost. The extra luxuries of a camera, wifi, good speaker quality, slim dimensions and multimedia playback are not necessary for me on a daily even though they are definitely nice to have. I am glad that those amenities can be discovered by someone else for a change. Who knows, my friend may never unlock the potential of the E71 to the extent that I have, but what counts is that there is a reliable user experience for him. I believe the E71 is more than capable of granting him that and much more.

Despite my missing my Nokia E71, the E90 from WomWorld will be here at any moment for a 2 week trial and I am very excited. However, at the end of the 2 weeks when I must return the E90 I will have to return to the Treo 750 full time. Only time will tell if can hold on to the Treo 750 until the release of the N97 or whatever else Nokia may have in store for future models.

I guess this year's Christmas really was a season for giving. On that note, I would like to wish everyone out there a happy and fulfilled holiday time with friends and family, and may all of you be blessed as well when you least expect it.

TRENT
Sent from my Treo 750