So it finally happened. I caved. After holding out a solid 17 months in the startup community, I finally got a smart phone.  It was kind of amusing to see how shocked some people were and frankly, I can see why you might not expect it after I previously debated this and chose iPad + dumb phone.

So here’s what tipped the scales as key things I wanted:

 

1) Ability to save notes and contacts anytime

I have a horrendous memory and I feel like a total douche when I can’t remember people’s names. So one of the first things I intend to do is  start writing down everyone I meet in my phone each night. I can then also add notes for action items so I don’t have to just say “email me.”

2) Try other Startupers stuff

I have a lot of friends with smart phone apps, and I feel bad I can’t try them.

3) I’m tired of printing out google maps and calling friends when lost

I got lost last week trying to walk to Kabir’s house. I called him and he asked me, “what do you think I am? Google maps?”  He then told me how to get to his place, but there’s a lot of times I mooch off friends to get to the right place because of this.

4) The adoption curve is pushing me to the minority

When I saw where the adoption curve was going with smartphones (projected to surpass 50% in 2011), I realized I can’t be in the techscene and thinking about startups and not have one.

5) 40404 Tweeting gets old. Fast.

I tweeted a lot with 40404, but I can only do one account with my phone number that way which meant it was all Greenhorn.  Also, 3 letters to a key makes even a tweet a lengthy ordeal. Finally, working at a startup focused on twitter and thinking about the huge presence Twitter has in my life, being able to Tweet, is actually pretty important to me.

6) SXSW is coming…fast!

In the interest of not being the next RazrDude (ask Chris Keller about it…) and actually being able to reach people when I need to…this was the real impetus. I’m going down on behalf of oneforty and need to be able to meet up with Janet and Laura, and we’ll be most effective if we’re all free roaming, I think. I’ve also heard foursquare is hugely important and obviously a smartphone comes into play there.  I concluded I couldn’t be maximally effective there without a smart phone.

So there you have it…that’s why I have a Smart phone…finally!