Today just about everyone has a cell phone, but not everybody has the same one. As technology advances and phones get more complex, the phone you pick has more and more to do with the type of person you are and how you intend to use the device. There are hundreds of different cell phones to choose from; there are so many options and features now that it is only a matter of time before we’ll depend on them to feed us and raise our children. We sought out to find the pros and cons of the most popular phones on campus, and here’s what we came up with:

The Blackberry Curve. Photo by morrissey on Flickr.

Blackberry: Affectionately known as the “Crackberry,” this phone is one of the most popular on campus. If you own a Blackberry you are probably social, easily distracted during class, and experience frequent technology withdrawals. Hitting the Crackberry is not illegal, but it may cause the abuser social and physical damage. Symptoms include the compulsion to insert “lol” and “brb” into normal conversation and the permanent 45 degree head-tilt that comes from incessantly looking down at one’s phone. Whether you own the Curve, the Storm, or the Tour, you love your phone and the fact that it brought Brickbreaker into your life.
Features of the Blackberry Curve: GPS, elitist Blackberry-only instant messaging (BBM), email, organizer, camera, media player, browser.
Testimonial: “What’s nice are the BBMs. I really need a downgrade, though. It’s too technologically advanced for me,” Mark Bernstein, Weinberg sophomore said.

The iPhone. Photo by William Hook on Flickr.

iPhone: The iPhone is probably the second most popular cell phone on campus; it’s essentially an alternative to jumping on the Blackberrry bandwagon. If you have an iPhone, you probably have bad service. You’ll have to summit the Norris hill (but don’t go inside!) every time you want to make a call and wave your phone around manically looking for a signal. Service problems aside, you like to be ahead of the curve when it comes to technology, you dominate touchscreens, and you have a lot of money to spend on the monthly rate (or at least your daddy does). You like as many options as possible, and you often find yourself wishing there was “an app for that.”
Features (iPhone 3GS): iPod, Safari browser, email, video, photos, voice control, messages, maps and compass, applications.
Testimonial: “I love my iPhone. I think it is better than a Blackberry because you can see entire webpages easily, zoom in and out, and the touch screen is fabulous. There are also exciting apps like Zooborns and Style.com!” said Jane Weiss, a Weinberg sophomore.

The LG enV. Photo by LGEPR on Flickr.

LG enV2: You like all the features of a Blackberry, but you’re not enough of a phone addict to have made the plunge. You like to have the latest technology, but aren’t prepared for the intensity or price of an iPhone. The enV is a small step away from iPhone or “Crackberry” addiction, but you are not quite a junkie — at least not yet. The enV is a second rate version of more those two more advanced phones. It’s like that third Jonas Brother. It’s still a JoBro, but a less desirable version.
Features (LG enV VX9900): Bluetooth® capable, 2.0 megapixel camera & camcorder, V CAST music and videos, navigator, email, instant messaging.
Testimonial: “I actually love it because [...] it takes really nice pictures and it has GPS. I think that it’s a good size. I just like that it has a full keypad and it sorts texts nicely,” said Laura Ruch, a Weinberg sophomore.

The Motorola RAZR. Photo by OptoScalpel on Flickr.

Motorola RAZR: Clearly you are a minimalist. Your phone is pretty much the same shape and size of all those pretend cell phones you could make out of Capri Sun pouches way back when (minus the straw antenna, of course). You like things to be sleek and modern, and you are more concerned with aesthetics than with function. You like classic things and primarily use your phone to do what phones do best: make calls. You also probably miss your Capri Sun phone.
Features (RAZR VX3): 2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth capability.
Testimonial: “All I really need in a phone is something that sends/receives calls and texts. Taking photos and video is an added bonus. I’d rather have other devices devoted specifically to Internet access, MP3 playback, etc. than a jack-of-all-trades,” said Daniel Stevens, a Weinberg sophomore.

The Palm Pre. Photo by gillyberlin on Flickr.

Palm Pre: You are organized, responsible, and independent. You are an overachiever, always on time, and generally just make the rest of us look bad. You are a coffee-drinking, schedule-having, briefcase-toting professional person (possibly majoring in econ). You are also one of the few people not creeped out by the Palm commercials.
Features: Layered calendars and linked contacts, activity cards, combined messaging, universal search, email, GPS, photos, music, videos, applications.
Testimonial: “Before I got this phone, I carried around my old cell phone, my iPod, and an old Palm PDA I had called a Palm TX,” Bienen sophomore John Gline said. “Now I only carry around my Pre. I like it because it’s able to combine my past three favorite gadgets into one. One of the reasons I like this phone over others is that it has the ability to multitask: while I’m writing an email with my phone, I can also be playing music over Pandora, be surfing multiple pages on the internet, and be reading comic books with a pdf reader that comes with the phone.”

The Motorola Brick. Photo by sbra9635.

Nokia 3310: You like things just as they were back in middle school, when playing Snake II on your cell was, like, so cool.
Features: Calculator, interchangeable covers, 35 built-in ringtones that are essentially beeping high-pitched versions of classical songs.

Motorola Brick: You like to roll old-school. You’ve got pretty spectacular biceps; your cell phone is pretty much a free weight.
Features: Virtually impossible to lose, excellent source of radiation.

Whatever phone you have for whatever reasons, you always have it with you. We use our cell phones everyday for entertainment as well as communication. Since cell phones have started to become more about texts and games than actually calling people, our phones have begun to speak more about our interests and our personalities (that is, if we still have personalities left after spending hours on end with nothing but our cell phones).