My smartphone choice? Chicken

How’s the alligator? Tastes like chicken.
How’s the pigeon? Tastes like chicken.
How about kangaroo…or bullfrog…or snapping turtle?
Chicken. Chicken. Chicken.

Apparently, chicken is the gold standard in dinner entrees. It is the universal meal that appeals to virtually all meat-eaters. Chicken is a perennial favorite, a reliable choice, and a known quantity that rarely fails to deliver the expected experience. 
 
So when I finally, and sadly, decided to ditch my BlackBerry for an app-smart smartphone, I chose chicken, er, I mean, the gold standard. In the smartphone world, the iPhone is chicken. It, too, is a perennial favorite, a reliable choice, and a known quantity that rarely fails to deliver the expected experience.

I have resisted the iPhone until now because I was wedded to the physical keyboard experience of my BlackBerry. I am a big email user, and BlackBerry delivered. Also, I just wasn’t into apps.

But in today’s app-happy world, I was finding myself left behind. I couldn’t send pictures of checks for mobile deposits. I couldn’t easily contact my service provider about Internet outages. I couldn't Uber or Passport or Map My Run. Not to mention missing out on the millions of other apps offering convenient ways to connect with business, travel, or entertainment venues.

So I got over my physical keyboard attachment, just as in previous years I got over my IBM Selectric and other stone-age typing aids. And I dipped my toe into the worldwide shopping mart of smartphones, trying to gauge the merits of Apple vs. Android.

After comparing features and options of all the top-rated models, I was no clearer about choice than when I started. I suffered from paralysis by analysis. So I took the easy route. I chose chicken: the iPhone.

And you know what? I am perfectly satisfied. Some might say I missed out on the filet mignon or Kobe beef of smartphones; and some might say iPhones deserve those descriptors, too.

All I wanted was a solid, easy choice I wouldn’t regret. And that’s exactly what I got: my iPhone chicken. Anything more? Just desserts.

Can't touch this

Touch-screen smartphones have been around quite awhile. I came to the party a little late, holding fast to my old BlackBerry.

There's just something in my writer's soul that loves the feel of a physical keyboard. Never mind that all my attempts at typing on a borrowed iPhone read like this: "Wyat ari wy d-iwng tomighw?"

Now I have the best of both worlds, with the BlackBerry Q10.

I have the keyboard I want, so typing is a breeze, and I'm getting used to all the swiping and tapping the touchscreen requires.

I swipe up and down, left and right, and eventually I get to the screen I want. It's all trial and error for me, but it's so much fun I don't even try very hard to remember the right commands.

There are a few touchy things that drive me crazy, like the fingerprint residue from so much touching and tapping and swiping. Trying to clean the screen is futile, as I just end up opening more apps in the process.

You've also got to have absolutely dry fingers to swipe effectively. Not always so easy in this brutally hot and muggy summer.

And the speed with which the screen reacts is so much faster than I anticipate that I've deleted a few things -- and sent off many misspelled emails -- before realizing what I was doing.

Still and all, I'm loving this smartphone, which is much smarter than I'll ever be. And even though it's a touchscreen, you can't touch it for a great user experience.