The Next Step

The recent release of the iPhone 3G, combined with my now having a job and regular income, is making it increasingly difficult to accept the shortcomings of my lowly Samsung T209. I find myself noticing situations in everyday life when I really wish I was connected to the Internet. The iPhone would be a big jump for me for a number of reasons, not the least of which is an incompatibility with my pocket organization system. Let me explain: I have three items that I carry with me just about everywhere I go:

• Wallet
• Keys
• Phone

These things cover the basics, and this system has been running without major errors for about, say, 6 years. Not too bad. I keep my wallet in my right pocket, and keys and phone in the left. I find that this keeps me reasonably balanced, and keeps either pocket from being too full. The three things I need to access most often are within easy reach. As things stand now, I have a flip phone, which works very nicely in my pocket system due to its small physical size and built-in screen protection. Not that I would really care what happened to such a screen anyway: so long as I can read phone numbers and names off of it, all is well.

The iPhone, alas, is not a flip phone. Not only that, but it boasts a gloriously unprotected 3.5 inch screen. Such a screen could not peacefully coexist in a pocket with my surely-jealous keys. And so we see the breakdown of the two-pocket system: is there any way to rearrange things to accommodate an iPhone?

As you can clearly see, the only way to bring an iPhone into my life is to disrupt this delicate system somehow. So what can be done? First and simplest, is there any way to live without one of these items? Can I live without keys? Much as it should be possible to live a keyless existence in the year 2008, there are certain factors that are simply beyond my control and absolutely require traditional keys. They must stay. Can I live without a wallet? Absolutely not. I could probably slim it down to the absolute bare minimum, but even then the space savings would not be substantial enough to make room for an iPhone. So if these three things must remain, what are my options?

1. External phone clip – Functional and effective, but do I really want to walk around the city advertising the fact that I have an iPhone? And do I want to be that guy who wears a phone clip? No and no.
2. Only wear cargo pants – This wouldn’t be hard for me because I love cargo pants. There are two reasons why this wouldn’t work even for me though. First and foremost, there are some situations when you just can’t get away with cargos. Second, cargo pockets are located just a little bit too low to be truly useful. I wouldn’t want to store something in the full-time, since it would hit off the side of my leg frequently, impairing mobility and potentially causing injury.
3. Carabiner keychain – Effective at isolating the iPhone, and exceptionally good for balance. Wearing keys on my belt is more palatable than wearing a phone on my belt. Still, I prefer keeping my possessions where they are not advertised to the world. Also, keys dangling from a belt could potentially swing around, causing injury or imbalance.
4. Man purse – Having experimented with a man purse on a recent vacation, I was pleasantly surprised at its versatility. Not nearly as heavy and unwieldy as a backpack, but able to carry a good deal more than pockets alone. Unfortunately, it would mean having to dig around in a man purse every time I needed something out of it. It would also mean having to carry something around just about everywhere I go. It would also mean having to endure the ridicule that comes with using a man purse.

Not an easy problem, as you can see. Hopefully I can get these integration problems ironed out so that I’ll be able to introduce an iPhone into my life someday soon.