Editorial: Why must I pick a side (Note: Contains Strong Language)

Even before I founded TechHog.com and WP-Life.com, I would be asked by family, friends or friends of friends at parties and events, what phone, or in this case, operating system, do I like the most. Every single time, I roll my eyes and think to myself, geez, this is how a pro basketball player must feel like when somebody asks, “How tall are you?” I mean, does it really matter? If so, why? Why does it matter which OS I like the most? Or better yet, why should I even “have” to like one the most? I’m not exactly sure where this ideology comes from, that we all must pick one OS to love, while loathing the rest of the competition. I mean, if I own a Subaru WRX, I don’t hate a Ferrari for being faster or having a more stylish exterior, hell, I embrace it as something I would also love to own. So why not share the same feelings when it comes to gadgets and technology?

Recently, I was at a Samsung event in New York, among other press and journalists, and in my pocket I carried an iPhone 4S and an HTC One X (my “Samsung” Focus S was tucked in my bag). I wanted to capture a few quick images of the event and at the time, Samsung hadn’t handed us a Galaxy S III to use, so I pulled out my iPhone. Immediately, another member of the press says “An iPhone, here?” Like it was a freaking crime against humanity that I may carry an iPhone. Yeah, I get it, it was an iPhone at a Samsung event, but even still, would it have been better had I used the HTC One X? They’re Samsung’s number one competitor in the Android market space, so to me, no, it wouldn’t have. I looked at the guy, gave him a fake and unenthusiastic, “Yeeeaah, I know, right?” and brushed him off. I could tell he was an “Android Guy,” plain and simple and that’s fine, that’s his choice, but why should I feel ashamed or get battered because I enjoy a different platform?

I’ve never been one that clings to one product or brand so blindly that I see fire when someone brings up a competitor. Since I was a little kid, I loved technology, my first experience came when my parents bought a Commadore 64, we then followed that with an Intellivision and an Atari 2600 and even back then, I loved both consoles, they each had games that I found entertaining and loved to play (Astrosmash and River Raid, respectively). I would never say I loved one more than the other, I just loved having both of them. As I grew up, the trend continued, I would buy a Nintendo and a Sega Master System, followed by a Genesis and Super Nintendo and so on.

As I aged and matured, my interests turned to cellphones, more specifically, smartphones. Prior to the iPhone’s release in 2007, I owned a Motorola Q, it was a decent device and worked well enough until the day the folks in Cupertino dropped the iPhone. I will say that it was the first smartphone that I fell in love with and that’s mainly due to the fact that it allowed me to interact with it, in a way no previous phone had. At the time, the display was huge, fully touch capable and bright. A year later, I upgraded to the iPhone 3G, well, in actuality, my father did, but the AT&T service sucked so bad near him that he dropped AT&T and sent me his phone, so it didn’t cost me a dime.

In October of 2008, I saw the first Google Android device, the T-Mobile G1 and I was intrigued, not enough to leave AT&T for T-Mobile, as I had already owned a Sidekick on their shitty network and wasn’t going to go back anytime soon. But I was intrigued by the Google Android OS and so I patiently waited for a more appealing device (design wise). When Google announced the Nexus One in January of 2010, nearly two years later, I knew that day had come. I wanted the Nexus One so bad, but again I refused to go to T-Mobile (I have my reasons), but thankfully, two months later, on March 16th, Google announced that an AT&T version of the Nexus One would ship, I was sold. Once I got my Nexus One, it was the first time I’d start using two cellphones, a trend that hasn’t stopped, in fact, it’s only grown.

I tell you all this because every since the rivalry started between Google and Apple, I’ve continued to use both devices. I’ve also grown to love Windows Phone as well, as I carry a Samsung Focus S too. I love it all, because each OS and each product can offer something to the end user that another device can’t. Assuming you have the disposable cash, why limit yourself?

Some fans, be them Apple-diehards or Fan-droids, can’t tolerate the other company’s business practices or how a “certain” CEO maintains his company. People need to chill out and bring it down a notch. You’re a consumer, not a member of their board, you’re meant to enjoy their products, not detest their leadership and business ethics because it affects a competitor who makes a product you own. Stop worrying about companies and their legal battles and simply enjoy their products. Would you refuse to buy a Toyota Hybrid, because Toyota sued Hyundai for ripping off one of their designs or their hybrid battery technology? Most likely no, if you like the car, you’d simply buy it and  enjoy it.

Leave the legal shit to the corporations.

Stop caring about Apple, Microsoft and Google like they are your best friend, to them, you’re nothing more than a consumer who spends money and helps them attain their quarterly goals, so treat them exactly as they are, as a company who makes a product. If you like it buy it, don’t worry that it’s the competitor to the other products you own, or that your friends will give you shit because you bought an Apple iPhone and they have Android phones. If you like the new upcoming Google Nexus Tablet because of the design, price or software, but own an iPhone, don’t sweat it…it’s only an object and despite what the media tells you, you don’t have to commit for life.

So to answer the question that everyone seems to pose to me, “what OS do I like the most?” I say all of them, with the exception of BlackBerry, which doesn’t really offer an experience I can’t already get with the other three, and with my wallet taking up one spot, I only have three pockets available. I may poke fun at Google from time to time, like their fragmentation issue, I also jab “unbeatable” Apple over their failures, Ping and MobileMe anyone? The point is, I enjoy technology and refuse to limit my interaction with devices because we’ve been forced to believe that Android, Microsoft and Apple products don’t mix. That’s bullshit, I live with an iPhone, iPad, Galaxy S III, Galaxy Tab 10.1, Windows Phone device and MacBook Pro and believe it or not, it all works, sometimes differently, but it all works, and that’s why I like them all.