I’m really interested in hearing from our readers on this one because I’ve had a very unique experience in the past two months.  It’s certainly one I did not anticipate.



I’ve had earlier versions of less functional smart phones before – a Palm Treo and then a Blackberry.  But neither did a very good job of surfing the web and certainly didn’t come with the functional apps that are available to today’s generation of smart phones and users.



In October I purchased a Samsung Fascinate smart phone.  With it I have access to an unlimited number of free and low cost useful (and fun) apps, multiple email accounts, an MS Office-type app for writing, HD video, a high quality camera and yes, I can even still make phone calls.  Since I work primarily from home as a project manager, IT consultant, and business technology author, I just wasn’t seeing the need to upgrade to a smart phone.  I was soooo wrong.  I’ve even gone as far as writing a full professional article on my Fascinate, sending it to my editor, seeing it published, and receiving notification of payment for the article – all on my smart phone.



Perhaps the most interesting thing is that since getting the Fascinate in October I’ve not even picked up the iPad that my wife and I share.  It still gets daily use from my wife, but the only time I’ve turned it on was to see if I should charge it for my wife.  My phone can do what I need it to do – no need for the iPad for me.  When I’m traveling for business and I’m not interested in pulling out something bigger like my Macbook or netbook, then I use my smart phone.  These are the times that I anticipated using the iPad – but the need or desire has not been there.



Give me feedback



I’m very interested in hearing feedback from our readers on this topic.  Have any of you experienced anything similar that has affected your usage of your iPad, if you have one?  Has a recent technology purchase caused your iPad usage to decrease significantly or go away completely?  The iPad was a much anticipated addition to the technology landscape and I saw many in use at coffee shops and airports the first few weeks they were available to the general public.  But I’m not seeing that same level of usage in recent weeks.  Was it a fad?  Is access to other technology making us not use the iPad as much?  Are we just not taking it out in public and showing it off like we did when we first got it (ego trip…ok to admit it if this is the reason)?