The Problem of the US Gadgethead

In case I haven't mentioned it before, I am a gadgethead. Unfortunately, I am a somewhat pathetic gadgethead, because I don't make enough money to truly indulge my passion.

Now, that should not be construed to suggest that I don’t have a fair number of gadgets. Let’s see…cellphone, PDA, UMPC, MP3 player (though I gave it to my son), DSLR camera, laptop, and desktop computer. Sure, I could have a few more, but it isn’t the number of gadgets that get you the label of gadgethead. No, it is the yearning in your heart that marks you as a gadgethead.

Can you identify all the following acronyms without looking them up?

PDA, UMPC, PMP, MID

If you answer yes, then you might be a gadgethead.

So, I have a new gadget that I lust after. If you are a follower of this blog, then you might have seen this post…I Think I'm in Love. Well, this post is a good example of the problem of the US gadgethead. Please note the date on that post, February 2009. It is now late December of that same year, and the Toshiba TG01 has not yet reached any US cellphone carrier.

It’s enough to make me cry.

Well, maybe not. See, I found a new love.



This is the HTC HD2. It has an even larger screen than the Toshiba, 4.3 inches. I still haven’t managed to replace my PDA and Cellphone with a smartphone, and if I had my wish, it would be this one.

Of course, that is if the darn thing ever reaches a US carrier. I would prefer that it be Verizon, since I am already with them, but I might consider switching for this phone, and a CDMA version isn’t out yet (bonus points for knowing what CDMA is).

I have waited nearly a year to see the Toshiba on these shores and now there is something new I would rather have. But, of course, I cannot afford to buy an unlocked one, so I have to wait to see who gets it and when.

And, it isn’t just cellphones, UMPCs, PMPs, and MIDs are also in the same boat. There are these incredible gadgets being built out there, in China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and elsewhere, but it takes forever for them to reach the US, and when they do there is usually something even better that has already been released elsewhere. You would think we were some backwater country, based on how devices get delivered across the world.

Makes me wonder if I wouldn’t be happier living in Europe.