BlackBerries, iPhones and other smart phones are to today’s 20-somethings as crack was to the 20-somethings in the 70s. Most owners of a smart phone agree that it’s never too far out of reach.
Not like the drug, like the phone. Some are finding themselves addicted to the super-phones while others haven’t taken a hit just yet.
Even though it is constantly in her hand, Lacey Sanford, a violin performance junior, said she is not addicted to her BlackBerry.
However, she said she would not trade it for any other phone.
“I’m on my third BlackBerry, and I would never go back to a regular cell phone,” she said.
Kyle Hakel, a sales representative at Cingular Wireless on Main Street, said the media features of both BlackBerries and iPhones are what make them appealing for college students.
“You have access anywhere you go to the Internet and easy access to your e-mailing,” he said.
“E-mailing is the key factor.”
Sanford said this is what she likes most about her BlackBerry.
“I like that I get e-mails directly so if a class is canceled, I know immediately,” she said.
Hakel said the store he works at sales roughly 30 to 35 BlackBerries a month and out of those, about 25 are sold to college students.
With a contract, the phones cost about $100 with a rebate.
The price is what has kept Corwin Maxson, a computer science graduate student, from buying a BlackBerry.
“I can’t afford one, but if I could, I’d have one,” he said.
Still, even at $100 a piece, the features of the phone are why students are willing to pay the extra cash for a BlackBerry or iPhone, Hakel said.
The phones also have built-in two-megapixel digital cameras and MP3 players.
Hakel said many students are buying bigger memory cards to download songs and then listen to them in class.
Marty Heitz, an assistant professor of philosophy, said the use of cell phones to listen to music in class is becoming a problem.
“I have noticed a rise in cell phone use in class,” he said. “It can be quite distracting and seems mostly to be texting, but also listening to music and no doubt surfing the Net.
“The phone is never far from hand.”
Despite this, Hakel said the phones are a big seller.
Workers try to push students to buy one when it is time for a new phone, he said. Thety tell students they might as well get one because if they don’t get one now, they’ll be back soon.
“Somebody will come in and get a regular phone and then six months later they will come back and want a BlackBerry because all their friends have one,” he said.
Hakel said the phones are also great because they have a calendar and students can use them to organize.
Even with these features, Megan Durham, a creative writing senior, said she still isn’t sold on them.
“I think at this point it’s not worth the money to buy one because all the things you can do on a BlackBerry you can do without one,” she said.
Sanford feels differently, though.
“It’s incredibly convenient because I can look everything up in a split second,” she said. “I would definitely recommend them to other students.”
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