When I last upgraded my phone, I made it a point to purchase one that would be hands free bluetooth ready. Excited about all that I had heard about the device, I hoped the it would be the perfect addition to my girl on the go lifestyle.

Boy was I wrong.

Hands free bluetooth? They should call it hear free bluetooth. I live in Ohio where the winters require your eyes to be on the road and the other drivers. You can’t exactly be playing with your phone when you’re trying to conduct business (personal or otherwise) so you buy devises like these to avoid having to pull over. My hands free bluetooth caused more problems than it solved. My friends constantly said that they didn’t hear me talking clearly enough, leading to me constantly having to repeat myself at a higher volume and sometimes at a slower rate. To hang up or transfer my calls, my hands were needed. I though this was supposed to be a “hands free” deal. While trying not to kill or maim myself or other Ohio motorists, I would have to use at least one of my hands to push on the thin tab that was supposed to navigate this features.When I wasn’t yelling to be heard or fumbling to use the teeny buttons, I had to adjust the device on my ear several times to avoid the uncomfortable pain the would result from having it on too long. Again that was distracting from driving.

Now I know that my experience may have been different if I’d purchased a hands free device that worked thru the radio as opposed to the bluetooth, but once again I was sucked into the buying the bluetooth by listening to other Gen Y-ers who sprouted the propaganda the company fed them. Personally this was my one and only hands free Bluetooth. I’ll stick my mobile on its own.

The iPhone seems to be the sexy choice for the new touch screen smart phone market, but there are alternatives to the iPhone. AT&T along with Mac started this new trend by revolutionizing cell phones. Not to be outdone Verizon, Sprint and other major carries have come out with their own phones to act as alternatives to the iPhone. The Samsung Instinct on the Sprint network is the first one that comes to mind. This phone seems to be the closest to the iPhone as far as popularity goes. Features include voice activated navigation, easy web browsing and a plan that costs $100 for unlimited everything. That means unlimited talk, web, text–everything! That is a very popular feature that the iPhone does not offer.

Next you may think of the LG Dare, exclusive through the Verizon network. This phone is unique because it has a sensor in it that tells if you are holding it vertically or horizontally. A true standout feature with this phone is the 3.2 megapixel camera, which is amongst the best for camera phones.

BlackBerry is even on the verge of releasing the BlackBerry “Thunder” or it could be known as the Blackberry 9500 when it becomes available to the public. When this phone hits the market it will simply add to the amount of phones that could act as alternatives to the iPhone. The new BlackBerry will sport a hybrid CDMA/EV-DO. It may even come with a 4G LTE component. Verizon and Vondaphone stand to be the exclusive carriers of this impressive looking phone.

Rest assured that there will only be more and more alternatives showing up on the market. Cell phones have seen a new day and the iPhone had the largest contribution to this trend. Just like the Motorola StarTac was the first created the flip phone. A trend that saw a near end to standard phones that were, at the time, the only game in town. Boy how times have changed.