Preamble - After a brief discussion with @BenjaminTseng and @EricSuh over a blog post discussing development on iOS vs Android, it rings clear that both development platforms have their subjective downfalls. The purpose of the discussion was really about whether or not Android Market will be overtaking the iOS App Store based on the arguments made. In the end, I don't think so. I'm neither an iOS nor Android developer, so take this with a grain of salt, but the general consensus I'm hearing is that the average Android user is less likely to purchase an app than an iOS user.

Having said that, I thought about my own usage of the iOS App Store. Within the account area you can find all your past invoices and purchase history, so I decided to tally it up. My grand purchase total came out to $796.77 since July 10th, 2008. On average that's approximately $27 per month, or a little under a dollar a day. Not too bad if I say so myself. Also take into account that these include apps for both my iPhone(s) and my iPad--some of which also run on both devices. Honestly, I've never really considered how much money I've spent on apps but it really doesn't come as too much of a shock. I admit that many of my purchases were incredibly impulsive and quite frankly stupid, but that goes to show how easy Apple has made the buying process. In the meantime I'd like to think that I've learned my lesson from my brief stint of tigger-happy app buying.

~~~ The following is said in jest with a touch of sincerity, but all with 100-percent truth ~~~

So many apps have graced the screens of my iOS devices and helped me along with my daily life. I'd like to give a special shout out to 10 apps that will always hold a special place in my heart:

1. AAA Roadside - For helping me find roadside assistance when I locked myself out of the car without my insurance papers.
2. Bank of America - Mobile Banking - For letting me pay off my credit card while in line at the register saving me from "CARD DECLINED" humiliation.
3. Ebay Mobile - For reminding me when I was about to lose an auction in the middle of watching a movie at the theater.
4. Amazon Mobile - For helping me shop wisely everywhere I go.
5. Skype - For helping me make it to my weekly conference calls with the Xhibitr team when I was out and about with my SoCal friends.
6. Reeder - For helping me keep my cool while waiting so agonizingly painfully at the DMV.
7. Plants vs. Zombies - For entertaining me so many nights while sitting on the throne.
8. Angry Birds - Fore continuing to entertain me on the throne after completing Plants vs. Zombies (both the main game and the mini games)
9. Hulu Plus - For keeping me entertained on the elliptical and motivated to keep going until the episode is over.
10. Keynote Remote - For helping me deliver my first pitch deck, which eventually landed me my current job.

It's been a quick 30 months since that fateful opening day of the app store.

I'd like to end this post with the initial purchases that started it all for me. Stayin up late that July morning, I updated iTunes, busted out my iPhone and spent my first Hamilton:

Just iOS App Store & Me.

I feel old.

When I was in high school, cell phones lasted for weeks on standby and the only real games we played were on our TI-89 calculators. Things have certainly changed a lot since then.

I decided to put together a list of all the cell phones I've used in the past 10 years, starting with my very first:

Qualcomm QCP-860

I got this phone primarily to use only for notifying my mom when I was to be picked up from school. Back then, not many kids had cell phones yet, so it was still cool to have one regardless.

Nokia 8290

By mid-2000, EVERYONE had this phone (or one of the other 8210-series variants). It lasted for days, danced in circles on the table when stood up and set to "Mariachi", and was iconic for keeping people entertained on the potty with Nokia's infamous "Snake" game.

Sony Ericsson t68i

Though the resolution on this thing was only 101x80 with a max of 256 colors, it was COLOR!! There was a flashing blue light to indicate when your bluetooth mode was on, and it was just really ergonomically friendly. The worst part about this thing was all the pocket lint that would get trapped in the joystick area.

Sony Ericsson t616

The t616 and t610 is, in my humble opinion, one of the sleekest designed feature phones (along with the Motorola RAZR). The clean, rounded lines and balance of glossy black plastic with brushed aluminum is just beautiful. It was a dramatic upgrade over my previous t68i with the 288x352 pixel camera alone. In fact, I coaxed my mom into getting the phone for me by telling her how I'd be able to SMS her pictures of groceries from the store. Additionally polyphonic ringtones! I could Google up the latest and greatest MIDI's and bluetooth file transfer them over with my 12" Powerbook G4. Amazing!!

Motorola e389

First, yes, this is the one that Motorola rebranded as the first "iTunes phone" aka the "Motorola ROKR E1" in 2005. Aside from that fact, this was actually a great phone. It modded really nicely with the help from the members on howardforums.com. It had cool color changing LEDs on the side that would flash when receiving calls, and a nice rubberized feel for a manly grip. But most of all, there was an amazing loudspeaker which exuded as much bass as you could get from a cell phone. And this was ideal because this phone jumped the gun of polymorphic and went straight to MP3 ringtones. With my trusty USB cable, I loaded on all the freshest K-POP music.

Sony Ericsson k750i

While I liked the capability of modding my e389, it lacked the same kind of elegant finesse that my t616 had. To be quite frank, it was very much like how Android and iOS is now. So I secretly pined to get my paws back on a Sony Ericsson. The k700 was great phone, but honestly it looked like shit with the bulky profile and huge buttons. Seriously, look at it. I waited and waited, and finally its successor was unveiled--the k750i. Back in black and updated with a very minimalist design, the k750i rocked. The most notable feature was the 2.0 megapixel Carl Zeiss camera, which was activated by sliding a protective cover and pushing the shutter button located on the side of the phone. Built-in flash too. A real camera.

Sony Ericsson k800i

The k800i was a nice evolutionary step for the k750i. While the phone itself was updated with a cleaner design, the lens cover in the back grew more cumbersome and in-the-way. Nonetheless, this was James Bond's phone in Casino Royale (which was in silver). The 3.2 megapixels of course meant better pictures and more leniency toward shaky-hand-syndrome. It was fun.

Apple iPhone (2g)

3AM. June 29th, 2007. South Coast Mall. What is there to say? Steve tells it best.

Apple iPhone 3G

One year later. July 11, 2008. Same mall, same line. But now we have APPS!!

Apple iPhone 4

I skipped getting the 3GS because of my AT&T contract. You know how it is. But the iPhone 4 was worth the wait. Retina display, 5.0 megapixel camera, new beautiful design. Multitasking, FaceTime, Game Center. It's wonderful.

Did you notice that every phone I've ever owned has been a candybar form factor? I hated clamshells, which is why I skipped the RAZR fad.

One phone I missed out on was the Nokia 7610. I must have almost purchased it a dozen times, but the $500 price tag was too hefty for my 2004 jobless ass.

Anyway...

That's it. 10 phones in 10 years. It's no wonder that Apple has been developing a new phone every year. I can't wait for the next one.