I’ve always wanted a portable PC, small enough to fit in my pocket, but powerful enough to do many of the same things my desktop can do.

I have a Commodore SX-64 in my closet, my luggable proof of a portable computing obsession. I jumped early on the wireless bandwagon too: A decade ago I was plugging my cel into my Cassiopeia just so I could sort-of web-browse and painfully send instant messages while on the move. I haven’t owned a recent laptop though, because somewhere along the line I just had to wait until portable computing seriously arrived into my pocket.

Some of my friends were almost shocked that I didn’t buy an iPhone right away, but then others would have been even more shocked if I had (conflicting interests: I don’t have much love for Apple). I did compromise with an iPod Touch (for the sake of web-development, that’s my excuse *grin*). The iPhone is indeed a great device, but it’s not IMHO a “personal computer”.

For a lot of people, the phone is the priority. It makes sense to get a Blackberry if you want to send email, text messages and connect to the office. If you want to web-browse and poke around with some apps, the iPhone really rules. I wanted something a little more complex and I love to tinker, so Android makes the most sense for me.

Nelg scooped up a Nexus One from Google soon after they became available in Canada. After seeing the new toy hands on, I was unabashedly jealous. I felt lame with just my iPod Touch. Oh sure, the Touch is a close relative to an iPhone, but with the absence of making calls, GPS and full mobility– all of the features that really bring a good smartphone together.

I’m on a pretty tight budget right now. I couldn’t quite justify the $530 Nexus One purchase (Oh I tried to justify it, you bet). I couldn’t completely hold out either, so I scooped up a shiny new Samsung Galaxy Spica for about half the price:

I’m pretty happy with it so far. I’ll post more about this specific phone soon. =)