Chris Thompson   Chris Thompson on the internet

Today, some of my friends were talking about a trip to America they’re planning, and it brought back memories of a recent trip to Chicago: the food, the sights, the sports.

That’s one of the things that’s so tempting about it — that it will be right in the middle of American football season, and not only would we get to watch an NFL game – and probably a very good game at that; we would get to choose the area we go to, after all – but we would get to see a college game as well.

I’ve not seen a college game before, not in the flesh, and the atmosphere and the spirit of them is fantastic from what I can see.

The trouble is, it is difficult to afford it. Especially after paying out so much for my sub-editing course over recent weeks. So I’ve been looking at independent financial advisers to help me put together a plan to combat my penniless state.

It will have to be a big move to afford it, either way. I’ve got my trusty current account and that’s it – I’ve never had to get a loan before, discounting my student one back in the day. And I don’t like the idea of increasing my debt.

I’ve been looking at a number of banking websites and browsing as much financial news as I can, to keep my eye on trends and deals that might help out, but ultimately I think it’ll have to be a loan and the debt that entails – or no trip.

Decisions, decisions…

Today should be known as iPhone day. It’s certainly a mammoth occasion, judging by all the queues I’ve seen lining the town.

The phone was released in a plethora of countries today, and there has been the inevitable buzz of interest and frenzied excitement from fans and eager buyers keen to get their hands on the product.

Yet, take a step back for a moment. What is it, really, that’s so different about it?

Yes, it may look nice, but when it comes down to using it, is there much that sets it apart from competitors – or old iPhone models, for that matter?

There is much that’s wonderful about these smartphones. But when it comes to actually calling, actually using the telephone part of the phone, they aren’t anything special. And you can’t really go wrong to buy digital dect cordless phones instead – if you want to make a phone call that doesn’t disconnect if you hold it in the wrong way, or if you want a good, crisp connection on your call.

Indeed, while there is an array of apps at your disposal with a smartphone that make them handy for work – they still pale in comparison to a computer. Which you tend to have at work more often than not. They are not really phone systems for business, when you think about it – more phones for play. Phones for enjoyment.

And there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s just that there is a large range of telephones out there that actually telephone better than smartphones, but they suffer from not getting anything near as good publicity.

Unless you’re BT, of course. These BT phones grace our television every day. But I’m with BT, and, well, that’s probably a blog for another day.