About Elyse Betters Picaro
Elyse Betters Picaro is the operations manager at Pocket-lint. She is based in Upstate New York and has written thousands of articles -- including news, how-tos, explainers, and reviews on technology and even TV and entertainment-focused content. Previously, she was a managing editor at ZDNET, and earlier in her career, she was an editor at 9to5Mac and 9to5Google. Elyse has also worked as a beat reporter at regional newspapers in New England and has freelanced for global websites such as the BBC. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in writing from The New School in Manhattan and a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
What was your first phone?
I got my first phone in 2000 when I was 13: the Nokia 3310. It was blue, came with Snake, and I'm pretty sure it was a prepaid model. Later, I switched to the Motorola i730, which had a walkie-talkie feature I could never use with anyone. By the end of high school, I was using the LG VX7000, a flip phone with a rotating selfie camera. Then, as a freshman in college in 2007, I switched from Verizon to AT&T, all so I could get my hands on the first iPhone. But, technically, I had a Zoolander-style Pantech C300 for a few months while waiting for the iPhone to come out - hey, it was free!
When did your interest in technology begin?
It's always been there. I had the first iPod, iPhone, and iPad. I had NES, Super Nintendo, N64, GameCube, PS2, Xbox 360, and Wii. I've been playing with computers since I was 4 and have used both Windows and Mac machines. I even designed and built my first websites as a preteen. And my first journalism job at 18 years old was writing a business tech column for a local newspaper.
What tech products or categories are you most passionate about?
I'm more into the software and services we use on our devices everyday, from TikTok to ChatGPT. I like diving into new features and trying the latest apps. But I also like the entertainment we consume via our devices. Movies and TV are a huge passion of mine. (I earned a screenwriting certificate while getting my MFA; I swear one day I will write that script!)
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