Holy crap, ten bucks? That's insane. @miles798 your buddy basically stole that thing. Those old ones are so much better than the new ones, they just have that perfect smooth surface you can't really find anymore.

Man you're way off base with this one. That whole "patience from staring at a book" thing is just gatekeeping with extra steps. I use an app all the time and it actually got me into birding way more than a field guide ever did. Yesterday I heard some weird call in my backyard, pulled out the app, and it identified a wood thrush I would have totally missed because I didn't even know what to look for in a book. Now I know its song and where to find it again. That's a win not a loss. Plus the app lets me focus on the fun parts like behavior and habitat because I don't have to spend an hour squinting at wing bars just to get the species right. If the app is wrong sometimes, well field guides are wrong too and at least the app learns and updates.