Ever wish you'd never started something?
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The mobile phone. I got my first mobile about 12 years ago. Back then it was so simple. I took out a contract with Orange, there were two phones to choose from, the contract was relatively cheap.
I chose the “Nokia Orange” – it was much nicer than the awful piece of rubbish on offer from Motorola at the time. It was also the size of a house brick, the battery would last anything up to 18 hours if you didn’t actually use the phone at all. One quick call and you’d had it – standby time was then down to an hour or so. I had 15 whole minutes free per month and didn’t even know how to send a text message but then hardly anyone else I knew had a mobile so there was no point in sending one anyway.
Since those days I’ve not changed phones that often. A few more Nokias, A Siemens and my latest phone, an LG affair. Recently I got the idea in my head that it was time to change phones. My LG is about 3 years old and is pretty bashed around having had a few unplanned collisions with the pavement and so on. The battery life is getting a little erratic and the phone very occasionally switches itself off.
And so embarked on the task of finding a new phone. Oh god…ever wish you’d never started something? One thing has become apparent to me over the last few weeks. Since the days of my large and fairly useless “Nokia Orange”, phones seem to have gone through an upward and then downward development curve. They gradually evolved from huge, useless brick shaped things with hopeless battery life into smaller, sexier phones that had much, much better battery life and could do more. It now seems that high point is past and we now have a vast choice of phones which are all flawed in some way. So many phones now have the most ridiculously tiny keypads quite obviously not designed for human use, or they are hopelessly flimsy, cheap and awful. Or they have a useless battery life. Or are cursed with a tiny and unreliable joystick. Or they are so incredibly complicated that they struggle to do something as simple as just sending a text message. My latest attempt at a replacement handset was a Nokia that did seem pretty good – the keypad was designed for humans, the display was nice, and it seemed quite well built. But within a couple of days it started crashing on me, one key didn’t work properly and the battery cover fell off. Hmmm.
And the network providers don’t help the situation. The choice of contracts is quite incredible. There is a huge number of permutations of minutes, texts, handsets and so on but – maybe I’m just very awkward or something – none of them quite seem to be right. You can have a million texts a month and 20 minutes talk time, or the other way around. Or you can have a sensible balance of texts and talking but only if you have a really crap phone.
So, rather than regarding my old LG as a bit long in the tooth and due for replacement I suddenly realise it’s in fact a supremely rare and wonderful object in the phone world. It has a reasonable battery life, a nice display, a keypad not designed for those of us with pipecleaners in place of fingers. And even better – I managed to get it unlocked a while back. So here’s my plan : I will get a new contract with someone offering roughly what I want in terms of texts and minutes, take the SIM out of the piece of garbage phone they give me, put it in my old LG and put the new phone to a far more appropriate use, probably as a door-stop or a paper weight. So there!
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Comments
Good plan. I did something similar, only I
replaced the card with a prepaid card to keep
my costs under control. When the minutes run
out they send me an sms saying that my
minutes are low. Then I go to the store and
buy more minutes, just like I would buy more
milk when I see I'm running out. And if I
don't have the money at the time I just can't
use my phone, but at the same time I don't
run into debts.
Posted 20 months ago.
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Oh God, don't get me started.....
Posted 20 months ago.
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Having said all that, I'm really really
looking forward to the arrival of Apple's
iPhone.....
Posted 20 months ago.
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Great shot to tell the story. Things are
getting more complicated over here, until
recently we just had the one operator. Now
about to have 3 of them.
Posted 20 months ago.
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My strategy is simple, just buy the cheapest
Nokia on PAYG Orange, because I like the
Nokia interface. That way I do not have to
think about it. I have only had three phones
in 12 years or so, the ones I choose seem to
last, probably because they are so basic!
Hubby is sticking with his old Nokia because
the keyboards on the new phones are too small
for his fingers.
Posted 20 months ago.
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oh man, that sounds awful! i remember when i
got my first cell phone. brought it home, and
it would not work. no signal. i was on the
phone with customer service for two hours
before i got hold of a manager who said,
"ma'am, where do you live?"
"cold spring." "oh. we don't
cover that area."
Posted 20 months ago.
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I have had my 'phone for at least eight
years. It's about the most basic thing
around. I recently enquired about the
possibility of an 'upgrade' (now there's a
contradiction in terms). It turns out that
although my 'phone can't take photographs or
make the coffee, guess what? It can make good
old fashioned telephone calls and it even
rings! Wow! Conclusion. If it ain't bust,
don't try to fix it!
Posted 20 months ago.
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I would rather not even have a phone but it
does come in handy when like your axle breaks
as you are driving along. I've never sent a
text message. I really don't understand why
anyone would even want one except for
emergencies. Sigh.
Posted 20 months ago.
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lol!... I know what you mean! As much as I'm
into technology and especially computers,
I've really taken a disliking to cell phones.
I know some people absolutely can't live
without them, but I've only found them
marginally useful myself. In this
technology-crazed world we live in, I also
grow weary of trying to figure out what
button I have to push next.
Posted 20 months ago.
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Thanks for all these comments folks! :-)
Posted 20 months ago.
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iPhone sounds fun, but I still haven't
mastered my basic Nokia. I tend to get
through a lot of phones, what with being on
call (and occasionally dropping them down
cliffs!), and I always try and go for the
best deal I can get in terms of talk time /
sms package. This works out well as there are
usually then only 2 phones to choose from!
Posted 20 months ago.
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Yes I was a luddite for many years, refusing
to get a cell until five years ago. I would
go on extended hikes and cross country
journeys and refuse to take it with me...I
finally broke down, although at least once a
year I end up snapping my phone in half after
getting frustrated with it....my poor poor
StarTac was the victim last summer.
Posted 20 months ago.
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Good choice!
Posted 20 months ago.
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Thanks again for all your comments folks!all crap! So I'm sticking with 'old faithful'
for the moment. Now if Apple could get their
act together and bring out that iPhone....
Posted 20 months ago.
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haha! firstly, Valda, you're a gem!
Posted 20 months ago.
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Now if only Nokia produced phones like they
used to instead of changeable faces and
unreliable software.
Posted 20 months ago.
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oh, God, yes! I've been down that road, bu
last year got myself onto a Treo. It took me
a week to learn how to answer a call. I
recently tried going back to a 'regular'
phone, but I can't. I'm spoiled.
Posted 20 months ago.
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Lol! I hate phones period! But in emergencies
when on the road, they are great...a
lifesaver. Your picture depicts what we all
feel I'm afraid. Technies are mean to us
simplified people! give me two buttons and
I'll be happy. One for talk and one for off!
Posted 20 months ago.
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Nicely put, and nice shot : ) I have gone
back to old phones after getting new ones, as
even though the new ones seemed better at
first, they didn't still seem that was after
a few weeks.
Posted 19 months ago.
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