A Tale Of Electronic Woe & A Plea For Help
Okay, kids. I have a bit of a dilemma and I could use some insight.
You see, I'm coming up on the end of a 2-year contract on my cell phone so I can get a new one without a penalty. I have no idea what to get, though.
Before anyone makes a suggestion, let me give you my cell phone history. (It's a little ridiculous.)
I got Phone #1 in late 2001. It was a then-standard brick phone -- you know, before flip phones came out, back when there were only black-and-white screens and antennas that had to be pulled out. If you were lucky, you had a full menu and a tip calculator. (I was lucky!) That phone (it was a Kyocera) lasted for three years and was still in moderately decent condition when I traded it in. The buttons were wearing out and I had broken the end off the extendable antenna.
[On a related note, my dad had an identical phone. While at work one day, he managed to drop it on the road and it was actually paved over. He dug it out of the still-hot tar and it continued to function just fine for several months. It was a sturdy phone.]
Phone #2 was an LG flip phone. Smaller, way cooler looking, and considerably less tough. It started with the antenna -- I ended up duct-taping it back on at one point. The day I was driving to Minneapolis for my sister's 20th birthday (a day that will live on in infamy), I apparently shut it too hard because the screen Nickelodeoned all over itself. Two months later I got it replaced after I also lost use of the "1" key (and therefore repeatedly called my dad -- speed dial 4 -- when I intended to call Darren -- speed dial 14).
That one had lasted about a year and a half.
Phone #3 was a Kyocera flip phone. That one slowly lost function ... First there was no blue in the display, then no red, and eventually it was just black-and-white. (That one still confuses me.) Then the screen went dark altogether. And then the earpiece stopped working. That one made it less than a year.
Phone #4 was a Motorola flip phone and I had it for 13 months. This one had a rather spectacular finish -- I was walking through Barnes & Noble (the day before getting on a plane and flying to Rapid City) when I flipped it open to send a text message ... and suddenly I was holding two pieces. One of the hinges had cracked a couple months before, and right then it -- and the other hinge -- gave out.
That was great. Phone #4b was a pay-as-you-go that I bought half an hour later and used for a couple weeks before I could get home to replace #4. (Verizon had not yet made it to central Wisconsin.) The perils of not having a land line.
Which finally brings me to my current phone. Phone #5 is an LG enV and it has held up well for the last two years. I replaced the battery a few months ago and it has a few scratches, but considering its age and owner it's in spectacular shape. I only recently started having issues with it spontaneously turning off (something that has plagued other enV owners) and it corresponds roughly with the time I got a new battery.
In truth, I probably don't need to replace it right this moment, but I have a sneaking suspicion I'll hit two years and a day and something catastrophic will happen. I'd like to be prepared for such an occasion.
Anyway! What have we learned from the history?
1. If I have to flip it open to answer a call, it won't last.
2. Regardless of brand.
There are additional guidelines.
3. I like having a QWERTY keyboard.
4. I like the camera on my enV and would like something similar.
5. I do NOT want a Blackberry, and not just because I don't want to have to get the crazy expensive data package.
6. Actually, if I can avoid a data package altogether I'd be happy. It might not be possible, though.
So ... Any suggestions out there?
You see, I'm coming up on the end of a 2-year contract on my cell phone so I can get a new one without a penalty. I have no idea what to get, though.
Before anyone makes a suggestion, let me give you my cell phone history. (It's a little ridiculous.)
I got Phone #1 in late 2001. It was a then-standard brick phone -- you know, before flip phones came out, back when there were only black-and-white screens and antennas that had to be pulled out. If you were lucky, you had a full menu and a tip calculator. (I was lucky!) That phone (it was a Kyocera) lasted for three years and was still in moderately decent condition when I traded it in. The buttons were wearing out and I had broken the end off the extendable antenna.
[On a related note, my dad had an identical phone. While at work one day, he managed to drop it on the road and it was actually paved over. He dug it out of the still-hot tar and it continued to function just fine for several months. It was a sturdy phone.]
Phone #2 was an LG flip phone. Smaller, way cooler looking, and considerably less tough. It started with the antenna -- I ended up duct-taping it back on at one point. The day I was driving to Minneapolis for my sister's 20th birthday (a day that will live on in infamy), I apparently shut it too hard because the screen Nickelodeoned all over itself. Two months later I got it replaced after I also lost use of the "1" key (and therefore repeatedly called my dad -- speed dial 4 -- when I intended to call Darren -- speed dial 14).
That one had lasted about a year and a half.
Phone #3 was a Kyocera flip phone. That one slowly lost function ... First there was no blue in the display, then no red, and eventually it was just black-and-white. (That one still confuses me.) Then the screen went dark altogether. And then the earpiece stopped working. That one made it less than a year.
Phone #4 was a Motorola flip phone and I had it for 13 months. This one had a rather spectacular finish -- I was walking through Barnes & Noble (the day before getting on a plane and flying to Rapid City) when I flipped it open to send a text message ... and suddenly I was holding two pieces. One of the hinges had cracked a couple months before, and right then it -- and the other hinge -- gave out.
That was great. Phone #4b was a pay-as-you-go that I bought half an hour later and used for a couple weeks before I could get home to replace #4. (Verizon had not yet made it to central Wisconsin.) The perils of not having a land line.
Which finally brings me to my current phone. Phone #5 is an LG enV and it has held up well for the last two years. I replaced the battery a few months ago and it has a few scratches, but considering its age and owner it's in spectacular shape. I only recently started having issues with it spontaneously turning off (something that has plagued other enV owners) and it corresponds roughly with the time I got a new battery.
In truth, I probably don't need to replace it right this moment, but I have a sneaking suspicion I'll hit two years and a day and something catastrophic will happen. I'd like to be prepared for such an occasion.
Anyway! What have we learned from the history?
1. If I have to flip it open to answer a call, it won't last.
2. Regardless of brand.
There are additional guidelines.
3. I like having a QWERTY keyboard.
4. I like the camera on my enV and would like something similar.
5. I do NOT want a Blackberry, and not just because I don't want to have to get the crazy expensive data package.
6. Actually, if I can avoid a data package altogether I'd be happy. It might not be possible, though.
So ... Any suggestions out there?
Comments
The only plus side is I can drop it repeatedly and it will still work. I've tested that plenty of times.
Sorry I cannot help.