ursangnome (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ursangnome) wrote2008-03-17 02:40 pm
ursangnome) wrote2008-03-17 02:40 pm
Technology Update
So, back just before getting married, my Lady, wise person that she is, figured that 1)She needed a new cell phone, and 2)Given the prices of the day, it made sense to get one for me as well, on a family plan. In retrospect, this was a fine idea. I've been walking around with a phone in my pocket since then. The same phone, for roughly four years.
As most people are aware, these things really aren't built to last for four years. My battery was clearly showing signs of age, not holding a charge for long. Recently the phone seemed to be failing to take calls, pushing them off to voice mail when I theoretically had plenty of signal. Then it started getting really flaky, and would occasionally completely shut down when it had plenty of charge, and not allow a reboot until I hooked it up to a charger. So, Yesterday I finally knuckled under and got a new phone.
I was dedicated to the proposition that we pay enough for our cell service that I did not want to pay any actual money for the phone. Sprint offers some credits to help entice users to upgrade more frequently, so I aimed to go with a minimum of expenditure beyond that.
Which ended up to be $0 for the phone itself, and a nominal activation fee, which I can tolerate. I am a little let down by the fact that the devices with buttons properly sized and spaced for hands like mine would have cost me $100, but I don't use the beast enough to pay for that feature. And a little belt-carrying case was part of the offering, but the clerk allowed me to walk out of the store with one that didn't actually fit the phone, which means another trip for an exchange.
The real funny part is that I got a new phone largely to have more reliable up-time from my battery - so of course the day I get it, the time before I am most likely to be futzing around with it entering contact data and such, I forget to charge it, so that it is making low-battery noises at me already.
Irony can be pretty ironic.
As most people are aware, these things really aren't built to last for four years. My battery was clearly showing signs of age, not holding a charge for long. Recently the phone seemed to be failing to take calls, pushing them off to voice mail when I theoretically had plenty of signal. Then it started getting really flaky, and would occasionally completely shut down when it had plenty of charge, and not allow a reboot until I hooked it up to a charger. So, Yesterday I finally knuckled under and got a new phone.
I was dedicated to the proposition that we pay enough for our cell service that I did not want to pay any actual money for the phone. Sprint offers some credits to help entice users to upgrade more frequently, so I aimed to go with a minimum of expenditure beyond that.
Which ended up to be $0 for the phone itself, and a nominal activation fee, which I can tolerate. I am a little let down by the fact that the devices with buttons properly sized and spaced for hands like mine would have cost me $100, but I don't use the beast enough to pay for that feature. And a little belt-carrying case was part of the offering, but the clerk allowed me to walk out of the store with one that didn't actually fit the phone, which means another trip for an exchange.
The real funny part is that I got a new phone largely to have more reliable up-time from my battery - so of course the day I get it, the time before I am most likely to be futzing around with it entering contact data and such, I forget to charge it, so that it is making low-battery noises at me already.
Irony can be pretty ironic.
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I used to have Nextel (loved them, never had a problem), but then I got a new phone and was forced over to Sprint (Nextel was bought by Sprint). I had so many problems. Everything from activation (it's a business phone) to them sending me non-compatible parts (extended battery cover isn't for the correct phone), you name it. They even billed me for 3 phones ($450, $300, $200) when I only got 1 phone. And they don't reliably send bills either (or at least, I don't reliably receive them).
When I am forced to finally get a private cell phone, I am avoiding Sprint. If it turns out that my options are "no cell phone" or "Sprint", I might just take "no cell phone". That's how turned off I was by my initial experiences.
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Even the mix-up with the phone case isn't Sprint's fault - that was the guy at the store, specifically, who gave me the wrong model, probably in an honest mistake.
I almost wish I rated a phone from work - my boss is trying to push for iPhones for everyone.
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In my case, it doesn't really mean a new contract - my Lady's phone got physically broken, and needed replacement not too long ago, so we are already tied into a contract for a while.
Those points accepted - studies show that people have a tendency to keep options open even when doing so isn't a winning strategy. Not being "stuck in a new contract" is only a major issue if you expect to change providers before that contract would be up. Flexibility has value, but so does having improvements.
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And, honestly, given that my new phone was the low-end variety (I need to be able to take calls, not surf the web, answer e-mail, and listen to music and make julienne fries), the cost was minimal.
A new battery on eBay would cost me perhaps $5 and shipping. When I remember to charge it, I can probably expect the new phone to have longer battery life than my old one, and to be able to work better, with less signal. So, I figure the $20 difference is money reasonably well-spent.
And, it leaves me with an old phone that is probably still in good enough condition to donate to an appropriate group. Heck, the tax deduction for that might cover the remainder of the price difference.
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