The $250+ savings sucked me in. I needed a new battery for my existing phone, which was about six years old. Since I was a long-time Sprint customer, I had $175 off a new phone, plus any rebate offered by the phone itself. When compared to the cost of a new battery, a new phone was potentially cheaper. So I chose the new phone and got the Motorola Razr V3M. My reasoning for this phone was mainly because of how thin it was. I don’t care about camera/video, I don’t care about music on my phone, and I don’t care about text-messaging (although, anymore, I think I’d like that more than talking). The reviews came back positive, so that’s what I got.
In this day and age, we all want things to happen now. It’s more of an expectation than a convenience, and it goes down to the milliseconds. Which leads me to the main issue I have with my phone: it’s too slow. I open it up, it hesitates to show me a screen. I hit “contacts”, I have to wait a second before my contacts show up. Speed dial takes about 2 seconds longer than my last phone, which is what I use the most. It’s hard to make an argument that waiting an extra second (or less) for something is irritating, but it is. A few other annoyances include:
- The camera button is placed precisely where the thumb needs to be when flipping the phone open. What’s that mean? I usually turn on the camera (which takes about 4 seconds) just so I can turn it back off (another 2 seconds) before making a call.
- If I miss a call, it will display “dismiss” or “dial” until I answer one or the other. I can just hit “end” to clear it, but it shows back up the next time I open the phone. This issue compares to the cancel or allow Mac commercial—it’s just annoying.
- The ring tones suck, and I’m not the type to download new ones. I just keep it on vibrate all the time.
- There are only two options for including vibration: “high and vibrate” or “vibrate only”. This may be too picky, but ideally, “low and vibrate” would be my choice when I’m not at work.
So there you have it. And just so you know, I’m probably the last person to review a cell phone, because I’m biased toward not having one at all. I just know I’d probably get something else if I could do it over.
01
Crom Jon on Mon Jun 11 at 11:59AM
You should get a Treo and pay for internet and not be able to access the internet. That is what I like to do.
I almost got that phone. I was kind of obsessed with getting something small that fits in my pocket, but my Treo isn’t that small, but surprisingly not that big.
You know this of course because you see it everyday. Ha.
The thing is I could never go back to a phone like you have now. Every time I hold one like that it feels so weird to me and I almost feel like a monkey trying to figure out how to use it.
I know how you feel about text messaging because I was once there too. Now I would much rather text than talk. Also I can send text message in places where service isn’t good enough to talk.
It really ends up being a better way to communicate I think. No more lengthy conversations on the phone. The thing is, it is pain to text on a phone like you have. There are ways to make it less painful, but it still sucks.
I love having a full keyboard and pretty much a computer that fits in my pocket.
Now if I can only get my internet to work on my phone without changing my name, social security number and country of residence.
02
Ryan on Mon Jun 11 at 12:35PM
Yeah, your phone really surprises me. I was completely opposed to phones such as yours, until I saw your new one. I always thought they were too bulky and unnecessary. While they still may be unnecessary, they’re not too bulky anymore. Anyway, of all the phones I’m aware of, I’d say I’d get the Treo you have (until June 29, that is).
The problem is I wouldn’t pay $75 for your phone (which is literally around 8% of the cost), because I don’t have the desire to have one that bad. I’m not saying it isn’t worth it, it just isn’t to me. The iPhone is cool, but there’s no way I’d pay $500 for it. I’m fascinated by the design and innovation more than actually using it. Anyway, my phone sucks. Now I have to wait like 2 years before I get the discount again, so I’m stuck. I’ll never pay full price for a cell phone.
Do you really think changing your name, social security number, and country of residence would be all that bad? You’ve exposed at least 5 different identities on my site (Crom Jon, John Deere, Cialis, and so on), why not just stick with one? Apparently, you don’t use your real name, anyway.