Ever wish you'd never started something?
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!
Comments and faves
Michael - B [deleted] (62 months ago | reply)
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.
I like your approach, too, though. And the picture is perfect, showing the dilemma you were in. Good work.
valdab (62 months ago | reply)
Oh God, don't get me started.....
In fact, for everybody's sake, I'll keep quiet.
Suffice to say, I know exactly where you're coming from (and you haven't even mentioned the cretins who cold-call at 8pm , just as you're putting the dinner up in order to bamboozle you with offers-you-can't-refuse for services you don't need and contracts that take a week and a half to decipher. Bizarre as it may seem , I don't want a phone that will show me the quickest way to get to Sheffield, record 10 minutes of video, play music through cheap headphones so I can annoy everyone on the train, then struggle to perform the basic function for which is was designed ie make phone calls).
See? I told you I shouldn't have started.
I do think this is a rather splendid shot however (you didn't take it with your mobile, did you?). It conveys perfectly a sense of bleak despair.
valdab added this photo to her favorites. (62 months ago)
valdab (62 months ago | reply)
Having said all that, I'm really really looking forward to the arrival of Apple's iPhone.....
jerseyimage (62 months ago | reply)
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.
The iphone does look rather appealing.
Dinnovation (62 months ago | reply)
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.
I think the iPhone looks like it will be great, and I guess it may eventually tempt me, but at the moment all I want to do is make calls and receive texts, my current phone (£35 from Orange) is WAP enabled etc but I never use those features so what is the point? I might be tempted by a phone with a reasonable camera (there are some good ones around), but on balance I would rather spend the money on a decent digital compact that I can have more control over.
We recently had to buy a phone for our 11 year old, she made the decision purely on colour (pink!), if only life were that simple for grown ups :-)
JKönig (62 months ago | reply)
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."
fabulous shot, btw.
Enoch the Hat (62 months ago | reply)
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!
Great picture though.
trykemom (62 months ago | reply)
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.
Nicely done photo. See all the emotions it has brought to the surface?
John Suler's PhotoPsychology (62 months ago | reply)
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.
Peter you've lost the news (62 months ago | reply)
Thanks for all these comments folks! :-)
I too am looking forward to the iPhone coming out, partly because it looks rather nice, and partly because it will presumably send a large rocket up the collective arse of the rest of the phone industry and get the other manufacturers to stop churning out shoddy, gimmicky bits of kit!
Mr Whisky-soon (62 months ago | reply)
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!
I was with Orange for a long time (about 11 years), but they ripped me off by charging for services that I didn't use, so I went over to O2. So far they haven't tolen my money as brazenly as Orange! Howver, I still get phone call from Orange on a monthly basis asking me if I'd like a free upgrade. I always say yes, only to have them call 2 hours later when they realise I'm not with them any more!
BTW, and completely coincidentally: I like the photo!
Desolate Places added this photo to his favorites. (62 months ago)
Desolate Places (62 months ago | reply)
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.
nis.jensen (61 months ago | reply)
Good choice!
In DK we have a company where you tank money when they ask you via the net - that's just it! They send you a textmessage and a mail...
No free messages, talking time or coffee - just cheap rates!
That's nice :-))
Peter you've lost the news (61 months ago | reply)
Thanks again for all your comments folks!
A quick update - I think I have now looked at every mobile currently on the market and my conclusion is : they're 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....
pink*fish (61 months ago | reply)
haha! firstly, Valda, you're a gem!
secondly, it's really hilarious reading this debate! it's funny how everyone is so anti-technology but mainly because no-one understands it (i'm the first to hold my hands up to this!), it's amazing how suddenly technological development is suddenly wonderful when it is something that suits our own wants and needs!
thirdly, sticking to your old phone sounds the best. i've had my Samsung now for 2.5 years and have no plans to change. in my eyes, it will never be superceeded!
fourthly, this shot is fantastic! it really conveys the anguish! the dof is perfect Alex.
Happy hunting!
neltek (61 months ago | reply)
Now if only Nokia produced phones like they used to instead of changeable faces and unreliable software.
e.g.
Nokia 6310i
A real phone - bounces and still works
Proper size
Orange - Just gone for a new orange contract and found not a bad one for me:
Racoon 35 I think...
700 mins any network any time
unlimited landline calls (well about 2000 mins)
100 texts
£35
??
Excellent photo - quality view of your despair :)
Have to confess I now have a Windows mobile thingy (sorry Valda)
Wireless, camera, email, web browser and foldout full keyboard.
Apart from being Microsoft (crash crash) I love it.
Done plenty of flickr edits whilst in bed on wireless network hee hee.
All in one device with GPS on too so can have TomTom and OS Memory Maps !!!
smalldogs (61 months ago | reply)
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.
I often wish cell phones were never invented.
basilly (61 months ago | reply)
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!
basilly added this photo to her favorites. (61 months ago)
LozzaK (61 months ago | reply)
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.
Although I now enjoy having a (pretty crap) camera with me everywhere to record a moment or thing when needed, my phone does too much. Why do people think that their product is so good that it can do the job of everyone else's products? And they cram so much in there, the hardware and software's gets flimsier and flimsier!
I have been looking for a new MP3 player recently, even though my phone does that, as a separate MP3 player does a better job of playing music. Now there’s a can of worms to be opened. There are thousands of them out there - it seems there are hundreds of companies making them, and most of them are awful...
Grahame Addicott added this photo to his favorites. (51 months ago)