My Dear Krazer, How Much Do I Dislike Thee? Let Me Count The Ways...
I had reached the point in my Verizon contract that allowed me to upgrade my phone, and while I liked my old phone, the charger port was exceptionally finicky, resulting in the battery not being charged when I thought it would be, and, well, you can guess the hilarity that ensued as a result.
Like most money-grubbing misers (A.K.A. Grad Students), I decided to go for the best I could get for free. I liked my last Motorola phone, and so wound up getting the Krazer, which, of course, is supposed to be one of the hip phones out there.
Now, before I get into the diatribe, I will say that at least the phone does, so far, make and receive calls. That's the primary reason why I got it; not to play games, take photos, capture video, play mp3s, etc. Just make and receive calls. The Text Messaging is nice, as well, I freely admit.
Anyways, I've now had a couple of weeks to use it, and have been really disappointed, stunned, and even angered at some of the features that they *got rid of.* I mean, as cell phone technology goes up, you'd think that they would keep the basics of usability. Some of these problems are so embarrassingly stupid that I really hope that there's a setting I'm missing or something -- if anyone can correct my on the forthcoming issues, please contact me!
So, what is it that is getting under my skin like a poison ivy rash?
1) Only ten people are allowed per group. Hello, reference desk? Who's brilliant idea was this? My last phone didn't care how many were in there. The phone specs brag it can hold 1,000 phone entries, but what's the point when you cap the Groups lists out at 10? I mean, did the person who made this decision even use a cell phone before? Basically, what Motorola is saying is "You couldn't possibly have more than ten friends who you'd call. Who are you kidding?" Sure, I'm not as popular as people like Paris Hilton, Barack Obama, or Harvey the Wonder Hamster, but I honestly do have more than 10 friends. Really!
2) You can't search the ridiculously-limited Groups in the main Contact page. Last phone, I could flip between Friends, Family, School, Black Book, etc. and the Main list at the press of a button. Made it very easy when I wanted to do some editing of people in my School list, for example. Currently, however, there's no way to switch between the Main List and the Groups without going back out to the Main screen. It's annoying, mainly because it's an unneeded step.
3) Again in the Groups (can you tell what I used a lot on the last phone?), you can't call them from the Group listing. Let me repeat that: you can view the Group listing, BUT YOU CANNOT CALL THEM. Instead, you have to go back out to the Main Screen, and then into the Main contact list if you want to call anyone. Personally, this sort of defeats the whole person of having a seperate Group listing. You can Text people from Groups, but what addlepated engineer decided, "Why on earth would anyone ever want to *call* someone from the Group listing? Calling from a cell phone is so 2006...."
4) You can't adjust the volume/vibrate settings while the flip is closed. Again, with the old phone, you could use the side buttons to switch between sound and vibrate, and silent. Very handy when I was going into class, or putting on headphones. Now, I have to open the flip up to make any adjustments, which is fair less discreet and elegant.
5) I can't make a smiley face in Text Messages anymore. Or at least, there's no indication on the phone or in the manual where I go to get the opening and closing parentheses. Hence, I can do eyes, but no month. Maybe I'll just claim it's a smiley face of that girl from "The Twilight Zone: The Movie," where she had her mouth removed by her magical brother. Again, I can only imagine the reasoning: "What? Someone would put a smiley face in a Text Message? Why, next you'll be suggesting that people will use abbreviations like 'lol' to show laughter."
6) No headphone jack. The sole port on the phone is a mini-usb one, which you use for charging, connecting to the computer, and (with an adapter that they did, at least, include) plug your headset into. Just don;t plan on doing more than one at the same time. Sorry, but more than once I've had my phone plugged in and preferred to use the headset for comfort. Once again, the only explanation is that whoever made these design choices has never used a cell phone in their life.
This, by the way, is why a lot of people hate switching over to new programs, computers, cars, etc. We get used to the usability of one thing, and when it's taken away, we realize all the aspects of the old that were really cool, and totally lacking in the new. Sure, sometimes, the new offers great things that the old didn't have, but to be frank, there's nothing about the Krazer that makes me think it's better than my old phone. The sole advantage it has over the old phone is that it's charge port works, but hey, we'll see how long that lasts, right?
All the special features like games, directions, and mobile web are not free, remember. You pay for those extras. Since there's nothing I have an interest in buying, they mean nothing to the value of my Krazer. The camera is nice, I'm sure, but I have a digital camera that takes pictures much better, stores more data, and isn't much bigger. Again, it does nothing to boost the stock.
We'll see as time goes on if anything comes out that makes the Krazer better as an actual phone, but so far, it's lagging far behind the phone I got in 2005. Kinda sad.
[ S H E I L D B R E A K ! ! ! ]
I had a dream last night that was very cool, and very refreshing. Basically, I dreamt that I ran across Kimba randomly, and she cheerfully greeted me with a big (if somewhat sloppy) kiss. I attribute the sloppy part to her eagerness at seeing me again, and afterwards she happily chatted with me and continued to be happy to be hanging out with me. Usually, in my dreams, when I meet a girl who has an interest in me, something always interrupts, like my boss arriving at my old place in North Olmsted, or an alien invasion. Whatever the case, I rarely get any physical sign of affection. This time, however, not only did a get an eager kiss, but it was right in the very beginning, before anything bad had a chance to happen.
What a nice change of pace. :)
Oh, and for anyone wondering what the deep meaning is, I can tell you: I always thought Kimba was cute, and would have no compunctions about kissing her.
Sometimes a dream isn't so hard to figure out.
Like most money-grubbing misers (A.K.A. Grad Students), I decided to go for the best I could get for free. I liked my last Motorola phone, and so wound up getting the Krazer, which, of course, is supposed to be one of the hip phones out there.
Now, before I get into the diatribe, I will say that at least the phone does, so far, make and receive calls. That's the primary reason why I got it; not to play games, take photos, capture video, play mp3s, etc. Just make and receive calls. The Text Messaging is nice, as well, I freely admit.
Anyways, I've now had a couple of weeks to use it, and have been really disappointed, stunned, and even angered at some of the features that they *got rid of.* I mean, as cell phone technology goes up, you'd think that they would keep the basics of usability. Some of these problems are so embarrassingly stupid that I really hope that there's a setting I'm missing or something -- if anyone can correct my on the forthcoming issues, please contact me!
So, what is it that is getting under my skin like a poison ivy rash?
1) Only ten people are allowed per group. Hello, reference desk? Who's brilliant idea was this? My last phone didn't care how many were in there. The phone specs brag it can hold 1,000 phone entries, but what's the point when you cap the Groups lists out at 10? I mean, did the person who made this decision even use a cell phone before? Basically, what Motorola is saying is "You couldn't possibly have more than ten friends who you'd call. Who are you kidding?" Sure, I'm not as popular as people like Paris Hilton, Barack Obama, or Harvey the Wonder Hamster, but I honestly do have more than 10 friends. Really!
2) You can't search the ridiculously-limited Groups in the main Contact page. Last phone, I could flip between Friends, Family, School, Black Book, etc. and the Main list at the press of a button. Made it very easy when I wanted to do some editing of people in my School list, for example. Currently, however, there's no way to switch between the Main List and the Groups without going back out to the Main screen. It's annoying, mainly because it's an unneeded step.
3) Again in the Groups (can you tell what I used a lot on the last phone?), you can't call them from the Group listing. Let me repeat that: you can view the Group listing, BUT YOU CANNOT CALL THEM. Instead, you have to go back out to the Main Screen, and then into the Main contact list if you want to call anyone. Personally, this sort of defeats the whole person of having a seperate Group listing. You can Text people from Groups, but what addlepated engineer decided, "Why on earth would anyone ever want to *call* someone from the Group listing? Calling from a cell phone is so 2006...."
4) You can't adjust the volume/vibrate settings while the flip is closed. Again, with the old phone, you could use the side buttons to switch between sound and vibrate, and silent. Very handy when I was going into class, or putting on headphones. Now, I have to open the flip up to make any adjustments, which is fair less discreet and elegant.
5) I can't make a smiley face in Text Messages anymore. Or at least, there's no indication on the phone or in the manual where I go to get the opening and closing parentheses. Hence, I can do eyes, but no month. Maybe I'll just claim it's a smiley face of that girl from "The Twilight Zone: The Movie," where she had her mouth removed by her magical brother. Again, I can only imagine the reasoning: "What? Someone would put a smiley face in a Text Message? Why, next you'll be suggesting that people will use abbreviations like 'lol' to show laughter."
6) No headphone jack. The sole port on the phone is a mini-usb one, which you use for charging, connecting to the computer, and (with an adapter that they did, at least, include) plug your headset into. Just don;t plan on doing more than one at the same time. Sorry, but more than once I've had my phone plugged in and preferred to use the headset for comfort. Once again, the only explanation is that whoever made these design choices has never used a cell phone in their life.
This, by the way, is why a lot of people hate switching over to new programs, computers, cars, etc. We get used to the usability of one thing, and when it's taken away, we realize all the aspects of the old that were really cool, and totally lacking in the new. Sure, sometimes, the new offers great things that the old didn't have, but to be frank, there's nothing about the Krazer that makes me think it's better than my old phone. The sole advantage it has over the old phone is that it's charge port works, but hey, we'll see how long that lasts, right?
All the special features like games, directions, and mobile web are not free, remember. You pay for those extras. Since there's nothing I have an interest in buying, they mean nothing to the value of my Krazer. The camera is nice, I'm sure, but I have a digital camera that takes pictures much better, stores more data, and isn't much bigger. Again, it does nothing to boost the stock.
We'll see as time goes on if anything comes out that makes the Krazer better as an actual phone, but so far, it's lagging far behind the phone I got in 2005. Kinda sad.
[ S H E I L D B R E A K ! ! ! ]
I had a dream last night that was very cool, and very refreshing. Basically, I dreamt that I ran across Kimba randomly, and she cheerfully greeted me with a big (if somewhat sloppy) kiss. I attribute the sloppy part to her eagerness at seeing me again, and afterwards she happily chatted with me and continued to be happy to be hanging out with me. Usually, in my dreams, when I meet a girl who has an interest in me, something always interrupts, like my boss arriving at my old place in North Olmsted, or an alien invasion. Whatever the case, I rarely get any physical sign of affection. This time, however, not only did a get an eager kiss, but it was right in the very beginning, before anything bad had a chance to happen.
What a nice change of pace. :)
Oh, and for anyone wondering what the deep meaning is, I can tell you: I always thought Kimba was cute, and would have no compunctions about kissing her.
Sometimes a dream isn't so hard to figure out.