cell phones

Is it a phone or a "smartphone"?

Posted 13 Dec 2009 by Laura Scott

It's a simple question, really. What is your phone for? Making calls, or checking email/browsing the web/using apps/playing games/updating Facebook/posting to Twitter...? Of course, your smartphone should do it all, right?

But what if you had to choose?

I am ready to retire my iPhone. I love it to death. I check my email. I have apps that sync with my desktop. I have games that lull me to sleep. (Because that's what games are good for, right?) I check the weather. Read headlines. Set an alarm to wake up. Find out where the heck I am on a map.

But let's face it: The iPhone is pretty crappy as a phone.

I don't blame Apple, except to the extent that they made their initial deal with AT&T. I don't get much of any signal at my house. My calls are dropped so frequently – that is, if I can actually connect at call at all – that I have given up trying.

So I'm looking at that greener grass over the fence, over in Verizon land. I once lived in Verizon land. It wasn't so bad. I could make calls just about anywhere, even up in the mountains where nobody else could get a signal.

Lameness in the Palm of your hand

Posted 16 Jul 2007 by Laura Scott

Okay, so the Palm 700P was quite possibly the worst technology purchase I ever made. It's slow. It freezes up on me at unpredicable times. Its touchscreen goes to sleep when you need it. Its keypad buttons are made for 9-year-olds.

Now they have an update.

As part of our continuous effort to give customers the best possible experience, Palm offers an update that features performance and reliability enhancements.

Sounds great, right? However....

Palm website screenshot

... you cannot update unless you have all the required extras ... like a blank expansion card (unless you're running an older version of Windows).

Is it any wonder that Palm is in a world of hurt?

See also:

Say what you meme: My media consumption diet

Posted 3 Mar 2007 by Laura Scott

Contempt for the consumer in text-message spam

Posted 24 Sep 2006 by Laura Scott

Actually, I'm surprised this is only starting now.

Get ready for the inbox on your phone to fill up faster. From fast-food chains to carmakers to consumer goods manufacturers and sports franchises, more and more companies are adopting text messaging as a way to target consumers on the move.

That's right. Once again, international corporations are looking for new ways to invade your space and push their sales pitches into your face.

No web 2.0 for these folks. No viral marketing, no sirree.

Consultant Frederick Newell says companies using text messaging should move carefully because of privacy concerns and must get customers' permission first.

Like they got your permission to show 15 minutes of advertisments for consumer products and tv shows at the beginning of theatrical films.

California to force idiot drivers to get sensible about cell phones

Posted 16 Sep 2006 by Laura Scott

A couple of days ago, I witnessed an almost-accident: The left turn arrow changed to green and a guy going straight just started off into the intersection, almost smacking head-on into a left-turning car from the other direction.

The turning car blared its horn. He stopped eventually -- almost too late. The turning car moved on. The light turned green, and I started forward from the #2 lane....

...and saw the driver, a 20-something guy who was completely nonplussed, chatting away on his cell phone he had pressed to his ear.

This was in Longmont, Colorado, but hopefully California's new law will eventually hit this state that so-doggedly embraces individual freedoms.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who signed the measure, urged Californians not to wait until then to put down their phones while driving, citing government data showing those who held their phones while driving were involved in 15 times more accidents than those with hands-free setups.

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