Joe Perez

iTrader: (8)

Didn't want to screw with it, and will probably never need to actually use the switch for anything. Solder FTW.


Interesting.

I remember the '99-'00 era Motorola flip phones having a lot of mechanical issues with the ribbon cable that conjoined the two halves. Knock on wood, but my HTC Espresso (Mytouch 3G Slide) has been perfectly reliable and proven quite robust. I've dropped it a number of times, and while the back cover always pops off and the battery flies out, it's never failed to come right back up after re-assembly. Had it for about 2.5 years at this point.

Frankly, I would never want to own a smartphone that didn't have a physical slide-out keyboard. I've used both blackberrys (with their portrait-oriented display and consequently tiny keyboard) as well as modern-vintage iPhones. Neither is as comfortable for me to type on as a slider. Yes, I know that 13 year old girls can type 500 words per minute on a touchscreen, but I just can't do it.

thenuge26

iTrader: (2)

This is what makes me nervous about my Nexus 4. The battery cover is made of glass and it doesn't fly off when you drop it. I know I did the same with my EVO at least 50 times in the 2 years I owned it.

I thought the same until I got the EVO. Typing on a touchscreen isn't that bad when your touch screen is >4". Add the predictive/spellchecking built into the android keyboard, and I can now type faster in portrait mode than I can in landscape mode.

Edit: also joe's name is now an ad.

y8s

iTrader: (8)

And that's my wife's problem. She wants a qwerty keyboard android phone. it's maddening that this one feature is more important than pretty much every other major feature (screen size, resolution, camera, processor, ram, blah blah blah) and that choosing a qwerty keyboard relegates all of those major features to middling averageness at best.

And the end result is a generally crappy android phone with a qwerty keyboard. The current best options (on verizon) are the Motorola Droid 4 and the Samsung Stratosphere II. Both have specs that are slightly ahead of my 2.5 year old Incredible. Both have specs that are forgettable compared to my Galaxy Note II.

Other than price, why would anyone buy anything other than a top spec phone in their particular choice of size?

Joe Perez

iTrader: (8)

There are a great many decisions in life wherein the aesthetic preferences of the buyer outweigh specs written on paper.

When I was last laptop-shopping, I'd found one machine that ticked all the boxes. i7 processor, 11" screen, very lightweight- generally awesome. But when I actually used it in person, I knew I couldn't buy it. They'd gone Apple-style on the touchpad, declaring there to be two "button zones" at the bottom of the pad rather than fitting it with mechanical buttons. So instead, I spent the same amount of money on a refurbished Latitude E4200 which was slightly larger and had less RAM and only a Core 2 processor.

Some folks drive around in their Miatas with the hard-top on year round. Many have even removed the soft-top altogether, and bemoan that Mazda never made a "proper" hard-top version of the car. But personally, the lack of convertableness is the one reason why I wouldn't buy a BRZ even if it cost $5,000 brand new and had a 400HP engine.


My HTC Espresso wasn't a high-end phone even when it was new nearly 3 years ago. It runs FroYo (2.2), has a relatively low-rez screen, and the processor is so slow that even Angry Birds sometimes gets choppy.

However, none of this really matters to me. It is entirely adequate for the tasks which I require of it, and as a matter of personal preference, I find its tactile keyboard to be easier to use than any OSK I have ever tried. If you were to offer me a brand new iPhone 5 or Nexus IV in exchange for my current phone, I would kindly decline and offer you a nice glass of scotch for your trouble.


Because QWERTY keyboard.

Joe Perez

iTrader: (8)

Sidebar: Have you ever actually typed the word "QWERTY"? It is surprisingly awkward.

Mobius

iTrader: (2)

Because it's all about whatever makes you happy, makes you happy. She wants buttons to push. Real ones. If she got a "better" phone but hated it every time she used it because she didn't like virtual touchscreen buttons, how is that a win for her?

Edit: more importantly: how is that a win for you? She'd bitch at you all the time about the "better" phone you made her get instead of the one with the features she wanted ...

olderguy

iTrader: (19)

I have an old LG flip phone that doesn't even do video. I refuse to have a phone that is smarter than I am.

Godless Commie

iTrader: (2)

My wife does not use a phone. She asks me to call people whenever she needs something.

y8s

iTrader: (8)

She bitches about how crappy her qwerty Motorola Droid 2 Global is. I should steal it and root it and give it back to her.

Stuff like:
the battery just went from 80% to 2% WTF!
my phone just forze
the camera takes forever to load! I miss all the good shots!
the camera takes crappy photos
people can't hear her on phone calls (dead mic?)
my phone froze again!

I should steal it and root it and give it back to her and see what she does about it.

She's currently testing an iPhone 4 that a friend gave her to play with. This is one reason verizon trumps all. You can just switch phones whenever you want without consequences.

Joe Perez

iTrader: (8)

Sounds like most of these issues are caused by poor design rather than a QWERTY keyboard. Still, your plan seems sound. Will you be spending the night at Brainey's place after she finds out, or do you have a hotel in mind?


I'm curious about the implied pretext to the "no consequences" rule. I assume that this is predicated on owning the phone outright, rather than being in the midst of a multi-year contractual obligation as a result of having purchased a subsidized phone at an artificially low price?

Braineack

iTrader: (62)

i dont have any spare beds.

shuiend

iTrader: (24)

You do know you can do that on all major carriers correct? With GSM carriers you just swap you SIM card into the new phone, with the CDMA carriers you just enter the new EIN number or whatever on phone companies site and it switches over.

Braineack

iTrader: (62)

economics rant:

So ever since the small shrink in our economy last quarter was reported I've been listening/reading closely to a bunch of commentators/economists/columnist on the topic.

Before/During Sandy, you'd hear a lot of Keynesians claiming that it will be good for the economy as the rebuild will provide jobs.

We finally pass a bill for "recovery" which in itself wipes out any increased revenue from the tax increase.

Now, the same are blaming Sandy over and over again for the lack of growth because so many lost thier jobs and can't work and yada yada yada.

anyways...

/rant.

olderguy

iTrader: (19)

It's Bush's fault.

Braineack

iTrader: (62)

I always fail to grasp that.

viperormiata

iTrader: (24)

[NA] Swedish 340rwhp 1.6L @15.8PSI DIY Turbosystem - MX-5 Miata Forum

It's funny. After making an account on on the Greek sites and reading around the other forums, I've noticed that we are seriously behind in making power. It's completely common to see 500-600whp B6/BP cars on those forums.

Braineack

iTrader: (62)

if they were serious, they wouldnt use 1.6Ls

Scrappy Jack

iTrader: (2)

I can understand your frustration as you, like most reasonable people, go to the most accessible sources of information - someone presented as an expert to help synthesize a lot of detailed data and information that you personally don't have the time or training to examine because you have a life to live.

Unfortunately, most of the economists and commenters on TV either (A) don't know what they are talking about and just make stuff up with no accountability or (B) are so restricted to 30-second soundbites, interrupted by the interviewer, that they don't have a chance to expound on a thorough discussion of the topic.

I'd argue it's mostly (A).

There are literally only three professional economists on my radar in terms of "giving a **** what they say." There are zero academic economists on that list. There are also zero associated with any political party or figure.

All the other people I pay attention to are active investors and traders and there are only a couple of those.

y8s

iTrader: (8)

Naw, she hates it. she wont care. but the procedure to root that phone is daunting and complicated. To root my GN2, I literally downloaded an app, started it up, and clicked a button.



granted it was that easy because of a design flaw, but still!

I think Verizon will even allow you to take your newly subsidized phone and move it to any line and activate something else on your newly created contract's line. As long as the device is active for some 186 days or something, they're happy.

People will exploit grandpa's family plan line to get a new phone and then take it from grandpa and give him back his Nokia 3310. Forget the 18 month window, now it's 9 because grandpa dont care.

thenuge26

iTrader: (2)

Look's like Soviets sheet, except shifted to the right about 2000 rpm. Too bad he picked the wrong BW turbo.