Going Mobile

It's always so irritating whenever one of your utilities gives you a problem. They are all things you use on a daily basis, so for one of them to fall out from under you is to ruin your daily life. My most recent struggle was with my cell phone. I have have been using Verizon Wireless as long as I've had a cell phone. All of my family and all of Travis' family uses Verizon, so we have stuck with it. Actually Travis and his family used to use Sprint, but had too many problems with them, so they switched to Verizon.

I have ALWAYS had a good experience with Verizon - until my last phone that is. I had the Samsung Sway. They are no longer selling it in the store, but it is still available on eBay and Amazon. DO NOT BUY THIS PHONE. The chances of someone getting a plain phone like that are probably minimal, but I want to put that out there just in case.

I had horrible reception with the Sway, where Travis' phone always worked. The battery only lasted from 6 am, when I took it off the charger in the morning, until maybe 5 or 5:30 in the evening. Most of that time I am at work. So there was little to no talking on the phone during that time. And I didn't have the Internet, so I wasn't burning up battery surfing the web or looking up apps. It was just a crappy phone.

I used to charge the phone on my ride home from work, but the car charger broke from such frequent use. I didn't want to sink any money into this stupid phone, since I had planned to get something else as soon as possible.

I went into the store on four separate occasions in an attempt to fix the problems. The first time, they gave me a new battery. The second time they uploaded new software (what the hell that has to do with a battery, I don't know). The third time they insisted on trying to give me a new battery again since it had been 6 months since I'd had a new battery. The fourth time, I went in and said, I don't want a new battery, I don't want a software upgrade. I want a new phone. The new phone had the same problems. So I guess it was just THAT model that sucks.

I get discounts with Verizon through my work and one of those is that I qualify for an discounted upgrade before my 2-year contract is up. I counted the days until I could throw out that stupid Sway and that time came a couple weekends ago. I had talked around to everyone I knew with Verizon to see what they thought of their current phone. I have always had excellent phones until this one, so I had hope that I could find a phone that wouldn't die before I got home from work.

I decided to go with the enV Touch by LG. I have always had LG phones. I don't know what made me sway from that brand. No pun intended. Ok maybe a little.

This is a big step for me though. I have avoided touch screens like the plague. I have always had a hard time using the screen with my nails. I text a lot, so the idea of struggling with a touch screen key pad really did not appeal to me. This last time I went into the store and got that horrid phone, I realized that the majority of the phones in the place were touch screens. I worried that the next time I went in there, "normal" phones would be obsolete and I would be forced to use a touch screen phone when I wasn't ready. So this time, I opted for a touch screen with a QWERTY key pad. That way, I can go back to the real keys when I get frustrated with the touch screen. Which, as it turns out, is pretty frequent so far. I'm learning though.

The only downfall for me with this phone is the data package. I got the smallest one, since I didn't want to be spending anymore money on a cell phone. It seems so frivolous. I have access to a computer all day long. The only time I can't get to a computer is when I am driving. And it doesn't really seem like that great of an idea to be on the Internet while I'm driving. So why should I need Internet on my phone? So far, the part I like best is the Mobile Email. I like that I get a text whenever I get an email.

I ordered the phone online and had to wait over the weekend for the Monday delivery. I was worried FedEx would come while I was at work. Since it was a Signature Required package, I didn't want to miss it and then have to drive into Houston to pick it up. Travis suggested leaving a post-it with a message stating I was expecting a package and to sign it. I was skeptical, but did it anyway to get him off my back. Turns out, IT WORKED. They took the post-it and left the package. Awesome.

So far, the battery has lasted all the way until I go to bed around 11. And it was showing no signs of dying on me. Tuesday it was down to one battery bar (out of four) because I spent all day learning how to use the darn thing. Wednesday, it still had three bars left, which is HUGE. I am ecstatic about that. I should probably try calling Travis at lunch time to see how well the reception is here at work. The Sway didn't work at all in my building. So obnoxious.

Things are looking up!