Cellphones... mobile phones and such

Thinking back to 2001, and the very first mobile phone which I had... it was a Nokia, something which looked like the one below. I was given this when I first went to the hostel, and I used to keep it switched off almost all through. Never carry it, just keep it locked in the cupboard and use it to call my parents or receive calls just before I head to bed. I did not know what was the model number, in fact I did not even know that there were model numbers for different phones.

The life of this phone was certainly short lived, as within 6 months into college, I wanted to get another phone, one which would at least fit in my hand and could also be shoved into jeans pockets. This certainly was not working in that respect.

 My next phone was a Siemens C35i which was gifted to me on the happy occasion of coming home after surviving 6 months in college and still deciding to head back after a month long break at home. I think parents really thought they needed to keep in touch with me and figure out how I was managing.

This was one of the sturdiest phones which I have come across. From those times in 2002, I think I had a penchant for dropping mobile phones and it was an almost weekly affair which I am talking about. The battery used to come out, sometimes the body used to get ever so slightly nicked, but there was never a time when the phone stopped working with all these small drops ( as I would call it). Falling is something which is far more serious and that is also something which did come about , finally causing the demise of this loyal partner.

So when did this phone fall down? As I was coming down the stairs of my institute building after a lecture on the 8th floor. The phone was in my hand along with books ( not in the jeans pocket as it was to be) and it slipped and fell through the hollow space of the spiral stairway. I still remember the sharp draw of breath around me, and I rushed down, as fast as I could through 6 flights of stairs, to receive my phone in a similar way after the numerous drops. The battery was dislodged, there were many dents and I prayed hard as I inserted the battery and tried in vain to power it up. The phone never switched on after that, and I was left thinking what shall I tell my parents after a year of usage.

Next up in 2003, I decided to get a phone as it was something I had gotten used to, and my parents had agreed that I could go and pick up what I wanted. So, I went ahead and picked up a Sony Ericsson T105.

This was to be a long standing relationship which i was to have with Sony Ericsson. I loved the clean look of this phone and I did not think that there would be anything else I would want in a long time.

Little did I know that there are some forces which never really work for me and phones! In another year, I was travelling in an autorickshaw and this phone was in my 'pocket'. But, as I slipped out of after the ride, the phone also conveniently slipped out of my pocket. I still it was a pair of burgundy trousers, with a small pocket which fit the phone very snug. So, it slipped out, and I never really laid my eyes on this beauty again. I was completely heart broken. I really did love this phone as it was something which was my choice.  Here again, my parents grudgingly agreed to let me pick another phone, and in my mind I had decided I shall pick another Sony Ericsson.

Now with the changing times, the new fad in 2004 was clamshell, or flip phones. The whole generation was set on flipping open the phone and taking a call. And that is exactly what I went looking after. I decided to get a Sony Ericsson Z300i in Granite Grey. This was the phone I believe I used for a really long time. I liked the phone, it was conveniently sized and was again very sturdy in terms of my frequent drops.

I used this phone for a good 1.5 years and the keys started to wear off. The paint was peeling and the keys were also being non responsive after all the usage. I was glad that this was not a phone which was to spoil or be lost, but well used. I believe my parents also thought this was certainly an improvement in my usage and care of my phone. They decided that now I could be gifted another phone. This time they told me to make a pick and see what is that I wanted when they visited me next year. This led to a flurry of activity with my friends, all armed with desktops, would search for a really nice phone. And after a long search I told my parents what I wanted and they said I shall have it for my birthday.

So, in 2006, I got the Nokia 7373, which was pretty much the only swivel phone I have ever seen in my life. I think this was the most beautiful phone Nokia ever shipped out of their factory. The phone was a dream and with no OS complications and all, I decided to trade loyalties with Sony Ericsson and move to this beauty.

This was the phone which I came with to work at my first job. I loved this phone to bits and I do not think I would have changed it, unless I was again faced with a dash of bad luck. I was off to have a biryani on a sunday night in bangalore, and as I stepped out of B's car, the phone slipped out of my hand and on the street. I think it was on my lap and when I stepped out, I did not realize it had fallen. We had the  biryani before I shrieked at my realization. But by then, the streets were all clear with no trace of my beauty. I still love the look of this phone and I think it shall be the beauty which I shall cherish the most on this list.

Losing this phone was a huge blow and my parents very clearly told me as you are a earning person, buy your phone and take care of it. So, there I was on a search for a phone in 2008. I did my web research and I landed myself back with a Sony Ericsson, a S500.

I was trying to find a beautiful phone, similar to something I lost, and in those times, this was the best I could come up with. This was again a phone which still sits in my bottom drawer. It functions, you can make calls, though there are some dents which are only too obvious. I used this phone also for a good 2 years before I decided that I need to change this phone. Here again, the keys had worn off and some keys were not functioning.

As I said, I am a Sony loyalist and I did again turn to another Sony Ericsson. This was the time they had got out their Xperia series and the whole new deal in 2010 was touch screen phones. I was not too sure about a touch screen and hence got a Xperia X10 mini pro. This was again one of those really short lived phones.

T was born in 2011 and she decided that it would b a teether of sorts with smooth edges and me being a newbie mother, had no clue what would truly work for a phone with regard to baby saliva, and lots of it. The phone started giving me trouble in just about year and I do not think this was dropping or over usage. I guess this was more like dropping the phone in water, or maybe sprinkling water on it many times. Anyhow, by the end of a year, I was done with trying and I decided to move on to another phone. This was again catalyzed by the software upgrade which also resulted in the phone being really slow.

At this point, I decided I did not want anything expensive and went and got a Samsung galaxy Y, which was in budget, but the on screen keypad was a deal breaker. I hated it completely.

It certainly played the part very well, but it was really slow too, and maybe I was a bit spoilt too!

This ended in me being frustrated and come my birthday I decided it was time for a new phone. This time yet again it was to be a Xperia. And learning from experience I decided to go for a Xperia Go which was said to be rugged, water and dust proof. I was thrilled with  the prospect that this phone might just outlast all my other ones. And I also got this one in a cherry yellow, which certainly helped the matter.

This phone was a beauty, loved it completely and had me hooked to it and I almost was becoming a less and less a laptop user. My Mac was bearing the brunt of it all.. I was not charging it and so on. And then I dropped the phone and the screen cracked! There that was the end of it all. Now I had a phone which was defective. I got the screen changed, but then the screen again started giving me issues, and I could also see some dust particles which had gotten inside, or the small break in the casing was causing it. But either way, I was back to being without a phone.

Then a friend offered his Samsung Galaxy S II and I thought, let me try this next. I will use it till I decide what is going to be my next move.

As for this phone, I think it is really too big. Fast and good no doubt, but just too huge. I do not know if this is something I will ever want. I find it so difficult to push into my pocket, or even my handbag interior pockets. But if you love to carry it about in your hand, it works like a wallet and thats just fine.

I am still not sure which phone will I buy next, and iPhone is on the cards, but lets see. At least they have a good customer service and warranty! That should really work for me. Till then…

All images have been linked to their sources.

Review: Sony Xperia Go

I have always been a Sony mobile phone fan, and in between I did move to a Samsung Galaxy Pocket, only to run back at the earliest possible chance that I got.  The last Sony phone which I used was the Mini Pro, and now I have moved to the Xperia Go.

The Xperia Go also was procured after weeks of research and finally I came down to the HTC One V and the Xperia Go. I was inclined towards the Go because of Timescape, which I was more comfortable with, apart from the choice of a cherry yellow colour!

Anyhow, here we go into the details which I thought were relevant when I was comparing HTC One V and Sony Xperia Go.

The responsiveness of Xperia Go was better than the HTC, and moving from a mini pro which had just a 600MHz processor to something which has a dual core 1Ghz processor, there was certainly a big difference.

The HTC sports a bigger screen hence for me, it was simpler to type out messages etc.But, on saying that I felt the layout of the HTC keyboard was different from the usual qwerty and hence that made things difficult for me. The main difference was in the alignment of the special characters, and that made it difficult for me to write messages and mails.

The camera quality was the same in the first few test shots which I took, and the camera was quite quick too in both cases.

The overall size of the Xperia Go was better for me. My main constraint has been that I need to be able to put this mobile phone into my pocket at any point of time. I can not be holding it all the time, and another plus with this phone was that it is dust and water proof. Knowing me and my tendency to keep dropping the phone and leaving it just about anywhere, this was a great plus.

So if you ask me, I am always in for Sony, I believe they have amazing sound and camera features. I am not a user of business phones, but rather great personal devices, and till date Sony has never let me down. 

Review: Samsung Galaxy Pocket

My trusted Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro had some issues following continuous assault by Tee. It had to visit the doc and in replacement for a short duration I took up the Samsung Galaxy Pocket. The Xperia returned but today I decided to move back to it. I wanted to do a short review based on the short period of use I had of the Galaxy Pocket.

Firstly what I liked about the Pocket was that it was thin and light. Xperia was slightly more heavy and definitely more bulky. But, I like my phones to be such that I know I am holding onto something solid, not something too delicate. I tend to drop my phone and maybe jab it at corners too.

Secondly, I liked that the touch keys on the top panel were very receptive and one need not have to repeatedly touch to achieve a task. But, I must also add that as the RAM seems to be a little less, the response of the OS is slightly slow, and especially if you have more than 2 apps running simultaneously.

One of my main quirks with the Pocket was the time it took to get the screen active from idle mode. One can either press the home key on the top panel, or the side button which is also used to lock the screen. There have been times when I have had to press one , then the other and then the first one, all in vain, as I desperately try to make a call quickly. I do not know whether there is something wrong in the way I was going about it, I doubt that, but nevertheless, it was a PAIN.

Another one was the touchscreen. I am not a touchscreen fan, on phones. I love the iPad and can type out an entire mail there, but I need the space for the keyboard to allow me to do so, which clearly a touchscreen phone does not manage to do so. I would be totally frustrated with the typing of messages and mails. If its a smartphone where I can check mails, then I do expect to be able to reply to them too. This was one of the main reasons I wanted the Xperia Mini pro, which had the qwerty keyboard in place when required.

So, all in all, I think the Pocket is a great option if you just wish to browse the web, read some messages and make calls, but this is not the option I would use if I want to use it to the full ability of the Smartphone. 

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 mini pro

After quite a bit of research, I finally zeroed in on the Sony Xperia X10 mini pro as my new cellphone of choice. I bought it in November and been a month I have been using this phone now. I must say, I have been very impressed with the ease of use, the sensitivity of the touch screen, and also the ease with which one can navigate and customize the menu.

The photos, many which I clicked using its 5.0 mp camera, is also nothing to complain about. Without a flash, your hand does need to be real steady, but with the flash on, things are very smooth.

I love the notes and navigation application, very useful while traveling, where one can make notes on what all places to visit, save it as the main screen and then use the navigation tool to get directions and all. These two have been the most used applications on my phone apart from the sms, Facebook and email. I also like the one button access to the camera, which makes quick photos a breeze.

Another aspect which I adore about this phone is, unless I wish to type a message or a mail, I do not need to open out the qwerty keyboard. I can use the screen for all my daily uses, but at the same time, I do not need to struggle without he on-screen keyboard to type out messages and mails. I did have a tough choice in front of me when I had to decide between the mini and the mini pro. The main detail which factored in for me was the option to type using a simple qwerty keyboard, which I was just not ready to give up.

I think those are the great things which I can think of with regard to this phone, and having the android OS also helps with regard to apps and games. :) I am yet to upgrade to the new Android version, but since this one has given me no issues, I have yet not gotten down to it.