Saturday, March 15, 2008

Like most people I carry a mobile phone around with me whenever I am out of the house. Its now an essential piece of equipment for modern life, like carrying my glasses and my credit cards. The trouble is that I’ve been cursing my old mobile for ages because although it worked well, recharging it was a real pain. Connecting it to the charger was so very fiddly and I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve spent a long time and lots of curses trying to get the connection just right so that the phone would recharge.

After a couple of years of this I decided out of sheer exasperation to make a change and started looking around for a new mobile phone last November. The trouble is that I am one of those people who find themselves baffled by too much choice. I can remember years ago, long before I was married, going into the local Toys-R-Us for a Christmas present for my young nephew and leaving with empty hands after a couple of hours as I was just totally confused and baffled at the amount of choice available. There are so many different mobile phone models around, all with different facilities and all at different prices that my brain fused every time I went into my local mobile phone shop. And I’ve been going into the shop virtually every week, staring at the display of all the different models, failing to make a decision and beating a hasty retreat.

Then this Thursday I saw this one. Not black as in the photograph but purple. Just what a Red Hatter needs. It not only caught my eye, the price was reasonable and it has lots of facilities that I can play with. So I bought it, with real relief that my ordeal was finally over. Orange (the mobile phone service I use and have always received good service) transferred my (old) phone number to my new mobile overnight, and Yesterday it became my new phone.

The first thing I did was to download onto my new phone a tune to become its new ringtone. Too many times I have been on a train or on a station and an ordinary ringtone has gone off and everyone in listening distance has reached for their own mobile phone to see whether it was theirs ringing. I did not want that, I wanted a ringtone that was special to me alone. So my old phone had the music from Mission Impossible (the tv series); this one has the film music from Superman (the original film – I’ve always loved John Williams music from this film). I am unlikely to find too many other people reaching for their mobiles if someone rings me.

I’ve got a lot to learn about my new phone and much I can do with it, from downloading music onto it to learning how to use its FM radio. Those I shall learn and play with over the future months. For the moment I have a phone that works effectively. And isn’t a pain to recharge.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Terrific! Clearly the mission was not impossible, after all. I don't have sound on this computer (let's not go into that) so I'll have to find a way to hear what the original Superman music sounds like. (I didn't know that more than one Superman film had been made and, on pain of death, could not say what decade any Superman film came out. Superman just is not my thing!)
I hope your new phone performs well and lasts long.
Cop Car

Anonymous said...

I'm a chicken about all the bells and whistles. I don't want a phone that plays FM, takes pictures and makes waffles on days I'm running late. I have a simple Tracfone and I STILL have to figure out how to enter everyone's numbers. I'll get there eventually.

I have to say...it would be nice to have a flip phone. That way when I carry it in my purse, it can't be turned on by accident. Although, this one you have to hold the button down for several seconds to turn it on, so that may have resolved the issue! *S*

I love John Williams movie music. When DH and I were married, we asked the string trio if they could play "Can you read my mind?" from Superman. The implication was that we were so in tune that we made choices as though we were reading each other's minds.
He's written some wonderful music.

Enjoy your new phone, and toss that old recharger into the wastebasket!

Buffy

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Adele said...

CopCar, Ican't believe that you don't have sound on your computer. How do you manage? If you ignore the dross there are a few very good pieces in YouTube for a start. Not to mention iTunes.

The Superman theme I've put on my mobile comes from the Superman film that came out in 1978. This was a really good and enjoyable film. Its sequel Superman II came out in 1980 and was almost as good although the less said about Superman III the better. All three films starred Christopher Reeve, the star who was severely disabled after a fall from a horse and finally died a few years ago. Finally in 2006 another film, Superman Returns, came out which followed on from the other three and isn't half bad.

You can probably tell from this that I like that sort of fantasy action films. They are just FUN.

Adele said...

Buffy,

I understand what you mean and a part of me was saying to myself "All you need is a phone capable of sending a (very) occasional message. But I do love playing with all those bells and whistles and in the shop I succombed...

Inputting contacts into a mobile phone is a hassle, isn't it. When I did mine on Friday I was also learning the way a new phone worked and was cursing at the fuss it was. But it's done now and I can ring anyone up quickly and painfully.

My old phone was a flip top and was excellent as it meant that however much my phone got battered in my handbag it didn't ring anyone by accident. This one slides open and when I slide it shut it automatically Locks itself. So that one is safe in my handbag too.

I too love John Williams music and have a double album of his film music that I frequently listen to, especially when I am cooking. Playing "Can you read my mind" at your wedding ceremony was a lovely idea.

Adele said...

Buffy,

I meant Painlessly, of course. It just saves me time having a complete Contacts list.

Anonymous said...

On turning things on accidentally: For the first few months, I made a few accidental phone calls from having buttons and the touchscreen pushed accidentally. Then, I wised up and changed my settings so that all the buttons (except the "on" and "call answer" buttons) are disabled whenever the unit is turned off. Much better. I also have the touchscreen disabled while I am on a call.

As to YouTube & iTUNES: Never been there, not likely to be--on dialup. And, I don't feel deprived over it! *grin*

As to inputting contacts: Very simple on my phone. I just plug it into the computer and use the synchronization function which automatically exchanges contacts, notes, and other computer files that I've designated with my desktop computer. Although I can, and do, correct or input contacts on my phone if I am away from home, it is easier to do it through the synchronization function if I am at home.

Fantasy: Just never tripped my trigger. WichiDude and Bogie are dyed-in-the-wool fans of fantasy but I find it (ooh, I'm gonna step on toes here *scrinching up) boring. Fortunately, as I put on a comment at Ronni's a couple of days ago, we are not yet like peas in a pod!
CC