Misc. Ramblings

Overall, I've been happy with my cellphone - a Motorola Razr V3. It is light, thin, and receives and holds signals fairly well. However, there are a several things that don't work for me.

First, the internal and external screens are unreadable when I'm outside or in the car. Unfortunately, this seems to be a characteristic of LCDs so until someone comes up with a better replacement, there's not much that can be done.

Second, the battery doesn't last very long. By long, I'm talking about two or three eight hour days on stand-by before I need to recharge. I'm not sure if advances in battery types will help this, but for now, there's not much that can be done.

Third, along the street and even in a noisy car, it is very difficult to hear the caller's voice. I've turned up the volume all the way but it just isn't very loud(or my hearing isn't very good). I've also tried using the speaker phone, which works well but that isn't an option in crowded locations or when privacy is required. I've even tried using a wired earpiece which also works but after a few months, it failed due to a shorted wire.

In a couple of months I will be eligible to change phones at a discounted rate. I may do that. But what phone I might get is still up in the air. I'm leaning towards getting one of the Palm Treo PDA. Most likely, the 680 for no other reason than because it the cheapest Treo (Nokia makes a nice unit but I'm not used to its interface. Still, at half the price, it will be in the running).

Why a PDA and why the Palm? Since becoming the division administrator six months ago, I've had to keep track of a multitude of appointments. At first, I tried using a day planner/calendar. But it was so big that I usually didn't take it with me, which defeats the purpose of having one because I can't refer to it at meetings if I don't have it. This was a big problem and for awhile, I was making notes at meetings then transferring the notes to the day planner when I got back to the office. Obviously, this was not very efficient.

So I bought the cheapest PDA, a Palm Z22. It's small, light, the battery lasts a long time and keeps my appointments. I'm quite happy with how it works. The problem is, I'm now carrying the Razr and a PDA. This is more than I want to carry around. So that's why I'm looking at a Treo. The downside of the Treos is, of course, they are larger than a Razr or Z22, individually. Still, I could fit one in my pocket. But who knows what kinds of phones will be available in a couple of months?

In the mean time, I went looking for a Bluetooth wireless headset to replace the wired earphone that failed. I know there are a bunch of headsets out there. Many of which are probably very good. But I was looking for one that had noise cancelling, which narrows the field and increases the price.

As it happens, my cellphone carrier, Cingular recently started selling something called the Jawbone Bluetooth headset [warning: site requires Flash]. Yes, I know, what a name. But I guess it's descriptive because, apparently, it uses sound conductance through the bones in the face as a way of reducing the noise picked up by its microphone. It also uses other circuitry to try to filter out certain types of impulse noises.

But when I called the nearest Cingular store to ask if they had one in stock, I was met with incredulous silence and then treated as if I was some kind of prank caller. So, I used the email address found in the Cingular press release and asked for help. Within a short time, a helpful person by the interesting name of Kelleigh Scott responded and asked what zip code I lived in. I sent that back and Kelleigh responded saying one had been put on hold for me at the Cingular store near my home! In a time of rude and/or unresponsive businesses, this was a very pleasant surprise. Imagine that, someone actually quickly and efficiently responded to an email. You better believe that after work, I went directly to the Cingular store and picked up my new headset. If only all businesses were like that! Well done Kelleigh Scott and well done Cingular.

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!