The Phone Review

As seems to be the current trend, I as a user of technology, feel it is appropriate to share my front-line experiences using a piece of the future so that others, scouting the interwebs for real people who have run into real problems will stumble upon this and use it to inform their decision to buy or not to buy. So, though my expertise falls more in the realm of the snarky essay and my skills with technology ended with the TRS-80 model 4D, the virtual world insists that my opinions are valid. The, with the web as the ultimate equalizer, I bring you my review of my phone.

I have been using the Galaxy Nexus for a few months now and have grown to like it. Not to love it, mind you, and not even to adore it on the level that I adored my Blackberry Curve before it, but I do like it more than I thought I would. The lack of customizable notifications and the virtual keyboard are both limitations, and there also seems to be some sort of glitch in the switch between WIFI and 4G. This last issue becomes apparent as my internet at home cuts out at odd intervals so if my phone can't sense that the WIFI is out, I manually turn off the WIFI on the phone and hope the phone can fall back into 4G mode so that i can still use the web. Often, i have to restart the phone to force it to recognize that I have a phone signal and until I remember to do that, I get access to nothing in terms of data.

I think that part of this can certainly be traced to the problems with the internet connection. Surely if I had a more stable DSL (not "DSL line" as the L stands for 'line') I wouldn't run into this problem nearly as much. At work, where being on the local WIFI means having to sign in and reauthenticate every 30 minutes I like to leave the radio off as well and use the 4G so I guess I can't sidestep the issue simply by calling Verizon and demanding that they, once and for all, fix the DSL at home. I mean, I have been dealing with this issue for years now. Every time I call, I go back to the beginning with some level 1 tech support person (after getting through the automated fixer who recommends that I GO ONLINE for fixes! Duh! If I could go online, I wouldn't need any help because my DSL would be working) and I have to explain the situation over and over again. The very nice person hired by Verizon to frustrate me (this was the help wanted ad: "Wanted, someone to frustrate Dan Rosen") restates my problem and either gets it completely wrong, or hangs up on me. And never calls back the call-back number I provided.

So last year I took to emailing every executive i could find on any webpage put out by Verizon. I figured out the format of their corporate email addresses and started complaining to the top. And I mean THE TOP. Very quickly I was contacted by "Executive Customer Assistance" and the problem was solved. At least for 9 months. It is back and I still have that phone number, so I'm going to call the executives again and whine like a first-world, spoiled American as is my god given right.

I don't generally call to complain about things. As vituperative as I appear on these blogs, I am actually quite reserved in real life. Both cars and a computer had to be repaired recently. My method? Take it in, tell the guys "do whatever and charge me whatever, and wipe the drool off your chin. I'll be back in a week. Please don't give me any details." I can't haggle, I never return stuff to a store, I never offer to pay in cash to save the taxes and I really hate complaining. This blog helps me vent because, not only do I get a special kind of solitude which one rarely finds, considering that the 20 or so "readers" for any post seem to be me (reloading from different computers to edit my misspellings) my mom (hi, mom), my 1 subscriber, and a guy from Estonia who, I believe, thinks that (via his poor English skills) my ramblings are some sort of post-modernist erotica, but also because I work better being able to formulate thoughts and write them out and revise them. Speaking to live people also exposes me to their responses and, often, their stupidity. I have no patience for stupidity which means I usually have no interest in responses. So I cave quickly to end the conversation. Good talk Russ.

And that's why I like pancakes.