This is the DROID you're looking for.
So I finally broke down and purchased a Verizon Motorola DROID smartphone. My ancient Verizon Razr cell phone was dying, with the battery running out quickly and an occasional black screen of death on the thing. It was probably over four years old anyway. But since Grindr is not yet available as an app for the DROID, my new purchase is basically worthless.
But when I have pulled it out amongst the iPhone crowd I've heard regular confessions that the iPhone's AT&T network connectivity sucks, and iPhone users have been regularly annoyed by dropped calls. This fills me with joy, as I have never been dropped on the Verizon network. Neener-neener, you smug iPhone users. That said, I don't recommend you ever try to get Verizon to install a land line in your home. Verizon is good for wireless, but horrible for land line installation and support.
Anyway, when I first got a demo of the DROID I learned that it interfaces with Gmail and Facebook quite well, and since I had a Verizon product beforehand, it was very easy to transfer my phone contacts to the DROID. And then I noticed it seamlessly integrated my Facebook contacts with my phone contacts, so when I call up a name from my contacts list, options for calling, texting or messaging on Facebook come up. Very nice.
It has lots of other apps that are useful but I'm still learning how to use the thing. So far I have only been able to make it play the Transformers transform noise when a notification comes in. I do plan on pulling out my DROID at inappropriate times during holiday gatherings, movie screenings, funerals, weddings, at nice restaurants, and in the middle of intimate verbal converstations. I may not be looking at anything in particular, but I hope to destroy all non-digital social interaction because now I can.
I had a nice birthday gathering at Nellie's the night before my actual birth date, which was on Monday. Going out drinking on a Sunday pretty much wiped out the early part of this week though, but my old bones are recovered by now. Anyhow, at one point in the evening Clickboo started giving me the spins on a bar stool, and I said "WHEEE!" and then threw up and everybody laughed:
Photo by M.V. Janzen. I took some photos he took of my friend Bubbles and made an old fashioned annoying animated .gif, which is that irritating blinky image at the above right that I uploaded for no reason other than to induce seizures in my readers.
No iPhone here, but the hands-down worst customer experience of my life was with Verizon. It was over DSL service rather than wireless, but it was six months of frustrating hell and they will never, ever get another penny from me. AT&T is far from perfect, but they have the best coverage in our area and they're not Verizon - equally big selling points in my book.
Yeah, Verizon is horrible for anything involving potential human interaction, which is why you're generally OK with tested wireless handheld devices.
You could try purpl.
Happy birthday. Mine is 2 days before yours. I didn't see anything about birthday spankings in your post.
Glad you had a good birthday Jimbo.
And as for Verizon.. I live in the sticks of NH, so maybe that's to be taken into account, but Verizon tends to drop my calls constantly.
Still, as someone who loves his iPod, I would kill for an IPhone on Verizon's network. And AT&T Can't be nearly as bad as Comcast's service.. but that's another complaint list entirely.
Belated Happy day of birth!!!!!!! Contrary to what you have heard, the 40's your heading for are very good years!
Happy belated Birthday. Just recently started reading your blog. I have the storm two and I'm loving it! But like you, Grindr isn't available for it just yet. ;)
Congratulations on your new, cheap knock-off! It is true. AT&T service SUCKS! I enjoy my iPhone, but ever since I moved into exile... in the middle of nowhere the service REALLY, REALLY SUCKS!
Recently AT&T released an app which you use to track drop calls, data failures, etc. I have been using it all the time. The ridiculous thing is when the service drops I can't even use the fraking app to report it! WTF?
I'm totally stealing that .gif.
@401a - So let's see...you love your iPhone even though its not able to function as a reliable phone? What's to love? Wouldn't a iPod touch cost less (no need to pay for an unreliable to non-usable wireless plan) and have more memory (64GB)?
Enjoy your paperweight! (Posted from my full-bars-of-reliable-3G-network-goodness Droid)
Rob and I got a DROID.. (I got mine last week) it takes time to get use to and its different then most phones, but the apps are pretty cool. i have mine set to have the sounds of the TARDIS when ever a message/call comes in. I also have it set up with an actually functioning Tricorder App.. the Nerd/Geekiness is unlimited.
I named mine CYLON ;-)
One of the mysteries of the universe is why Apple’s iPhone is tied into AT&T network. Another mystery is why the AT&T’s 3G service is so poor.
Here is Australia, there are 3 3G (or better) carriers, Telstra, Optus and 3 (formerly known as Hutchinson), plus many providers using the 3 carriers and reselling bandwidth.
What is remarkable in the world’s most urbanised nation is that Telstra can claim a coverage of 99.9% by population and > 98% by area, an area equivalent to the contiguous states of the US but with a non-urban population of less than 7,000,000 people (of a total national population of 22,000,000).
It begs the question why is a liberal socialist democracy like Australia with a comparatively low population - particularly in non-urban areas - has an incredible amount of choice and competition in the telco area. In fact, of all the OECD nations, the retail prices of iPhones and iPods are cheapest by comparison. In the only OECD nation that avoided negative growth post GFC. And this is in the face of competition of other, cheaper 3G (or faster) phones like Palm, BlackBerry, Android, Linux based phones, Symbian, Motorola’s funny little Mobile OS, and Windows Mobile.
Actually WinMob was just a joke: no-one uses a Windows Mobile unless it was a gift, and even then only begrudgingly!
If Australia can achieve the simple task of providing 3G services over 3 networks over a very large area with a low population density at low cost with open competition, why can’t the US with the same area, high population density and a tradition of competition?
The mind boggles how the US that lives on a creed of competition and “the market knows best” can be so restrictive and not cause any concern amongst regulators and the markets.
Because of the competition, Apple competes very nicely against BlackBerry, and outsells other phones like the Linux based or Android phones. In fact, Palm decided to not sell the Pre here because the modelling suggested only a few die-hard Palm users would buy one: not enough to justify the expense of attempting to compete against the iPhone3GS.
I doubt even Google or Nokia will ever be able to compete against Apple’s iTunes or the App Store. Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer must be ripping out any remaining hair and upping his dose of “shout the spin” medication.
Have a happy new year, and well done on achieving another birthday!
Have fun using your Verizon phone when you travel overseas. Oh, that's right... you can't use it over there.
Neener neener. ;-)
My mom purchased a used one for my home. However I'm having some trouble and I need a little help.