(no subject)

[the_rck]

I now have a new phone, some form of droid or another. We picked it because it was among the smallest available and because it had largish numbers on its numeric keypad. The alphanumeric keypad is horrid, so I suspect I'll do my best to avoid using it. Half of my contacts got mangled in being transferred over (pieces of names getting put out of order, mainly), so I spent about half an hour fixing those. I haven't yet made or received any calls. I think I've set my two usual alarms to go off, but I won't know for sure until one of them actually goes off.

We're paying for a data plan for me, but I don't really think I'll use it much. My laptop is so much easier. The keys are the right size, and I can type really rapidly and accurately. I can't manage either speed or accuracy on the phone. I don't expect my speed to improve much, either, as there's no way to touch type on a phone.

This phone is large and awkward compared to my old phone. I can't really put my hand in my pocket with it, and there's no way on earth that it will fit into the pocket on my purse that I'm used to using for my phone.

I've also already got a ton of fingerprints all over the phone that make reading things on it difficult. I'm not sure what to do about that. Scott seems to think it's normal and that I should be able to use the phone just fine anyway.

Okay. Time to start working on my email. I've accumulated about forty five messages today that all need to be dealt with before bedtime.

Comments

[lemon_badgeress]

you get used to the fingerprints >_< fastest/easiest way to clean it is with a DRY eyeglass cleaning cloth.

[the_rck]

I'll have to see about getting an eye glass cleaning cloth.

I have now received two calls and placed two calls on my new phone. I'm not comfortable with it yet, but I hope to be.

[kyrielle]

You may want to research tethering, and whether your data plan allows it. If it does, you could use the cell phone to supply wifi to the laptop when you are somewhere that has cell signal but lacks wifi. (If the data plan doesn't permit it, you could tick off your provider and get extra charges, I believe - so do make sure it's allowed, if the phone even supports it.)

[the_rck]

Interesting. I'll look into it.

I'm not likely to use it because my laptop battery only lasts about forty minutes when there's no power and because the places I go that don't have internet, at least those to which I take my laptop, don't have cell service, either.

[zhelana]

I've gotten a lot faster at typing with my thumbs than I ever thought I would. Don't discount it.

[the_rck]

With the way my hands tend to shake, I don't expect that I'll ever try typing with my thumbs.

[kalloway]

A decent screen protector should take care of the fingerprints problem and help keep your phone safe. I only get smudges from my hands being super-filthy from work and even then, they wipe right off with a clean rag.

[the_rck]

Scott says he's going to order me a screen protector (he's got Amazon Prime, so him ordering it makes more sense than me ordering it).

[kalloway]

I'm surprised they let you out of the phone shop without a pile of accessories! *ended up with a decent case, screen protector, various chargers* Of course, when I got mine, I really emphasized that I needed the most durable phone I could get and whatever I needed to keep it in one piece. Which was just an opening for add-ons (that have probably saved my phone's life more times over the years).

[the_rck]

They tried to sell us some stuff, and I probably would have gone with it because the stuff was right there, but Scott was with me, and he knew there'd be a wider selection at a lower cost on Amazon.

Of course, I worry that we'll discover that the case we've picked out doesn't work right-- Cordelia had real problems with the cover we bought her for her iPad mini. If she uses it, the iPad randomly turns itself off. That bug was not mentioned in the reviews on Amazon.

Fingerprints

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

I clean the screen of my smartphone with the same kind of soft cloth I use to clean my glasses. It makes it a lot less smeary.

I don't know if this will work for you, but I've found Swype very helpful. (It's a free app.) It gives you a tiny temporary keyboard on the screen, that you can use by sliding your fingertip from key to key. For instance, it's hard to touch just f or just i or n, because the keys are small. But when I go directly from f to i to n to g to e to r, without lifting my finger, it asks if I mean "finger" or "dinner" or "finer." And if you touch one of the plastic keys, the on screen keys disappear.

[the_rck]

I'll look into Swype. As I said to Valerie, below, I think that most of what I'll be typing will be people's names

I'll see about picking up a cloth for cleaning glasses. I haven't had one in a very, very long time.

[evalerie.livejournal.com]

I clean my phone by wiping its screen on my shirt or pants. I don't like to ever have fingerprints on the screen.

Would using the phone's voice input help make typing easier? On my phone the voice input is very accurate at getting the right words (but punctuation-free), and it's vastly quicker than typing.

[the_rck]

I tried my shirt. It did nothing. The fingerprints didn't even smear.

I'm not convinced I want to use voice input. My expectation is that most of what I'll be typing will be people's names, and I don't think the voice input would necessarily get those right. I mean, just with my last name, there are two perfectly valid spellings that are pronounced the same, and mine is almost certain not to be the one that such a thing would default to.