LG Nexus 4 and Google Play Store

My current mobile (HTC S620 Excalibur) is a little over six years old, and has served its purpose satisfactorily.  Unfortunately, some of the buttons on the key pad are getting sticky, and the battery is losing its charge.  As a consequence, I've been looking around for a new smart phone. I've actually been looking around for a long while now, but any mobiles that both caught my interest and met my criteria were way too expensive with no contract.

Anywhoo,  although I'm by no means an 'early adopter' of new gadgets and technologies, when the LG Nexus 4 was announced, its price point and early previews were such that I fairly quickly decided this would be my next mobile and that I'd purchase one as soon as it was released.  Which brings me to today's irritation with Google and Google Play on-line store.

Irritation #1:  Google didn't announce what time on the 13th November the Nexus 4 would be available for sale.  Midnight?  Nine am? PST or EST? This lack of information told me Google doesn't think my time is valuable, and they couldn't care less if they waste it.

Irritation #2:  Either Google is incompetent at selling physical items and running on-line stores, or Google purposely 'under-stocked' the Nexus 4 so they could generate 'sold-out in 20 minutes' headlines and drive up demand.  I find it difficult to think Google incompetent.  Though Irritation #3 may suggest otherwise....

Irritation #3:  The fact that I managed to get past the 'input credit card information/billing-shipping address stage' of checkout, on three different occasions, only each time to end up with an error message and the purchase failing to complete, was extremely aggravating.  I can understand a site slowing down and such due to high traffic (though I thought Google would have been better prepared), but once the item is in the shopping cart, and you've entered all the information requested, and then you get an error!?  Frustrating.

Irritation #4:  Despite providing my e-mail address to be notified when the Nexus 4 was available, to date I never received any such e-mail.  What was the point of signing up?  Maybe they used the number of people who signed up as a way to gauge demand... but apparently not (see #2).  On the other-hand, from my point-of-view, as the Nexus 4 was never truly available, perhaps I should have waited for a notification e-mail and, if I had, I wouldn't have wasted my time.  So... shame on me?

Irritation #5:  This last is not really Google's fault, but I had to mention it here.  The fact that while the Nexus 4 was sold-out on the Play Store, units were quickly being advertised on-line (at a significant mark-up) on sites like E-bay -- this bothered me.  I don't begrudge anyone trying to make a quick profit legally.  If someone is willing to pay those inflated prices more power to them.  I just hope that in turn no one begrudges the fact that I sincerely hope the number of people who are willing to pay inflated prices (instead of waiting for Google to re-stock, or moving on to a different mobile) are few and far between.

Whew.  This post turned out longer than I thought it would be.  So... what now?  For myself it's now a simple matter of waiting to see which occurs first:  whether Google can make available for purchase (by me!) a Nexus 4, or another mobile is released that meets my criteria and price.

Greedy telecoms

I've alluded before to my disgust with mobile phone companies (Handys and upgrading) in North America. This "phone-locking" business has to be one of the all-time major cash grabs in the history of corporate greed and I'm just waiting for the day customers are able and willing to say, "enough is enough".

Mobile phone customers in the U.S. and Canada are forced into one or two year contracts with every new phone they purchase. In contrast, new handys in Asia and Europe(?) are unlocked, which means customers can switch providers as often as they please. Why are Canada and U.S. customers getting the short end of the stick? There's probably a variety of reasons, but I think it's because telecoms have too much lobbying power, and customers have been conditioned to expect and live with this larcenous behaviour.

As I understand it, the telecoms' argument is that they are subsidizing the cost of the handy so contracts are a way to recoup their costs. My reply would be two-fold. First, if a business model with unlocked phones is thriving in Asia and Europe, why can't it work in North America? Second, why can't telecoms offer both locked and unlocked phones? Why!?

Perhaps the majority of customers would still purchase handys under contract, but others, like myself, are willing to pay a premium for an unlocked phone. I paid a premium price for my unlocked, unbranded HTC s620 Excalibur.

Branding--ugh. That brings up a whole other issue.

I understand telecoms installing software and altering functions of handys they offer so that customers can access whatever special features the telecoms offer. Fine. But for myself, I buy a handy to use as a phone, and for contacts. I don't buy a handy to watch video, listen to music or surf the interent. Ever heard the phrase, "jack of all trades, master of none"? So the notion of paying a premium price for a branded phone with telecom logos and junk software I'll never use is extremely galling, to say the least; it's pouring salt into a bleeding wound.

Relatively recently I learned that after 3 months or so some telecoms will now unlock your handy for free--except that you're still locked into your contract. I also have to acknowledge that at least one telecom I contacted said they could sell me an unlocked phone-- except that it would be a branded version. ::roll-eyes::


Update: Oops. I forgot to mention the cause of this rant. The impetus for this post was reading an article on bbc.co.uk talking about the iPhone, which says:

"An Apple software update is disabling iPhones that have been unlocked by owners who wanted to choose which mobile network to use."

The full article is here: Apple iPhone warning proves true.

HTC s620 update

Late last year I spoiled myself and purchased an HTC s620 Excalibur smartphone to replace my mobile and Palm Zire 72. I was tired of having to carry around two devices. You can read my impressions and review of the s620 in a previous post.

It's been a few months now and I'm still very happy with my purchase. I did purchase Facade, a third-party program that allows the calendar and tasks to be displayed on the home page. I'm happy with this feature as well, though slightly miffed that this feature isn't standard on the Windows Mobile O/S.

It had always been my intention to take a few pictures with the Excalibur's MP camera, but it wasn't until now that I remembered. There's no flash, so in low light conditions it's difficult to take a good picture. Anywhoo, here's a picture I took with the Excalibur:


It's a 1.2MP camera, so I think it's fine for unplanned instances where I just need a quick snap shot.

HTC S620 Excalibur

Introducing... the HTC S620 Excalibur. I was fed up with my previous mobile and tired of carrying around a PDA to keep track of all my appointments, contacts, and notes. I thought it would be more convenient to only have to carry one device around so I started looking into smartphones.

I wanted something that could comfortably fit in my pocket, with a full QWERTY keyboard, quad-band GSM, MP camera, and could easily synchronize with Microsoft Outlook. Treos are nice, but they're big with an external antenna (though it looks like that will soon change). I'd basically given up on finding something because everything I saw failed my 'size' requirement. Then... the Motorola Q arrived. I would have snapped this up if it had been GSM--but no... it's with Verizon.

I started paying attention to technology sites/blogs like CNET and Brighthand to keep up to date on soon-to-be released models. I read about the Blackberry Pearl carried by T-Mobile. However, it didn't have a full QWERTY, and I had reservations about the trackball. That's when I read about the T-Mobile Dash. It met all of my requirements, in particular reviews described the call-quality as very good--an important consideration as that would be its primary function. Unfortunately, right now it's only at T-Mobile, and I'm still under contract with Cingular.

I looked into what T-Mobile was asking, and whether it was unlocked. It wasn't. T-Mobile would only unlock the Dash after 3-months of a contract, or if I bought the phone full-price without a contract. Hmmm... I thought about the latter option, but it peeved me that even if I bought a Dash without contract it would still have T-Mobile branding and whatever software/alterations they put on it.

Never say never. I searched various places on-line to see if any unlocked Dashes were being offered. It turns out the T-Mobile Dash is a modified HTC S620 Excalibur. Retailers were offering the Excalibur (unlocked) at a significantly higher price than T-Mobile, but after much thought I decided this was the way I would go. I ordered an Excalibur last week and it arrived a few days ago.

Wow! Simply amazing! First, I had read about the physical dimensions (S620 specifications) but it didn't really sink in how small it is until I held it in my hands. Here's a picture of the S620 beside a AAA battery.


I should note that in the picture at the top of this post, the display is much brighter and vibrant in person (my camera flash kind of bled out the screen). The HTC S620 met all of my major requirements: good call quality, GSM, MP camera, QWERTY keyboard, small size, and synchronized with Outlook--with one caveat. Despite what it says on the T-Mobile website, this device does *not* synch with Outlook Notes. The way I worked around this was to convert my Notes into Contacts, which does synch.

Today I tried connecting the S620 to my computer using a USB-Bluetooth adapter, but eventually I gave up. I'm blaming this on my lack of experience with Bluetooth rather than on the S620. Regardless, Bluetooth and WiFi were never on my 'must have' list.

It's only been a few days but so far I'm extremely pleased with my purchase. Now I'm just waiting for someone to come out with a good case for the S620. I picked up one from T-Mobile as a stop-gap measure, but I prefer a horizontal holster rather than a vertical one.

Handys and upgrading

For reasons I can no longer fathom, when I last purchased a handy I stuck myself with a two-year contract with Cingular. So I was understandably excited when I learned of a thing called "upgrading". What's this, I can upgrade my handy before my contract expires? Great! I actually marked down the date I was eligible for an upgrade on my Outlook Tasks.

Silly me, I'd erroneously assumed that "upgrading" was a special feature Cingular offered to current customers to entice them to remain in the fold. Well, upgrade day arrived and I went to a local outlet only to have my hopes and expectations crushed. Turns out that upgrading is not so special.

Sure, I could get a new phone before my current contract expires--except that I'd need to have a new contract. It was naive of me to expect otherwise, I guess, but hope springs eternal. Oh yeah, and the price I'd pay--with contract--is exactly the same price I'd pay if I had been a completely new customer. So, as I said... not so special. What's the advantage of upgrading? I'd get a new phone, save about $18 dollars on an activation fee... and get stuck with another contract.

I see this as just another example of big business milking their consumer herd until dessication. Rather than reward customers for staying, they encourage them to extend their contract. This is not establishing customer loyalty... it's nothing but a cruel facsimile. It's more like establishing indentured consumers. Caveat Emptor.