My mobile phone broke a couple of weeks ago. For some people, this would have been a major catastrophe. I know people who regard mobile phones in the same category as water or oxygen. For me, I have never really taken to the concept. I have had a phone for almost 15 years now but I tend to use one as I used to use a public call box - for outgoing calls only. Once in a while, it is convenient to be contactable and I will leave the phone switched on when I know I need to be called but for the most part I rather enjoy the concept of being "out".
For someone who works in the technology industries I find
that I am not entirely enamoured to new technology. It's not a case of Luddism
but merely a scepticism over claims of the wonders of new technology. I used to
be an early adoptor in thrall of the latest technological gizmos but,
ultimately, I have had my fingers burnt too often (Interestingly, a BBC Editor appreciated just
such a comment on the subject this week see #68 ).
Given that I only really use a phone occasionally for outgoing calls it might
be assumed that I have no interest in the latest multi-function phones but I
can see their uses. I do tend to think smart phones are a bit wanky but this
doesn't mean that they don't do things that appeal to me. I bought my last
phone, not because of it's call making potential, but because I wanted an MP3
player. Now, I don't use it anything like as much as I imagined (I'm still more
of a CD man) but the phone I chose was effectively a Sony Walkman MP3 player
that also happened to be a phone. It also did other things (the FM radio was
nice) but I actually rather liked the fact that I could hide away mobile phone
functionality into something that provided genuine use to me: well, at least
until it stopped functioning somewhere around Lockerbie.
I did think of just sticking with my works phone for a
while. However, I do prefer to keep my work and personal life separate and I also
fancied having something else a bit functional to carry around with me. In
fact, the thought came to me when I was at the BBC Television Centre - I'd
really like to have a half decent camera as well as a phone. Now we have a couple
of small point and click cameras - both Kodaks (who, unfortunately, have now
pulled out of the camera business). But what I wanted was a reasonable camera
built into a cheap phone. I narrowed it down to two options: an LG feature
phone and a T-Mobile own brand item called a Vivacity. After some deliberation
I went for the latter (mainly because I could get it cheap on an upgrade deal
from T-Mobile). This is an Android phone and it is different from my previous
phones in a couple of ways. Firstly, it is a fully fledged smart phone with a
proper operating system. Secondly, it has a touch screen.
In the first instance, the touch screen was causing me a
bit of a problem. I just didn't seem to be able to get it to work. Also, my
fingers seemed to be far to fat. I think the problem is that I don't just prod
away when I am typing. I can type very quickly - provided I have something that
is modelled on the classic IBM type M keyboard which is naturally moulded to my
wide techie fingers. The other thing with the touch screen is that it requires
motions to perform the mouse functions which are just not that natural to me.
Finally, I had an epiphany and managed to make the whole thing work effectively
- I removed the protective plastic sheet from the screen: it worked far better.
However, this also revealed another bugbear of touch screens: they get very
mucky very quickly. I struggle somewhat to read the screen at the best of times
(mainly my own fault for being a bi-focal refusenik) but when the screen is
smeared in fingerprints it really makes the process that much worse. One thing
that did surprise me with this phone is how well the internet works when
connected to the wireless modem. It's not as easy to browse as a PC with a
22" screen but it is certainly readable.
I did say that I bought my previous phone for it's MP3
capability. This phone does it as well, in fact surprisingly well and at least
as good as the Sony did - quite impressive as it is not their stock in trade.
The supplied headphones are OK but I did plug in the cheap cans I leave next to
the PC and the improvement is phenomenal. I even tried it on my home HI-FI and
it sounds perfectly reasonable although the top end distortion from the MP3
compression is very noticeable. The FM radio that was included works, of sorts,
but it is nowhere near as good as the RDS one that was included on the Sony. I
suppose you can't have it all ways.
The camera facility is what I actually bought the phone
for and, at over 5 Megapixels, it actually has a higher resolution than the
first digital camera I bought over 10 years ago (an Olympus model). The one
thing I wasn't expecting is for the pictures to be to the same quality as a
point-and-click camera. It's not why I bought it. I've tried a few shots and it
seems to be fairly reasonable but it does have it's limitations. Partly, this
is because of the touch screen. Whereas a point-and-click camera will have the
shutter button located to the side (thus ensuring a firm grip) the camera phone
requires a tap to the screen for the picture to be taken which immediately
wobbles the whole unit. It appears to compensate for this by having a very long
delay between the tap and the picture being taken - by long, I mean 2 to 3
seconds rather than the few tenths that may be experienced with the Kodak
units. For simple snapshots, this isn't a problem but it does limit other uses
which I will demonstrate through the medium of whippets...
To get a better shot of Eddie I took this when he was
slumped down in his basket:
However, that was actually the second attempt as when I
clicked the first time, this happened:
Finally, I managed to get Sam to sit still for this:
You can tell the flash was used as his eyes are lit up
like laser beams: although his eyes really are that close together normally. For
this he was concentrating on a bottle of beer which I was holding behind the
camera. The dog rescue people never tell you that the mutts are wanton
alcoholics but I suppose it has its uses.
Unlike my previous phone, this one also includes a camcorder. I did try to get Eddie to do a piece to camera but the best I could get out of him was a half hearted "Want one!":
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