26th
Jan
Posted by Mad Francis in Geek | No Comments
I’ve only had my NOW FUNCTIONING (refer to my previous post about my verizon encounters) LG Voyager for 24 hours but I feel that I’m ready to write a review. I’ve done my fair share of investigating its nooks and crannies. I’ve played with the software, made a few calls, and texted some people. I believe I’m qualified for the introductory review. I’m going to make things simple by listing the pros and cons that I’ve come across thus far.
Pros
01.) The touch screen! It’s not as big as the iphone (nor as brilliant) but it does have a few advantages that I like. The touch sensitivity is pressure sensitive (the iphone uses heat) which makes it possible to use a stylus. I don’t use a stylus but I like having the option to.
02.) QWERTY keyboard! Who cares if the phone is thicker than the iphone, there’s a keyboard! I don’t know what it is about having a physical keyboard that excites me, but I love it. I just like the option of opening it up and typing on actual keys. The keys are big enough to type without difficulty which is exceptionally nice.
03.) LOUD SPEAKERS! I was suprised at how loud the voyager can get. Seriously, it’s loud. Much louder than the iphone.
04.) Quick response. The operating system is quicker than I would have thought it to be. The enV was terribly slow and there was noticable lag in the touch screen. There are no such problems with the voyager.
05.) GPS! The GPS is spot on. So much in fact that it’s kinda creepy. I turned it on in my office and it recognized when I would turn around.
06.) Expandable Memory. I love being able to add up to 8GB of storage to my cell phone. Tits.
07.) 2MP Cam. The camera on the voyager is amazing. I’m glad that it is capable of taking videos as well (unlike the iphone).
08.) HTML Browser. Finally, I can say goodbye to the shitty world of mobile web!
09.) Mobile TV! Although it is currently unavailable in my area it’s an awesome feature nonetheless.
Cons
01.) No wifi! This is perhaps the biggest drawback of the Voyager. This is one of the best features of the iphone. I wish they would have implemented wifi capability.
02.) Expandable memory capping out at 8GB. Now that there are 16GB cards available I’m a bit bummed that the Voyager caps out at 8GB. Maybe they will release some firmware to expand?
03.) Handicapped Bluetooth. Need I say more!?
04.) Price. This is an expensive little device. Fortunately I was able to get a number of rebates and discounts that brought the cost down but SHEESH. Price is something the Voyager has in common with the iPhone.
So there you have it. This is where I stand with the Voyager thus far. I have yet to make any comments on the battery life of the device because I’ve not had it long enough to do so. So far it’s still holding the initial charge that it came with. I’ll be sure to update as I become more familiar with the device.
GTG, getting a mobile IM message.
25th
Jan
Posted by Mad Francis in news/blog | No Comments
What a hectic week this has been. I’ve been to the verizon store 4/5 days this week; each visit consisting of 2+ hours (except for Tuesday). I was there so frequently that I should have clocked in (or put on a uniform or something).
I was updating the company phones for my workplace. We don’t have a corporate phone plan. Instead, we use two family share plans to cover all of our employees (it works out to be cheaper that way). It may be cheaper but it’s definitely not hassle free. With a family plan it’s a big pain in the ass to do something that would be simple on a corporate plan. But then again… It’s cheaper so who cares, right?
So here’s how the week went as far as Verizon goes…
Monday
Went into Verizon and purchased new phones to replace old phones. Had to update our contract because it was outdated and the new phones required services that weren’t covered in the old plan (hince the outdated part). I ordered my LG Voyager because they didn’t have any in stock. The whole process took about three hours.
Tuesday
Took in a few phones to have the contacts imported off of the old phones that were being replaced. The whole ordeal only took about 20 minutes.
Wednesday
Didn’t go to the Verizon store because I had a night class. Phew!
Thursday
Despite being told that the Voyager was going to take a week to arrive, it showed up today. I rushed over to the Verizon store to activate it and have two phone ID switched (swapping the numbers on two phones). Alas, there were issues resulting in me not being able to activate my Voyager. Apparently I couldn’t do anything because I wasn’t an ALL ACCESS CONTACT listed on the account. After 3 hours of trying to get things figured out I ended up leaving with 2 nonfunctioning phones. Contacted the boss man (my dad) and had him add me as an ALL ACCESS CONTACT so that I could do what needed to be done.
Friday
Went back to Verizon at 10AM to get things worked out. Weird shit was happening on the Verizon side of business. Apparently the request to make me an ALL ACCESS CONTACT had gone through but my name had somehow been omitted. HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN!? Anyway, everyone was really confused so we had to do it again. I ended up having to call the Verizon Tech Support line from the Service Desk in the Verizon Wireless store because their corporate office doesn’t give them full access to certain systems. The lady on the phone sounded crazy. Her voice was mixed between someone that would read a crystal ball in some horror movie and a witch. She told me that somehow the line that I was trying to upgrade had been disconnected and that it was lost forever. I got angry and talked smack. She forwarded my call to another technical department where a nice lady assisted me with my problems. She had me up and running in no time. Within 3 hours I was out of the store with everything up and running. Sweet action.
I’ve had my fill of Verizon Wireless for now. I don’t think I’ll be going back. However, I must say that Tony and Jeremy are badasses for being so patient with my bullshit problems. High-Fives to them!
