Tag: Cell phone

SMASH! CRACK!

I watched it fall like it was in slow motion. My phone slid off the counter and as it fell I could hear myself yelling in slow motion, “Nooooooo!” I could feel myself reaching out, hoping to get my hands on it before it hit the floor, but I never had the chance. It came down and the upper left corner of the phone slammed into the floor.

It seemed to bounce before it fell facedown on the floor. My heart sank, knowing that despite the protection of a screen protector and an Otterbox, the screen had shattered.

I reached down, picked it up and slowly turned the front to face me. Sure enough, the upper corner of my phone was covered in cracks and shards of glass. One crack went from the upper left corner all the way down to the lower right corner. It was not pretty.

This isn’t the first time it has dropped on the ground. Perhaps this time it was just high enough to do damage. The Otterbox and screen protector have done their jobs! It took a few drops before the screen protector cracked and was replaced. The last one held up for well over a year. This drop, however, was a bit different and when I heard it hit the ground, I knew it was going to be bad.

The last few phones I have had were Motorola phones. I have had very good luck with them. For a while there it seemed like I was only getting a year or less out of a phone before I had to send them back to the factory or call about issues. When I switched to Moto phones, those issues stopped. I always got 2-3 years out of them with little or no issues.

Three years ago, when it was time for Sam and I to upgrade, she tried to get me to switch to an iPhone, and despite some very good arguments, I stayed with my Android phone. It continues to work well, and if it wasn’t terribly damaged, I’m sure I wouldn’t even be thinking about an upgrade yet. After the incident today, I opened up my Verizon App and began to explore the option to upgrade.

With both of our phones paid in full, our current bill has come down. I hated the thought of upgrading because that would mean an extra $20 or more on the bill each month. I called Verizon and discussed options on my way to work.

The rep who I spoke with shared some of the upgrade options with me. I had seen something on the app that said if you upgraded one phone, you could get another free. I thought this could be nice for both Sam and I, however, I was told in order to do that, you have to get an entirely new line and new number. We’ve both had our numbers for years, so that was not an option.

They had a deal on a new Samsung phone. The phone would cost $980, but they would give me $800 for my phone. I would only have to pay $180 for the phone over 36 months – $5 a month. This would be something I could work with. I didn’t want to do anything without first discussing with Sam, so I mentioned it to her and I decided that I would go ahead with the upgrade, despite it not being a Motorola phone.

I chatted with another representative when I called back. I told her exactly what I had discussed with the other rep. She proceeded to get things in order and before we finalized things, she told me my new monthly bill would be almost $50 more. I asked how that could be and she started to explain this that and the other. I reminded her that the other rep had given me a quote that was only $5 more a month. She said she was going to try something else.

When she returned to the line the price had come down, but only slightly. I told her that I had been with Verizon for over 20 years and I didn’t want to pay the higher price. She tweaked here and there and it never really came down much more. I reminded myself that the only reason I was gung ho about the new phone was that it was basically an even trade. It was only going to cost $5 a month, so why wouldn’t I take advantage of this?! I told the woman on the phone that I would need to discuss this with my wife before committing to the changes, knowing that I was not going to do it.

So now what? I opened up my app and started to really examine the bill. One of the things I had forgotten about was the fact that I have been paying for insurance on my phone since I got it! Insurance! It had been so long since I have had to file any kind of claim, I had completely forgotten about it.

In the past it seemed like I was forever using the Asurion insurance to replace broken phones, phones that wouldn’t keep a charge, and phone with other issues. I went to their website, typed in my number and filed a claim. I paid my deductible and my new phone (which is the same phone I have now) will arrive tomorrow. Done.

In the end, I saved us a boatload of money. I also will keep the phone I am comfortable with and won’t have to buy new accessories for it. To me, that’s a huge win.

The only thing I am freaked out about is making sure that everything is backed up so that when my phone arrives, everything will transfer to it. Of course, I will have to remember every last dang password for apps, but I suppose I should be back up and running at full power in a matter of days.

Fingers crossed!

Modern Tech Can Ruin A Classic

As a fan of old movies and old TV shows, I sometimes find myself thinking about how modern technology can immediately take an entire show or movie and destroy it. Just to prove my point, I will quickly look at a movie that I have been meaning to write about for some time – It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963).

This movie is a classic and almost anyone who is anyone in comedy was in it. The main characters are played by Spencer Tracy, Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Mickey Rooney, Jonathan Winters, and Buddy Hackett. There are countless comedian cameos throughout the entire movie.

Here is a quick synopsis: A criminal who has been just released from prison has a car accident and drives off a cliff. Five motorists who witness the accident rush down to help the driver (Jimmy Durante) who is fatally injured. Just before he dies, he tells the motorists about $350,000 that he has buried in Santa Rosita State Park under “a big W.”

As police arrive, and question the motorists (who say nothing about the money), they climb back up to their cars and all eventually pull over to discuss what has transpired. They decide that they will all go to see if there even is any money, but first begin arguing over the best way to divide up the money between themselves.

After failing to come up with a satisfactory way to split the money, it becomes every man for himself and everyone begins racing each other to the park. What they don’t know is that they are all being watched by a police captain who has been following the case for years. The remainder of the movie consists of car chases, plane mishaps, car thefts, and plenty of property destruction as the motorists race across the country to get to the money first.

You don’t have to think hard about what piece of modern technology would stop the plot of this movie dead in its tracks – a cell phone.

All these motorists would have to do is call someone close by to look for the money, right? As a matter of fact, in the film Ethel Merman’s character calls her son (Dick Shawn) to tell him about the money because he lives close by. However, the son is so dumb and doesn’t listen to her and gets in his car and drives toward her instead of to the money.

Sid Caesar’s character charters a plan for him and his wife and the actually arrive in town first. They go to a hardware store to buy tools to dig with. They enter the store as the store closes for lunch (who does that anymore?) and are locked in the basement. A cell phone would have easily allowed them to call for help. Without the cell phone, however, he and his wife manage to destroy the basement of the store with fire and even dynamite!

It’s funny to think about how modern technology could change or completely erase story plot. The characters only knew that the money was buried under a “Big W.” They didn’t even know what that meant! Many of them were shown driving in their cars guessing what it could be (A water tower, or a windmill). Today, you could simply type into Google or ask Siri, “What’s a Big W located in Rosita Beach State Park?”

You could easily watch countless movies and TV shows from the past and say, “That would never happen today!” Think about how many old detective shows or courtroom shows would be different just because of the use of DNA evidence today?

What IS important is to sit back and watch these classics understanding the culture of the day and remembering the time frame they were created in.

What are your thoughts?