chuckography

Have a "Candlestick" telephone?

Well, THIS is not exactly the telephone I have been using lately.

Mine did not have a rotary dial.

But it also was NOT a hand-held computer and could not give me driving directions from point A to point B.

I never really wanted a new "phone" because my Tracfone ($7 a month) was fine for the last 6-7 years.

Also the minutes I bought would accumulate and I had built up a surplus of 300 minutes. Oh, and I didn't want to sign a 2-year contract.

The LG Optimus V 2.2 from Virgin Mobil/Sprint cost $149, has no contract and, for $25 a month, I have unlimited internet, unlimited text/messaging and 300 phone minutes.

I canceled my phone package deal through Comcast and no longer have a "stationary" phone at home. Yikes.

Pretty gutsy for a 70-year old guy.

This model is described online as a very good entry-level (some reviews said mid-level) Smartphone and has a lot of bells and whistles which are outlandish to my baby-steps mind.

I used the WiFi hotspot to activate my netbook - because I could - and set up a secure line naming it after a local bar. THAT will confuse the people in the trailer parks all around me.

The GPS talked me down a street I remembered as being a dead end but saw it has been opened and paved and now is a short cut I use often.

The calendar that syncs with my computer is awesome and I wonder how I survived juggling paper desk calendars for so many years.

The "swipe motion" keyboard is easier than learning to type at my age. Two-fingers on each hand have worked for years (40wpm!) and I have never texted (done a text message) ever.

I'm babbling on because it is all so new to me.

Obviously I have seen people with Blackberries and they always looked happy with an inner glow.

I saw an ad for a retro handset so I had to have that.

I haven't seen one for a retro 'stick phone.

Yet.


(Click on the pictures to see them larger.

The 'stick phone image was found on the internet but the others were taken by me. Did I mention I really like high tech?

Thanks for coming by. Hey, call me.

Labels: candlestick phone, coil cord receiver, entry-level, LG Optimus V, retro handset, Smartphone, version 2.2

posted by chuckography @ 8:17 AM