Our Motorola v400 phones were cutting edge when Cathy, Sarah and I got them. We have been holding out for the v600s because we wanted the ability to film video but the v600 was too troubled and we could not wait for its release. Good fortune shone on us for the v400s were great phones lasting longer than any of our previous cell phones! The v400s are notorious for slowly becoming harder to hear over time. The connection on the speaker corrodes. The mouths of babes who like to eat phones do not help. Additionally the microphone slowly dies.
I signed up with Bellsouth Mobility DCS in October or November of 1997 because I needed to take credit card numbers over the phone and DCS was the only digital option and dropped calls was the norm not the exception. I personally knew someone that took great pleasure in scanning analog phone signals and recording tidbits of spied information; digital was essential. There were parts of town I would avoid simply to not lose a call. At one point on Northshore I could tell my callers "I’ll be back in 30 feet" My original Motorola cellular phone was huge! The sim card was the size of a credit card and it claimed that I was one of the first 100 DCS customers (I don’t believe that).
So after extending the life of our v400 phones as far as I could, yes, I repaired them by removing the corrosion, they finally have met their end. Cingular, the new AT&T, had an awesome deal that ends tomorrow so Cathy, Sarah and I each ended up with the new Motorola RAZR v3xx phones. So far these have been wonderful! It is so nice to be able to hear people again. I had a Bluetooth headset years ago and I have missed it. I like my Bluetooth headset. These phones make videos and can send the video directly to Youtube! The camera is a 1.3 megapixel instead of a vga camera so the pictures sent to Flickr should look better.
The one BIG technical issue! I have a grandfathered feature with Cingular called Alternate Line Service. That means, I get a service that they do not sell anymore. It is a beautiful service and why they do not sell it is beyond me. I have to assume they lose money or too many cellular towers do not support the feature. I have 2 phone numbers each with their own voicemail box that come to one cell phone. Line 1 is my personal/private number that for the longest time I gave only to close friends and family. Line 2 is my business number 865-382-3080 which the world can have. ( for Google’s sake you might also see that as (865) 382-3080 or +18653823080 ) Line 1 rings The Pink Panther; line 2 rings Mission Impossible. The documentation for the Motorola RAZR v3xx mentions multiple lines so I know the phone supports it. Cingular technical support claims the account is setup correctly. Now it is up to be to figure out how to configure the phone. Right now I am at a loss and seriously considering reducing my phone down to a single line. One customer service rep went so far as to say that the next time I upgrade our phone plan that they will request I drop the alternate line service anyway. I’d like to get the alternate line service working for another month and over that month let people know which number I’ll be using.
I am really impressed with the v3xx phone!
Now we’ll get clearer pictures of your blood pressure readings. 🙂
Ouch! Cathy with the sharp tongued comments. What did you do wrong now Doug?
As for the phones. Good Luck with them. My wife loved hers… right up until the point she lost it. Pictures, even with the 1.3 MP camera were still a bit grainy (though that was version V3c on Verizon).
Oh, and HEY… I thought you wanted a smart phone!?!?
Oh, and I forgot… Keep an eye on your bill with the Grandfathered features and Cingular. People that had “grandfathered” TDMA equipment got a rude notice recently that informed them they were going to get surcharged to continue using it.
Thanks for the warning! I checked the Nokia E62 as you suggested but the deal on these Motorola v3xxs was just too sweet to pass up.
Going to the E62 would have meant losing my camera (Sarah and Cathy have the nice digitals; I’m stuck with the cam phone for the time being), and increasing my monthly bill by another $20 to accommodate the data plan required with the E62 (which I was not prepared to do). Once I have my act together in a different way I can justify a smart phone. But yes, I do want such a gadget 🙂
I would like to say that’s just because I posted my response the day after Doug freaked out because I woke him up at night wanting something, but really, I pick on him a lot. Poor Doug.