Thursday, August 21, 2008

New Toys

I am woefully behind when it comes to cell phone technology. For the last 2 years I've been using a hand-me-down phone from my dad. This phone had many capabilities including voice dialing which I was too lazy to actually set up. And to SP's eternal dismay I never bothered to change my ring tone let alone customize them for each person.

Now, all that has changed. Meet my new toy. :-)
It holds music, accesses the Internet, syncs my outlook contacts, calendar and tasks, downloads my email, takes pictures and allows me to assign all of these things to the people in my life. I have spent the last two days trying to learn all the features this sucker sports and I'm not sure I ever will. There were several pages in the 160 page manual that I simply skipped over because I had no idea what they were talking about. I figured anything at this point was an improvement over what I had before. Baby steps :-)

I will admit that this entire process has not exactly been a walk in the park. My work computer didn't want to recognize the phone when I connected them. My phone didn't like the firewall on my computer. My server connection at work disappeared after I finally got the network connections worked out. And then I got a virus (I actually think that was coincidence - I ran the virus scan software because of all the connection problems and realized it hadn't been run in a...um...couple weeks).
However, now everything is fixed, communicating nicely with each other and I have filled up half the memory on my phone already with songs from my CDs. The girls listened to my cell phone on the way home last night instead of the radio. Yes, I had all of the CDs piled in the seat beside me but I wanted to listen to them on my phone! :-) I'm sure after a few days this euphoria will fade but for the moment I'm enjoying playing with my new toy. It's like the Christmas I got that leather bomber jacket I'd been DYING for.
Any new toys in your life?
Instigator

22 comments:

Playground Monitor said...

And to SP's eternal dismay I never bothered to change my ring tone let alone customize them for each person.

I remember when my cell phone rang and SP asked what that sound was. She didn't know cell phones actually rang instead of playing songs.

My new toy is a new high-def DVR. Our satellite service is getting out of the Tivo business and replacing them with HD DVRs. We still have a problem with getting the off-air antenna to pick up the HD signal from our local channels, but the tech is coming this afternoon to see what the problem is. I just want it all working before the fall TV season starts. At least I've been able to see the Olympics.

PM

Angel said...

I'm usually not one for new toys of the electronic variety, because I don't want to have to face the learning curve. That is, until the hubby got a new iPhone. Now I have serious jealousy issues.

And I know that one day soon he'll upgrade (he, unlike me, is always up for a new electronic toy) and I'll get the old phone. Bonus? He'll be able to teach me how to use it. :)

Angel

Jolie said...

Eek. That's all very overwhelming to me. To be honest, I don't even have a cell anymore. (I know...shocking). I live way in the boonies and it seemed whenever I actually needed the phone (which wasn't very often), I couldn't get reception. So I got rid of it (and one less bill a month). Oh, well...

Oh, oh, oh. I do have a new high-def DVR, too! Except the only thing I've used it so far for is to record General Hospital. Which I haven't watched!!

mslizalou said...

I love your new phone! I can get a free phone from Verizon next June, so I'm jsut holding out until then. I love my phone because it has a full keyboard to text with, but would like to upgrade to a touch screen next time. Since AT&T has exclusive rights to the iphone, I'll have to settle for something else(AT&T doesn't have sevice in my dad's hometown and my cell is my only phone).

I finally got an HDTV last month. I really love it and it makes me want to get another one for my bedroom. I especially like that it can be hung on the wall.

Barbara Vey said...

I just got an iPhone last week and I'm in geek heaven! My son also got me a Mac laptop, so he easily sync'd up both things.

He's a whiz with this stuff (artists are totally Mac guys) and so I never opened the manual. I love having everything at my finger tips when I'm out and about. I could have really used this at RWA because everything I needed would have been in one spot.

And the gps on it is amazing. I can't wait to try that out in New Orleans next week. Ok, I could go on forever. ::grin::

Anonymous said...

Wow! I'd like one if someone would teach me how to use it. :0

Anonymous said...

Wow! I'd like one if someone would teach me how to use it. :0

Katherine Bone said...

I'm with Jen. If someone could teach me how, I'm all for it.

Actually, I got lucky when I was at a dentist's appointment. (Ok, that didn't sound right.) There was a lady there playing with her cell phone. The phone looked similiar to mine and so I asked her what it was. Turns out she had the very same phone, only in a different color, and sat beside me and passed on to me some interesting tips that I've loved using ever since. Kismet!

As for anything else, I'm happy to get by with what I already have. :-)

Andrea Laurence AKA Smarty Pants said...

I love toys. Gadgets and gizmos make me very happy. I just can't afford them all.

I'm behind on this front, however, because I didn't want a cell phone, a PDA, a portable DVD player, an MP3 player and a GPS. I wanted to wait until I could get all the gadgets in one device. And the time has arrived! Hail the iPhone. My contract is up in November and I'm getting something. I'm just not sure what. I'm with AT&T, so I can get the new iPhone, I just get stinky service in my house (of all places) and want something I can actually use there. Might switch. Not sure yet.

I love my Tivo. Unfortunately, DB has taken a liking to it as well and he keeps filling up the hard drives. Argh.

Anonymous said...

Let me just say that I'm glad I married the dark brooding geek or I'd find myself in Electronics Hell! I know I should step into the 21st Century with regard to state-of-the-art gadgetry, but at the moment my little coffin-looking cell phone is just fine. Maybe soon, she says with one toe extended...

KansasSue said...

Just upgraded my phone to the Verizon EnV a year ago, so I won't be getting a new one anytime soon. Do love that full keyboard though. I will never go without another one of those.

Have a DVR...never used it. Don't even have an R to R on. Cannot live without my iPod. Have a Nano for everyday use and recently got the big momma - 160GB - for "family" use, as well as a portable speakers. It has all my music as well as that of the mister and the kid. Put it on shuffle and never change a CD again.

KansasSue said...

Someone talk to me about the Kindle. The idea of having all my books with me wherever I go is intriguing, as I am one of those who tend to lug 80 pounds of books on vacation, BUT what about writers' commissions? How do you all get paid on the sale of an electronic book? I'm not real worried about downloading a copy of "Jane Eyre", but what about current works? I don't want to be part of the cause of even more poverty among writers.

PM's Mother said...

You think you have high-tech issues? I just purchased a new automobile (after driving the old one for 12 years) and I need a flight engineer to help with all of the instrumentation. Everything is automatic...lights, air conditioning, radio, etc. I have just left all controls like the dealer had set them. Woe be unto the person who ever re-sets them!

OnStar has the voice activated phone also; I haven't primed it to "call home" so I must repepat the complete 10 digit phone number every time I call. Life could be easier.

Sherry Werth said...

Until about a month ago I was still using my hubby's hand me down phone from about 6 years ago. I swear you couldn't tear the thing up. It had been dropped, kicked and even under water and still worked. It weighed a ton and most of the numbers had worn off. Let's just say I don't fix what ain't broke. But when the two-way button quit working hubby said 'enough'. He came strolling into my office one day and handed me a new phone. I am very electronically illiterate and a constant pain in the a#s to my hubby who absolutely adores anything electronic.
It still has whatever ring tone one of my family members picked and I haven't programmed a thing into it. I figure if I wait long enough some one else in my family will do it for me. ;D

Lynn Raye Harris said...

Oooh, gadgets! Love them!! I am married to a gadget geek, so he tends to scope out the best ones and then help me set them up. He made me switch to Mac, something I have not regretted for one single instant, and in Feb when our current contracts are up, we're both getting the iPhone. I already have an iTouch, so I'm familiar with how to use the phone. Can't wait!!!!

Instigator, your new phone is pretty! My parents got something that has television on it. A Blackberry of one sort or another, I think. They recently made the switch to AT&T. Oh man, I love gadgets.

But the trouble with being married to a gadget guy is that he's never satisfied. So my Dash, which is a cool phone, will only be two years old in Feb and we're switching. *sigh* Life with a gadget guy can get expensive sometimes....

Kira Sinclair - AKA Instigator said...

Kansasue, my sister actually has a Kindle and loves it. I'm hoping to get one for Christmas but we'll see.

As far as royalties go, it depends on the publisher and contract but rest assured the author is getting their cut. :-)

Instigator

Darling Geek said...

It should be no surprise that I like the gadgets. In fact, I came to the realization the other day that as of a couple of weeks ago my house is CRT free. (That means all our monitors and TVs are LCDs now.) We have two DVRs (only one HD). We have three computers with enough parts for two more. And PC has a whole slew of other gadgets, since I buy them for her on gift giving occasions.

But it's ok. I know how to work them all. Often without having to read that 160 page manual at all.

Strangely, however, I'm not even tempted by the iPhone. It's cool and all, but I don't want to have to add a data plan to my cell bill. It's large enough already!

Playground Monitor said...

"Life with a gadget guy can get expensive sometimes."

Yeah, tell me about it. We just got a wireless internet gizmo through Verizon. It lets us have internet access anywhere we can tap into the Verizon network. It's great for trips -- especially those $300 a night hotels that have the gall to want an extra $12.50 a day for wireless access.

Terry S said...

My new toy is a MSI Wind mini notebook. Love it!! While I can read my ebooks anywhere on my PDA, now I can read in a more comfortable font size. And it is so little...half the size of my Dell work laptop. Then there are the side features I haven't even had time to learn like wireless internet. Oh, joy! This is just the best new toy for me.

Problem Child said...

DG, you lie. You were eyeballing an iPhone for a while. I remember it well. But I do have lots of gadgets, only about 1/2 of which I can use for basic functions without assistance.

Part of me would love an iPhone, but I already feed my email addiction enough...I'd constantly be on the thing if I could check my email all the time!

Anonymous said...

Please, I haven't put 1 person's number in my cell phone. That's why I have a son, sister and student workers for. I do know how to take picture on it, turn the volume up, change the ring tone. But I have no idea how to download a ring tone for a certain person - does it cost to do that??? I did recently learn how to put my phone on speak, yeah to me!!
robertsonreads

M.V.Freeman said...

I LOVE GADGETS!!! I have a nifty phone, I still haven't taken the time to figure out.

Now that is silly of me...! :)