Awww, man? they gave me this??

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Joined
Nov 17, 2010
Messages
22,793
Reaction score
32,107
Location
On the Cedar in Northeast Iowa
Awww, man… they gave me this??

OK now, this is firewood related and I’ll tell you why before I start the rant. I work alone 99.9% of the time; when I’m in the woodlot my only “lifeline” if something should “go wrong” is my cell phone. I know that’s not ideal, that I may not be able to get to it, or I may be unconscious, but it’s way better than no lifeline.

Because I spend so much time on the road my phone is supplied to my by my work; every 18 months or so they come take my phone away and hand me a new one (we’re a US Cellular Agent). I get no choice in what phone or when, but I’m not complainin’ ‘bout that… I mean, how can I? It cost’s me nothing and I can use it as my personal phone off-hours. They’ve always handed my some sort of rubber armored “mil-spec” or “robust” flip phone with real buttons and such… I’d carry it in my pocket, drop it in mud and snow, sit on it, and generally abuse the crap out’a it. Two days ago they come take my phone and hand me this Android “smart phone” thing with a glass front touch screen… no friggin’ buttons. I’m told it’s time for me to move into the 21st century … be “more connected” and accessible.

This thing is a royal PITA. My scared up, twisted, callused, knarly, fat fingers can’t push the correct spot to save my soul. I’m callin’ people when I don’t want to call anyone, I call the wrong person when I do try to call someone, and tryin’ to navigate through all that crap takes forever ‘cause I keep hittin’ the wrong thing. Yesterday I deleted my entire phone book… all my business and customer contacts, all my personal contacts, everything! Over twenty years of data gone in less than a second. And I can’t get ‘em back because they tell me the phone hadn’t had time to “sync” yet (what the hell does that mean?). I’m constantly afraid I’m gonna’ break the darn thing… looks about as tough as a cracked egg to me. For the first time I complained about the phone handed me, they just smiled and told me it takes a bit of time to get used to it… and then started showing me all the cool things it can do. C’mon, it’s supposed to be a phone… ya’ know? It’s supposed to ring when someone calls, not play me a tune or lookup my GPS location.

Awww, man… if anything ever should “go wrong” I’ll probably bleed (or starve) to death before I can make it dial anyone. Just a heads-up for ya’ if I quit posting on here for more than a couple days… please call my wife and tell her to go look for me in the woodlot, would ya?
 
I hear ya Spidey, its a conspiracy. I've had to get new phones and am pissed when i have to get one "because the manufacturer doesn't support that old tech anymore"

DONT get me started that the F-in things dont have more than a 30 day warranty.

What happened to quality products?
 
Try using voice commands. I know on Motorolla Android phones, you can usually hit the "home" button twice and the voice command screen comes up.

You can get shock absorbant covers and pouches and stuff too. I used to have one of the yellow Motorolla Nextel clamshell construction phones, can't remember the model, and it was great especially when everyone on the FD still used Nextel, but I've come to love having what amounts to a fairly powerful computer in my pocket.

I couldn't live without the GPS now, and it's pretty nice having all my music with me all the time, and being able to remote to my home PC when I need to and access most anything else.
 
I have big fat fingers,but I have learned to love my Iphone. It was tough at first but I have gotten used to using it. I tend to be a little slow to adopt new technology. Smart phones are here to stay. I don't know what I would do without mine at this point. Maps, weather, games, internet access everywhere, and pretty much any kind of "tool" that you can download to a phone is at your fingertips. A good quality cover will keep it safe. Mine is a year old and looks like new when I take it out of the case.

Don't think of it as a phone, think of it as a small computer that makes phone calls. Soon you wont be able to do without it.

I too have a work provided phone. My boss made a big deal about upgrading us to the smartphone and I thought he was nuts. After some time I can say that going from a regular phone to a smart phone was almost like going from no mobile phone to having a cell phone ten years ago.
 
Having internet everywhere is a godsend. I pitched a fit when they wouldn't let me have another smartphone without buying the data plan (I used free wifi when I wanted a connection), but after having it for 2 years, I wouldn't go back.

I have real time weather radar with two finger taps, email, FB, free navigation with aerial imagery (it's a HUGE help in finding new stores when you can see the building coming up on the screen). Pandora music everywhere: I use an adapter to play into the trucks radio - no more broadcast crap music!

I don't like apple anything, so I have android. It's wonderful once you figure it out.
 
The phone is a Motorola Defy XT, it's supposed to be water-"resistant" and dust-proof... and yes I put a rubber cover around it in hopes it would save it once or twice, we'll see.

I'll try the voice commands Marc... just as soon as I figure out how to turn them on! LOL
 
no idea why you're griping. go out and get your own phone. one that you like. use the one your job gaveyou for what ever and use the other as your 'life line'.
 
I have a "dumb" phone. It makes calls and texts. That's ALL it does. No camera, no internet, no "big screen". It even has a "wired" headset. You get my drift.
 
Spidey, I to was in your shoes. Fat fingers and technologically, well retarded is kinda strong so I'll go with challenged. Try expanding the screen before trying to tap away. I also got in the habit of always putting the phone in my pocket with the screen facing my leg..no idea if this works but I'm still crack free. Play around with it. After all, the reason solitaire was originally installed on computers was to get people used to the concept of having a mouse.
 
no idea why you're griping. go out and get your own phone. one that you like. use the one your job gaveyou for what ever and use the other as your 'life line'.

Ummmmm..... Have you tried to get a "non-smartphone" lately? Or even tried to get one with "real" buttons? Many of the "big" service providers don't even offer a single one any more. They're all but gone, and the word is the last few left are will be gone by the end of the year. The cell companies (manufacturers and service providers) know where the money is... it's in data and data plans, so they're forcing us to "go data" (that's what 95% of the customers want anyway). Heck, ya' can't blame 'em, they've spent billions building the network and they need a return on it to stay in "black ink". My Motorola Defy is about as basic as it gets now-a-days. The "touch screen" and smart-phone is here to stay... the basic button dialer is (or will be shortly) gone forever.
 
Ummmmm..... Have you tried to get a "non-smartphone" lately? Or even tried to get one with "real" buttons? Many of the "big" service providers don't even offer a single one any more. They're all but gone, and the word is the last few left are will be gone by the end of the year. The cell companies (manufacturers and service providers) know where the money is... it's in data and data plans, so they're forcing us to "go data" (that's what 95% of the customers want anyway). Heck, ya' can't blame 'em, they've spent billions building the network and they need a return on it to stay in "black ink". My Motorola Defy is about as basic as it gets now-a-days. The "touch screen" and smart-phone is here to stay... the basic button dialer is (or will be shortly) gone forever.

go and look. they aren't hard to find. quite a few companies carry them, but don't give them the media atention of the others. you need to go in to a store and look. lots of phones out there with big enough buttons for the fat fingered people like us to use.
if you don't want to go to a store to get one, look online at the 'jitter bug' cell phone. it's a bigger phone. no frills or gimmicks, just a phone.
 
I work for a family owned and operated business (remember, it's a US Cellular store also)... both my wife and daughter have personal phones through that business (expensive, top shelf phones that we are given a huge discount on, i.e., we pay absolutely nothing for the hardware). It wouldn't be "right" for me to "go shopping" elsewhere... in fact, it would be down-right crappy on my part. I don't have the ethical option of going to some other store/provider. But as an insider I'm tellin' ya, those phones are going away at all the major players in the field, and in the very near future. Besides, part of the reason I'm given a business provided phone is so I can be reachable for "phone support" and/or emergency service on a 24/7 basis (we do private point-to-point wireless data networking and public safety two-way radios also)... so the "provided" phone would still need to be close.
 
Last edited:
You could always get a trac phone if you just want something to call 911 with, or call your wife, and have her bring you something. It's about $10 a month or so.

Actually, any old phone should be able to call 911.
 
I had the same mentality for years. Phones are for callin. That's it. Worked for me for years. Earlier this year I found myself in a position that I either had to stay with my computer , for the e-mails, etc, etc, for a business deal I entered into, or get a phone that would allow me to go out and do my normaal work and still be connected. I went to the phone store and ended up with a Samsung Galaxy. It works well for what I wanted it to do. All I use it for is to look at e-mails, send e-mails, takes good pictures, do texting, which I swore I'd never get into, and that's about the extent of it. It has 2 pages full of other "crap options" that I know nothing about and probably never will. Biggest "like" I have about it is the capability to enarge the text/picture so these old eyes can see it better. Embrace the horror, LOL.
 
I work for a family owned and operated business (remember, it's a US Cellular store also)... both my wife and daughter have personal phones through that business (expensive, top shelf phones that we are given a huge discount on, i.e., we pay absolutely nothing for the hardware). It wouldn't be "right" for me to "go shopping" elsewhere... in fact, it would be down-right crappy on my part. I don't have the ethical option of going to some other store/provider. But as an insider I'm tellin' ya, those phones are going away at all the major players in the field, and in the very near future. Besides, part of the reason I'm given a business provided phone is so I can be reachable for "phone support" and/or emergency service on a 24/7 basis (we do private point-to-point wireless data networking and public safety two-way radios also)... so the "provided" phone would still need to be close.

so your in the 'bidness' and your asking us for advice?
so if a supplier (or family operated buisness) doesn't have something you like or need, or can't get it, you don't look else where?:msp_wink: what does ethics have to do with your saftey? if i owned a gas station and only sold regular, and needed super, would it be dissrespectful of me buyng from somebody else? i think you need to rethink that idea of ethice and responsibility. or look for a different carrier for the buisness. both for you and your family. how is ethics going to make the call for you when you can't dial a phone your self?
 
It took me a while to get used to my iPhone, but now I love it. I do put it in a rubber case for outdoor work, but the rest of the time I leave it loose in my pocket and it's held up well. I continue to be amazed how the device has 10X more capability than my old Motorola "dumb" phone but is still 100X easier to use. Whoever designed the software and menus on that old Motorola should be shot. I had to pull out the user manual all the time, and sometimes it was out of whack with the software interface on the phone. So I am glad to move up to an iPhone, where the design seems to have been done by humans who care.

I did use a friend's Android phone about a month ago and it was frustrating -- the touch response on the screen was very slow and inaccurate compared to the iPhone. I knew this was a known problem with older Androids, but this was on a fairly new phone. Turns out, this "new" Android had a very old version of the operating system and could not be upgraded.

I guess I'd suggest you check the OS version of the Android and see if it can be upgraded. That might improve the user experience. Since you already deleted all your contacts/info, you can't make things much worse!
 
I feel your pain. My personal phone is a basic "old style". My employer then says I have to carry a company phone which is also "old style". The GPS surveying instrument I use has a Droid with it and the survey data collector has a female voice that is regularly talking to me. Sometimes I sound like fricking R2D2 walking around the coal mine. You aught to see me run for the truck when I get caught out in the rain. None of this stuff can get wet. Seriously, if you take the time to play with the smart phone you are likely to make good friends with it in time.
 
I for 1 feel your pain! I went 42 years without a cell phone. The one my wife conned me into is a flip phone. She has a "smart phone" I tell her all the time a phone is a phone, dial, say hello, talk, hang up. I don't "text" you have buttons to call, as far GPS, I was a Medic for 5 years. We had a compass and a topo map to navigate with. I found my way around with it. If you get lost in the United States without a phone, you have bigger issues than being lost! I know our lives are better due to technology, but most people do not need "instant access" all the time. To me as a 48 year old "fuddy duddy" as my wife calls me, a phone should be a phone, make the #s bigger for fat fingers, and make the screens bigger for old eyes. Long live "dumb phones"
 
I suspect it'll grow on ya Spidey. Mine has, although it has a few quirks I don't care for. As far as tough, put one in an Otter Box and they're almost unbreakable. But since it's a company phone, I'd not spend the money, let them worry about it. The Otter Boxes ain't cheap.

Your fat fingers will get better with training. I resisted the touch screeen as long as I could, finally had to give in to touch with the phone I have now, and we get along good most of the time now.
 
Back
Top