Thursday, October 7, 2010

Dumbing Down

I had a "smart phone" for a little more than a year, and I hated it.  The keys were too small.  It was too hard to use.  The screen was big enough to be cumbersome, but too small to be really useful.  It always needed to be recharged.  You always had to remember to "lock" your keyboard to prevent accidental dialing.  It was extremely annoying.  It was too bulky.  I never Twitter and texts are extremely rare.  It was much more phone than I needed.  I finally had enough.

I found my old phone, went to the store, and asked if cancelling my data contract constituted cancelling the general contract, and if I would be assessed a fee for downgrading.  I was shocked when the answer was "no."  The guy at the store tried to sell me on other smart phones with touch screens and the like.  Sorry.  Not for me.  Keep your 'Berry and your Droid.

My old phone ras re-activated.  I'd forgotten how wonderful it is to have a slim, compact phone that easily slips into your pocket, one with keys you can actually see.  I'm now happier than a pig in mud, and I'm saving a few dollars.

By the way, the guy at the store wasn't all that interested in helping me reactivate my old phone.  He suggested I do that at home, either on a land line or on-line.  He lost interest when he realized he wasn't going to make any money off me.  I should add the customer service representative I reached on the phone was nothing short of fantastic.

Sometimes, being smart isn't all it's cracked up to be.