I have new Nokia with with Android 12 image and another Redmi A2+ which has Android 13.
My Cellphone history
I bought a basic phone for the utility value of it, first time round and ended buying upto 10 more cellphones.They were cheap then and I of course had spare money.
Number one utility value for me is listening to the Radio and to get local news updates when on the move and number two for an emergency call when out and about.
Having experienced a stolen SIM from me, I do not want to take my expensive cellphone out.
Even in Europe, the commonest items stolen are money, cellphone and laptops.
If I lose my cellphone, the headache is bigger than losing a SIM or two, even though, I have configured it to be traced by Google, in such an event.
Also typing the password for Gmail entry is a pain and it needs to be remembered by Google on 24/7 basis.
This basic phone is from Samsung and it is cute and not bulky.
First it's Radio was OK.
Sound quality was good and it detected all my downloaded music files.
There it ends my satisfaction.
It took two days to figure out how it works and set the time and date having read the instruction note twice in very small letters.
It was only interested in configuring the SIM.
I get the carrier details and that's all.
I removed the battery at least five times to get it to the start mode and each time I figured out what next to come one application at a time. This was useful when I got a Samsung tablet as a gift. It does not shutdown if the battery is on. Only shutdown when the battery is totally dead. Of course, it does not start until the battery is charged up to 20% or more.
I got the vendor to configure it, for me and I was not happy to give a call unless it does not work the way I wanted it to be.
Altogether, I had about 20 messages from the two carriers but I could not type a single SMS message.
I had to press this or that button to get the simple or capital letters or numbers.
Finally, I got the wall paper I wanted and switched it off, for a break.
If I have to type a message in an emergency, it perhaps needs one minute for each word.
I have not tried any contact numbers yet except my own extra SIMS in Nokia cellphones from one of which, I am typing this post.
This
is why, I always say Radio is the best way to get the local news fast
and not a new cellphone with carriers who cannot reach the far corners
of this country or the location of the person in distress.
The government has not figured this out.
A scenario like tsunami and how to respond quickly is not figured out.
Leaving it to the individual carriers is not the full proof remedy.
They are interested in money making.
During the Coronavirus epidemic getting the base stations working at full throttle was not achieved.
Leaving it to the doctors, who are already hard pressed (to get the infrastructure activated) is no good.
Police may do a better job but army is shadowing them.
Having a cellphone as a safety net is not good enough,
if the poor farmer does not know how to operate it (SIM response,
emergency calls and reaching the nearest police station or hospital).
The guy I gave my android phone version 8 has not figured out how to use it after almost two years.
Majority including my classmates who were in public service do not understand that the cellphone is a mini computer.
They feel shy to ask for help.
It is often, the son or daughter who is using or operating the cellphone.
Mind you, I leaned a few tricks from my daughter but I have gone beyond that point of entry.
I think Android phone should be the basic but my GreenTel cellphone had more options and I also had a version which received analogue TV stations.
I am told GreenTel has gone bust.
I had a GreenTel notebook, too.
The GreenTel has the best phone camera and its Android version is 6 and Google has fiddled with the photo application and I cannot access the photos stored in this cellphone.
I have activated the Google App store for updates and Google is not responding.
I am not sure whether it is due to GreenTel had gone bust or Google is interfering or both.
But
I am pretty sure Google is interfering and does not let me see the
stored up (not in the Google Drive, which I rarely use) photos in the
cellphone.
Now this was my second cellphone.
The first Java phone (1), I
gave free to a guy who depends on the cellphone for his day to day work and he has gained
my trust for a long time and when things were getting bad in schools
were demanding cellphones with video conferencing I bought a new one for
his daughter.
After 3 months of no work he has found some work.
The GreenTel (2) was taken twice to Singapore Birds Park.
I was a regular visitor to Singapore when airfares were pretty cheap.
The last visit to Singapore was to visit Bird's Park and those photos of birds Google is preventing the access.
I bought a cellphone in Singapore and it is called SeeKen (4) and it had Android version 6 and it's touch screen has gone unresponsive and it is not responding.
Problem with liquid crystals underneath.
The second GreenTel (3), I gave it to my son.
The third Zigo (5), I gave it to a guy who has not used it for two years. This was the phone in which one of my SIMs of Hutch was stolen my a Muslim guy, a crafty manipulator.
Fifth was a Zigo
(in Dubai - Sheikh's Company) cellphone with touch screen and it had itd pixels burnt and a white line running vertically which was disposed, since I could
not find a spare battery.
That is the second telephone company gone bust.
After long lay off, I bought a couple of Nokia cellphones (may be 4) for my Internet work and they are the best for me. One of which I gave it to a worker guy (who helps me with odd jobs) during coronavirus pandemic for his daughter to use for school work.
I have three of them and my workhorse is one of them. This workhorse is dead now in Ceylon, since I could not find a replacement battery. I could not recover my music and photos before erasing its content to factory setup.
If you want a robust cellphone buy a Nokia cellphone.
They are out of stock in Ceylon.
I also bought a Samsung phone (1) with a sealed battery, which makes the total 10 in number.
They have a rugged (Nokia) one coming soon.
I have no commercial interest with Nokia.
Mind you, Nokia coming from Finland introduced the brick like phone in 1980s which did not fit in my overcoat and I preferred the hospital bleeper and telephone exchange for patient care.
I used to put the bleeper into the waste paper busker when not on call and cleaners always put it back on the side desk religiously.
The bleeper sound mean a sick child has arrived.
I hate to see sick children often neglected by parents and compounded by GP negligence not responding quickly.
That was one reason me leaving UK.
GPs are powerful there and I did not go there to aid and abet GP's mistakes.
So you can understand why I hate cellphones.
Phones always bring bad news and I want pleasant or Somanassa Chitta at least in my retirement.
The land phone is out even after paying Rs.15,000/= well above the arrears and I hate MobiTel for life.
My first SIM was from MobiTel and I stuck it inside the Samsung phone.
I
bought a Samsung basic cellphone sometime ago for good some and it was
pretty bad with only basic applications (I use) and was almost never used.
Only
good think was the SD card with all the Western songs I downloaded is
recognized quickly by this cute little cellphone, I bought.
I said I bought it for listening to radio and music and it does a good job at pleasing volume control and not loud for bystanders.
I
had a GreenTel Notebook and it's RAM was limited. It was very slow to
my liking and gave away to a guy who did not know how to use it and his
grandchild broke it.
His name is Man Wadu and he is no more.
This comment is coming from a guy who used all the available models from Kit Kat 4.3 to version 11. I
had a cheap tablet with version 4.3 (its battery has gone dead and I
won't buy a new battery) and a game console which I could never download a
game due to faulty keyboard that did not let me type my 18 long
alphanumeric password.
This is a down to earth comment and I did not use exorbitant gadgets but
what was available at the time when I needed the most (upgrading wise).
So
going for Android 12 is a waste and I won't go to Singapore again
except bypassing it on a long trip to Australia and have a quick visit
to Greymouth and the remote Reefton (forgot the name) looking for
ladybirds with kids.
- Greymouth.
- Franz Josef Glacier.
- Fox Glacier.
- Haast.
- Haast Pass.
- Hokitika.
- Punakaiki.
- Westport.
- Reefton
It will be well beyond 2023 and I hope airfare would have come down to manageable level by then.
I feel that cellphone should NOT be a gift to a child under 18 for very good reasons.
The
cellphones used in video conferencing are expensive and one can buy two
alternative cellphones with android 11 version with that money.
Be wise and mindful when you buy a cellphone.
I have to wait for another two years to see a Steam Deck with Linux Operating System.
What a wait?
