Thursday, September 9, 2010

Phones, Planck Measurements, and Light Years

There is a cool website that compares measurements of everything, from quantum foam to the universe: http://www.documaga.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/scaleofuniverse.swf Until I accessed this site, I had never even heard of a "yoctometer." The site is interactive, so you can marvel at your own pace.

It didn't, however, help me with another size issue I am having: phones. When my Blackberry needed technical assistance, I called the tech center. The young man asked me for the model of my Blackberry. I told him and he burst out laughing: "God, that's old!"

The thing is four years old.

Anyway. I am contemplating a new one. To this end, I just spent a half hour noodling around on the Internet, inspecting pictures of phones. Now I'm more confused than ever. The jargon is overwhelming, the sizes are often not stated, and I don't really know what I want the phone to do, except be comprehensible. I'd also like it to not call random people, which mine currently does when it rides in my purse. I need email. I don't like virtual keyboards. I type and text with one finger (no thumbs). I don't need streaming video, but solitaire would be nice. I don't need aps that (1) make sexual moaning, (2) measure if your table is level, or (3) locate restaurants in New York City (I found all of these mentioned). And as for size: small-ish. But not diminutive.

Try measuring THAT in yoctometers.

Any suggestions for a phone?

9 comments:

Neal Holtschulte said...

My desktop PC is going on 8 years old. It works great for everything I need and doesn't work at all for things I want but don't need. (games)

Unknown said...

I'm a big fan of the Droid. Unlike a lot of the other phones, it has a keyboard as well as a touch screen. Plus there are a fair number of actually useful apps (OneBusAway for Seattle buses, Gmail and calendar integration, audiobooks for my walks around Green Lake, turn by turn navigation, and a nice alarm clock). Verizon's data plans are pricier than other companies though.

JUAN DIEGO GĂ“MEZ V. said...

My Blackberry keeps on making random phone calls. It has a mind of its own.

Thanks a lot for the link. It really gives you a sound perspective (1.7 m for an average human being, hmm! I'm not as short as I used to think)

teflaime said...

I like my Droid. But I got it before Verizon did away with it's unlimited data plan.

I have a friend who loves his iPhone. But he's had it for 4 years.

In either case, you will find that the phone companies are going to screw you over on the data plan and that you cannot take them over seas because it will be ridiculously expensive as they rack up roaming charges by just being on.

My suggestion is to go down to the stores and play with the working display models until you find one that fits your hands.

If you want a slide out keyboard, though, you will have to go with a Droid or Android based phone of some sort (there are a couple of them, though the Droid is the only one I considered).

dolphintornsea said...

You can get a phone that tells you if your table is level?! Cool! :)

Barbara Webb said...

The slide-out keyboards may solve your phone dialing issues, by keeping those keys tucked away safely when not in use. Otherwise, probably just going into the store, like Wine and Food said, and getting a sense for how they feel in your hand. I think that's how I've bought every phone I've ever had.

Kendall said...

I must third "go to the store." I didn't want a virtual keyboard but hated every. single. phone. I. tried. (And I went to stores featuring all the major phone companies, major phone makers, etc.) Eventually I realized (in trying it out) that since I wanted most of the what iPhone had and I'd heard good things about picking up virtual keyboarding (plus it seemed easier in the store than I'd expected), I'd risk it. I'm very happy with it.

But my point here isn't the iPhone--it's try the major types of phones in person to find one you want.

Patrick Swenson said...

But I love my Level Ap! ;)

Kiri said...

Thanks for sharing the totally awesome scale-browser! What a visual and mental treat.