There are several small glitches that make my phone seem more slow than smart, and while I love how far cell phones have advanced, I’m annoyed with how some of the simple things that have been around for years have become more difficult to operate.
Recently, I’ve been quite perturbed by my so-called smartphone. Not only has my texting speed drastically decreased, but the time it takes for me to make outgoing calls has increased. I blame it all on the "innovative" touch screen.
When I upgraded to a new phone through my phone provider, I was looking for the newest model of the enV, which my sister purchased months before I renewed my contract. I fancied how it offered both the push-button key pad and the touch screen in a creative flip design.
I assumed that with my prior experience with the enV2, I wouldn’t have to learn a lot of new functions or added features. And then the sales rep broke the news: The enV3 was discontinued, and they no longer had any in stock. He began to point out all the new Droid models, demonstrating their navigational, online, and voice recording capabilities. He showed me how to customize my home screen, and how to find and purchase apps that were available in the Droid Market.
I left the store with a brand new Droid, and while a little intimidated by all the functions, apps, and extended features, I was excited to have another outlet to connect to my email, Facebook account, and my favorite sites when I wasn’t in front of my laptop.
However, I slowly noticed little things that started to annoy me. I don’t have the smallest fingers — in fact you could say they are on the pudgy side — so it takes me about ten minutes to type out one, 140-character text message on the mini-sized keys that appear on the screen. And if the screen is just a little bit dirty, nothing registers.
There is also an auto spell check that will assume what words I want to spell out. Most of the time its assumptions are wrong, which causes confusion for the person receiving the message.
I’ve also noticed when I switch back and forth too quickly between the different pages available to display certain apps I purchase, the screen will freeze up and I have to take out the battery and restart the phone — similar to a regular computer.
Making phone calls can be time consuming as well. There seems to be a time delay when I hit the send or answer button for calls, so I have to wait a minute before I hear anything on the opposite end.
There are several other small glitches that make the phone seem more slow than smart, and while I love how far cell phones have advanced, I’m annoyed with how some of the simple things that have been around for years have become more difficult to operate.Even more annoying is the “If you just upgrade to the newest model,” response I got from the same sales rep I revisited to ask how these particular flaws could be corrected or avoided, which is a lot more expensive than the one I have now. Oh well, it’s only two years untiI am eligible for a free upgrade again.
What are some technology glitches from your favorite products that get under your skin? Send your technological rants to [email protected].
