My Smart Phone Keeps My Family Safe
My Smart Phone keeps my family safe, connected and entertained. You may feel that saying my Smart Phone keeps my family safe is an exaggeration, but it isn’t. Without a Smart Phone I have no connection to the outside world in case there is an emergency. My Smart Phone is my home phone, my agenda, my workbook, my notebook and my social media hub at home and on the road. My Smart Phone provides educational games that my children can play and digital books they can read when we are on the road.
I turn to my Smart Phone when I want to verify information, look up directions, call my mom or my hubby or order a pizza. My Smart Phone is what I use to take pictures, Tweet, check my Facebook news feed, update my blog, navigate on trips and so much more. If my Smart Phone is so awesome, WHY am I looking for a new one?
My Smart Phone Is Dying
My HTC Droid Incredible (first generation) is slowly dying. When I first received my HTC DINC it was a truly ‘incredible’ device. It wasn’t just a phone. It was a mobile office and entertainment suite. It was fast. Save the problems I had with the Verizon Wireless network I enjoy my HTC DINC. Though it was great in the beginning the advances in apps for ANDROID are making demands on the HTC DINC that it just can’t meet anymore. Freezing and randomly shutting down are the order of the day. Though my reception is much improved as is my in-call speaker (since I ROOTED it) I’m still having issues with storage full warnings.
My Relationship With The HTC Droid Incredible
The first two years I had my HTC DINC I was mortified about making any serious changes to the phone. I had heard about ROOTing, but was scared to do it because I’d void the warranty on the phone. If I bricked it there was no way I could afford to purchase a new one outright (and my hubby would be very, very unhappy with me). The reason I even considered ROOTing my phone in those first few years is because I was having a heck of a time with storage issues on the DINC. Frequently I’d get storage full warnings that would prevent me from receiving and sending SMS messages and even cellular calls and voicemails. Since I felt this was a personal security risk for my kids and I alone at home I had to do something to prevent this from happening. With every update to the ANDROID OS the warnings and lockouts became more frequent and checking my phones storage space consumption became a daily issue.
In the first two years I had my smart phone I probably did a factory reset on the phone at least 4 times. Since I was not ROOTED I had to copy all the data from the phone to my PC (at least I had that option). Thankfully, VZW and Google had all my contacts and many of the other services held my data in the CLOUD (like DropBox, SkyDrive & Google Drive) so that was a plus. It was just the hassle
of having to reset everything because no matter how much I erased or how many apps I removed I still couldn’t make or take calls or SMS messages. Even with an 8GB microSD card to store all my stuff I couldn’t keep it from happening.
Then there was the signal issues. In my house I have a hard time getting 3G service and cellular service was spotty at best. I discovered that the only way I could make and keep a phone conversation going was to place the phone directly in the middle of my desk with the speakerphone on. I could not touch it; I could NEVER bring it to my ear. Out in public my worst problem was the speaker. No matter how loud I turned the volume up I couldn’t hear anyone. Really, I thought I was losing it. I’d learn later that it wasn’t the DINCs fault at all.
ROOTing my HTC Incredible: The Good
After finding and carefully following instructions for downgrading my phone to a rootable OS I decided to install Cyanogen Mod. This allowed me to install the Link2SD app which gave me more access to how and where apps are installed. I can more easily clear the dalvik cache and app cache with just a few keystrokes.
The cellular connection issues I had been having were gone. I could move freely around my home without a degradation in call quality. I didn’t have to use the speakerphone all the time in order to hear callers.
The Bad
I love SWYPE. Swype does not work well or stably on my DINC anymore. The phone function is hit or miss. I’ve gotten used to the quirks but its not as seamless as I’d like it to be.
The Ugly
My bank will not recognize a login from my phone anymore. I tried logging in from my hubby’s DINC and it still worked for him. Figured there was something built into their code that refuses the connection from a rooted phone.
Many of the other issues I’ve been having are more due to the advances in app functionality over what the first generation DINC can handle. It’s like asking my 76 year old mother-in-law to babysit a bunch of rambunctious toddlers who’ve been given candy and pop for lunch. She just wouldn’t be able to take it. Her eyes would be flashing OVERLOAD and smoke would come out her ears if she didn’t have a stroke first. Let’s not do that to Grandma. That’s the message I’m getting from my poor old DINC. It needs very badly to be retired as does my hubby’s identical phone.
Looking For Someone To Sponsor My Next Mobile Device(s)
As mentioned earlier the option of buying a brand new, unlocked phone is not open to me. My phone is part of a group contract so I don’t control when I get a new phone. Verizon Wireless is going to penalize our contract if we renew now that they’ve changed how they handle unlimited data. It’s incredibly frustrating that we have to suffer the consequences for the abuses of a few.
The reason I want in unlocked unmodified phone is to avoid the same problems I had with reception from before. I am convinced that the modifications Verizon Wireless made to the DINC hampered the speaker and the signal for the cellular radio. I would still be forced to use VZW for my cellular service because no other service offers signal in my area. I live out in BFE.
photo credit: wenzday01 via photopin cc
Firstly, I’m a mom and wife. Professionally, IT consulting is my job and blogging is the outlet for my passions. I write about things that affect the everyday life of a stay-at-home parent or any parent for that matter such as parenting, relationships, discipline, the media, product reviews, giveaways, social media, food, cooking, gardening and anything else that might come my way.
