Buying a cell phone

I've decided to dispose of my old P910 and get a relatively lower-tech phone. Why I'm doing is subject for another entry. This blog entry is about how limited our options are when it comes to choosing phones. "What?" you exclaim, puzzled at my assertion. "How can we have no options, when we are deluged with lots of models and brands?" What I mean by lack of options is that our actions are very limited when we want to try out new phones. Recall the last time you've been to a cell phone store. Sure, these stores allow you to touch and play with sample phones -- but these phones are most likely empty shells. There's nothing inside, you can't test whether the operating system is fast or slow, you don't know how heavy the phone really is and you can't have a real feel for how it balances in the palm of your hand. Now ask yourself: Have you ever been to a store that had a live phone demo? Where you could just try out the phones features, menus and even send test email? Once upon a time, I was able to do these things in Globe Hub shops. But lately, I haven't seen these. All I see are empty phone shells that are often chained through a bulky contraption that stops you from really seeing how the phone will feel when you try to click its buttons. Case in point, when my wife Data tried out several phones, she went to a Nokia shop and tested the demo units (also empty shells). After googling about, reading different reviews, she decided to buy the 6300. In the Nokia shop, she tested the empty shell and found it good. But when the real unit was brought to her and she tried typing on it, the keys felt unresponsive. Moreover, since this time, the phone was unchained, there was no point from which she could anchor the phone securely on the palm of her hand. Without the anchor where the phone was linked to the chain, the unit now felt slippery. The keys, which are located at the lower third of the phone, were more difficult to reach now, which could result to a painful thumb later on. Data decided instead to get a Sony Ericsson w610. And only because a shop attendant in a different store was patient enough to let her try a real unit. She even inserted the battery and turned it on and let us try the user interface. Compare this to other countries. A friend of mine recently visited New York, walked in on a store and was able to try out a live iPhone unit and even send email messages out of it. Little things like these make our stingy stores frown. But if phone vendors and store owners are really proud of their products, then they should be brave enough to let buyers try the real thing. * * * If you liked this commentary, please also visit IndioSign: About Pinoys, Design and our IndioSyncracies and The Couch Kamote.