What kind of phone do you have?

[Squiggy]

How in God's name do you know that people were laughing at you?

I was there. I heard it, I *saw* it.

It's no different from when my co-workers recognize one of my ringtones (be it the Ghostbusters theme, a Law & Order theme, a Leonard Cohen song, or whatever else I use)

None of those things are so routinely a target as Trek is. We all know that Trekkies are laughed at. Hell, Roger Nygard made two FILMS out of it.

The average person would not, in fact, just as soon spit on you rather than look you in the face and give you a smile. I mean, jeez, the way you act, if someone out of the blue offered you a $20 out of a random act of kindness, you'd come here and think that the stranger thought you were poor.

Could be. Why ELSE would they do that? It's not in human nature to give money away for free...

These days people don't give enough of a fuck about Star Trek to laugh at us.

 

[Spot's Meow]

How in God's name do you know that people were laughing at you?

I was there. I heard it, I *saw* it.

It's no different from when my co-workers recognize one of my ringtones (be it the Ghostbusters theme, a Law & Order theme, a Leonard Cohen song, or whatever else I use)

None of those things are so routinely a target as Trek is. We all know that Trekkies are laughed at. Hell, Roger Nygard made two FILMS out of it.

The people who make fun of Trekkies, though, wouldn't have even understood the reference. The kind of people who would recognize the significance of the situation would be fans of the show and think that it's entertaining to see it happen in real life. Generally people laugh when they are entertained. They weren't laughing AT you, it sounds like they were trying to laugh WITH you in a nod of understanding, you just didn't get it and chose to be hurt instead. I can't think of any random adult strangers you meet on the street who would laugh at you, to your face, for having a Trekkie ringtone. Because people who don't know or like Trek aren't going to care enough to say or do anything at all.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ Everybody knows what the TOS comm noise sounded like. Even the most rabid hater of Trek. It's a universally recognized noise.

 

[Holdfast]

Thanks for the very appreciated review!

Do you use Outlook at all?

I assumed that Outlook's contacts and calendar would sync directly with WP7 and get imported into both the calendar and the People hub? Is that not the case?

Nope, it syncs contacts and calendar with whatever email service you use, can be Windows Live or Gmail or Yahoo...

Thanks for this info!

I never got round to setting up a Windows Live ID, but just have, and have got Outlook to sync up with that Windows Live account, so in a roundabout way, that restores the sync'ing with Outlook as when I sync Windows Live with WM7, that will automatically sync Outlook too. A bit of a palaver to set up, but I've just realised it has the unbelievable benefit of bypassing the horrendous ActiveSync. In fact, I'd guess that you don't have ActiveSync at all in WM7, right?

After a bit more research I think I'm pretty much sold now on getting the HTC 7 Pro.

...but no 4g...

Talking of 4G, the UK seems to be incredibly delayed in getting on board the 4G bandwagon. I guess the operators still remember getting their fingers burnt with too much debt in the overpriced 3G auction at about the height of the dotcom boom, and are dragging their heels this time round.

 

[Amaris]

^ Everybody knows what the TOS comm noise sounded like. Even the most rabid hater of Trek. It's a universally recognized noise.

For all you know, a cute girl could have been laughing along with that group and thought it was adorable. You second guessed a crowd of people without knowing what they were laughing about.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ Oh, I'm sure it was the phone. I didn't just hear laughter, I saw them looking.

Looking back, though, I should have just thought, the hell with them, and run with the joke, like talking on that phone with a Shatner voice. As it stands, I *let* them hurt me, and that's all my fault...

 

[HighteeHeller]

I have an iphone 4. Jailbroken, and i love it!

 

[Amaris]

^ Oh, I'm sure it was the phone. I didn't just hear laughter, I saw them looking.

Looking back, though, I should have just thought, the hell with them, and run with the joke, like talking on that phone with a Shatner voice. As it stands, I *let* them hurt me, and that's all my fault...

Well, no, what I mean is you didn't know whether they were laughing out of surprise, enjoyment, familiarity or anything. People laugh when they get nervous. They laugh when they encounter something unexpected or peculiar. You could have had friends in that crowd, or people who liked Star Trek in that crowd.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ Trust me, it is usually possible to derive the intention of a laugh from the TONE of it. Laughing at, for example, a funny joke, is different from laughing like a nervous giggle, which is in turn different from a derisive laugh aimed at something you wish to make fun of.

 

[Amaris]

^ Trust me, it is usually possible to derive the intention of a laugh from the TONE of it. Laughing at, for example, a funny joke, is different from laughing like a nervous giggle, which is in turn different from a derisive laugh aimed at something you wish to make fun of.

Ah, well. Since I wasn't there with you, I'll never know, but I prefer to be optimistic about their intentions, and believe the best about people rather than immediately believe they must be making fun of me. I don't think they meant any harm by it, and even so, why should it matter? Did you like the ringtone? If you did, keep it.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Did you like the ringtone?

Kind of. In the end it wasn't worth the hassle.

I suppose it wouldn't have been so bad if the phone itself hadn't been so damned expensive to use. The monthly bill was too high. I couldn't have afforded to keep the phone even if I wanted to. I should never have bought the thing in the first place.

This is why I don't have a real cellphone now (as opposed to the cheap prepaid one I keep for emergencies. Which, I might add, I always keep in SILENT mode. ). Costs too damn much. And I *have* to have a landline - for my home security system - so a normal cellphone like the rest of you are talking about, is not an option for me. A cellphone can't replace my landline, so that's the end of it.

 

[Amaris]

Did you like the ringtone?

Kind of. In the end it wasn't worth the hassle.

I suppose it wouldn't have been so bad if the phone itself hadn't been so damned expensive to use. The monthly bill was too high. I couldn't have afforded to keep the phone even if I wanted to. I should never have bought the thing in the first place.

This is why I don't have a real cellphone now (as opposed to the cheap prepaid one I keep for emergencies. Which, I might add, I always keep in SILENT mode. ). Costs too damn much. And I *have* to have a landline - for my home security system - so a normal cellphone like the rest of you are talking about, is not an option for me. A cellphone can't replace my landline, so that's the end of it.

I use Net10 for prepaid phone service. Plans are too much for me, as I use, at max, 20 minutes a month, so with the prepaid guys it just rolls over when my time runs out and I have to get a new card. Plus, the phone I have looks expensive, but only cost $50 ($30 after rebate!), and I love it so much.

The nice thing about Net10 is the 10 cents a minute aspect of it. That's all you pay. If you want unlimited internet access, picture message, text and talk time, it's $50 a month. That's it. So even when I grow my business, Net10 will still be able to take good care of me.

 

[M'Sharak]

The one I have looks just like this, except for the screen background.

Very basic prepaid job, gets used infrequently and not smart at all - it's a phone.

 

[James Bond]

...Nice, so far you are the only Windows Phone 7 (boy that's a mouthful) user in the poll. How do you like it?

I'm interested in the answer too, as I'm in >this< close to pulling the trigger on a Windows Phone 7 mobile too. I'm currently eyeing up the HTC 7 Pro. From what I've seen on WM7, playing around with it in store, I've really enjoyed the interface, much more so than either apple or android.

Currently I have an ancient Windows Mobile smartphone (4-ish years old), which has served me exceptionally well. It's only now that I really feel the need to upgrade; it was amazingly ahead of the pack when I got it. The fact I never upgraded in the interim means I have a wickedly good tariff now instead, which I can transfer across to the new phone. It's going to be much cheaper overall to buy the new phone sim-free, and stick with my current plan, instead of getting it free with a new contract.

I absolutely love my Samsung Focus
it's the third Samsung I've owned, and the second Windows phone I've owned (previous was Blackjack II WM6.1)
the interface is silky smooth. I love the hubs (people, pictures, zune etc) Facebook integration is fantastic. The camera is above average. A lot of phones can do HD video now, but the killer feature is being able to bring up the camera while the phone is locked. Which means I don't have to spend a few seconds more to unlock the phone, tap tap tap to the camera and miss whatever it was I wanted to snap a picture of. I just hold the camera button and it loads up in just under 4 seconds
where on my old iphone I had to push the lock button, slide to unlock, passcode, swipe over and tap camera icon, wait for it to load.
also, having a physical camera button is great . . . I hated not having on on iphone

the keyboard is fantastic, and the autocorrect/word suggest is superior to iOS. it suggests several words based on common misspellings instead of automatically forcing you to choose between the wrong word you typed or something absurd or with a simple tap you can add the word you typed into the dictionary so you don't have to keep correcting it . . . works great for uncommon surnames etc . . .

there's no contacts list, just the People Hub which brings in your facebook and email contacts. some people don't like this but I love it. I didn't have to enter any of my contacts in when I got the phone . . . I just synced with my facebook and google accounts.
also didn't have to set up my calendar . . . just synced it with google

speaking of syncing . . . Zune is super fast. the one thing I hated most about my iphone was how slow itunes was to sync. I rarely synced it because it could take over an hour sometimes
I just wanted to add a few songs dammit! not backup EVERYTHING on it! (even when I clicked to stop the back up it still took forever)
with Zune I just added about 6 albums and it was done in minutes

all the major apps I used on the iphone are also available on WP7 so the switch was quite painless
now I just use my iphone as an alarm clock Sleepcycle yay! now if only they would release it on WP7 I could completely ditch the iphone

the HD7 looks great , but the only thing I'd be a little wary about is the keyboard since WP7 was designed mainly for portrait use. Be prepared for a lot of twisting and sliding the keyboard out

Thanks for the awesome review!
As someone in the wireless industry, I always love hearing the public's experiences with devices! While Windows Phone 7 isn't exactly my cup of tea, if I was to get one, your Samsung Focus is the one I'd get! The HD7 isn't bad at all either.

I have a Samsung Galaxy S Captivate for personal use, and a Blackberry Bold 9700 for business use.

 

[Orac Zen]

Nokia N79. By far the best mobile I've ever had.

I'm mildly tempted to grab an Android or W7 phone, but I doubt I'd use most of the features (or even be able to) so it seems pointless. And besides, I like Nokias. They seem more able to cope with abuse (of the unintentional kind, like being dropped) than other phones.

 

[Servo]

I have a Sony Ericsson X10 Mini...

...fantastic little phone. My message tone is the Victory Fanfare from Final Fantasy VII, and my incoming call ringtone is Pantera's Strength Beyond Strength.

 

[backstept]

Thanks for the very appreciated review!

Do you use Outlook at all?

I assumed that Outlook's contacts and calendar would sync directly with WP7 and get imported into both the calendar and the People hub? Is that not the case?

Nope, it syncs contacts and calendar with whatever email service you use, can be Windows Live or Gmail or Yahoo...

Thanks for this info!

I never got round to setting up a Windows Live ID, but just have, and have got Outlook to sync up with that Windows Live account, so in a roundabout way, that restores the sync'ing with Outlook as when I sync Windows Live with WM7, that will automatically sync Outlook too. A bit of a palaver to set up, but I've just realised it has the unbelievable benefit of bypassing the horrendous ActiveSync. In fact, I'd guess that you don't have ActiveSync at all in WM7, right?

After a bit more research I think I'm pretty much sold now on getting the HTC 7 Pro.

...but no 4g...

Talking of 4G, the UK seems to be incredibly delayed in getting on board the 4G bandwagon. I guess the operators still remember getting their fingers burnt with too much debt in the overpriced 3G auction at about the height of the dotcom boom, and are dragging their heels this time round.

ActiveSync is dead
you'll be using the Zune desktop software (or WP7 Connector on Mac)

 

[1001001]

Blackberry

 

[Ood Sigma]

Since October 2010, my main phone's been an Nokia 5230, I went for a limited edition White/Silver one.

I love this phone.

I have the exact same model. Very nice phone. Although we'll be switching carriers soon so I may get an iPhone. Although I kind of want a Windows Phone so that I can make my own applications (I do a lot of Silverlight development).

 

[Chaos Descending]

No Palm love?

Only when my wife has a "headache".