Getting upgraded phones

Several years ago, the PW and I decided it was time to upgrade our walkie-talkies and subscribe to a cell phone service.

It turned that our lack of experience and the desire to save a few bucks led us to a provider that had really bad reception in the area where we lived, and we would have to go outside to talk without losing the connection. We coped with the problem long enough to go past the return period, so we had to keep them or pay a really hefty penalty.

Now, years later after finding a reliable provider, we have decided to get new phones and try and upgrade our phones and service.

Confusing gadgets

So now I have one of those "can do everything" Blackberry phones and I am doing this column with a very small keypad.

I had some experience with another BlackBerry that was a bit older, quite a bit larger and much easier to hit the correct keys; I find this one much smaller and spend most of my time making corrections.

I did not know that I have very shaky thumbs when touching lightly and correctly or using the track pad to move around on the page.

Hopefully, I will eventually get more proficient at hitting the right keys because I really like the other things this phone offers.

Aggravating scare

Up to previous paragraph, I was using the Blackberry. I had saved the copy I had spent all morning composing. It had disappeared, and I could not retrieve it anywhere I looked. It had taken me almost four hours just up to that much copy.

I ran to my computer to find what I had written and let the thing synchronize, and what do you know? I found what I had written but still cannot find it in the phone.

So the phone can be used, but I still have a lot to learn about how to use it.

I have gone to the "Help" section to find out how to do what it is I want to do.

Low and behold, they knew what my problem was! But I think it best to get back on the office computer and finish this the easy way.

Back to basics

Despite all of the phone's sophistication, it will be a convenience only whenever I am away from home without my laptop or when I need to put down a note reminding me of something I may want to write about when I get home.

I have let my mind run away with fantasies about something everyone else had that I did not.

The truth be known, I could have done without it completely.

Back several years ago, the PW and I had gotten along without even the cell phone.

We had the walkie-talkies and used them only when we went shopping and could find each other when we wanted to get in line to pay for whatever we had bought and go home.

It's a good phone

I am not going to fault the Blackberry phone. It works great after some study and after exploring its possibilities. I will use the phone to call to see if I need to stop at the store, type short notes, use the voice recorder, and keep my appointments in the calendar.

I can also use it when getting lost in a strange city.