sit down son

So as I think we all know, my phone went for a little swim in the Marriott fountain and thus I had to get a new one (RIP, Palm Pre. I will use that insurance on you eventually.)

Prior to it going swimming, my text message alert noise was from Torchwood 201 (BEEP BEEP BEEP, BEEP BEEP BEEP [....] That...never beeps.) I decided, however, to let that be a thing of the palm. Plus, it was quiet and kinda long for how many messages one can get back to back. Hearing it layer was sorta trippy.

I'm currently using a Blackberry Curve and mostly liking it. The lack of a touch screen still freaks me out, but the keyboard is a bit easier (loathe as I am to admit it). However, EVERYONE AND THEIR BROTHER SEEMS TO HAVE A BLACKBERRY.

I mean, seriously. Have you ever been in a room with multiple people, all with the same message alert tones? ONE PERSON GETS A MESSAGE, EVERYONE GETS EXCITED. IS IT MINE, IS IT MINE?

(This might only be a problem because the two people I am around most in life--my mother and my best friend here in Greenville--both have blackberries.)


POINT IS, it had to change. So I went on the BBC website and download a ton of little noises from them. And then went and found the Doctor Who theme song. These are the noises my phone now makes:

• Ringer: Theme song
• Text: TARDIS
• Email: that gong from the end of every episode of New Who
• BBM: Sonic Screwdriver
• AIM: EXTERMINATE!

There are two results of this. One: When it goes off for the first time around someone, they are ALL COMPLETELY CONFUSED. Two: When it goes off, especially for a text, I am filled with unholy glee.

Seriously. It's like I have a TARDIS in my pocket. How is that NOT awesome?

It wasn't too long ago that I did something like this for my laptop, which felt like it was on it's last gasps as the time, physically. However, my father is like a laptop surgeon with access to artificial limbs that look and act just like the originals (but without the little stickers telling you what it's got on in the inside) and as such, my baby is pretty much back to perfect again. Except that dying jet engine noise, but god knows how I'd make that one stop.

However, there was no hope for my dying phone. I'd been using a Palm Centro since I got back stateside in September, and let me tell you- that phone was a hot mess. My mom had gotten it refurbed from ebay, them lost it and gotten a new phone that she could use easier and then it was found again so then they put my number on it because it was at least a bit better than my geriatric LG flip phone. To put it simply- I'd been due an upgrade since 08, according to Verizon. The Centro was pretty cool at first, but obviously a bit outdated and the QWERTY wasn't the easiest in the world to use. I adjusted, got used to it, made it work for me and got pretty handy with those tiny-ass keys. But then the OS started breaking down, programs would RANDOMLY STOP WORKING, it would sometimes shut off the phone part and then turn back on again, making strange noises, etc.

So last week when I got my first paycheck, I made a detour by the Verizon store with the sole purpose of getting the Palm Pre+. Now in a world of people obsessed with iPhones and Blackberries and going a bit *_* over the new Android OS, right down to the up-and-coming Nexus One... Yeah, there are probably a lot of people going WTF DID YOU GET ANOTHER PALM FOR. And to them, I will explain as I had to explain to the sales rep: I like it, it's slick, I believe a phone SHOULD FIT IN MY POCKET, I don't want a touchscreen QWERTY, but I think a touchscreen in and of itself is a fun idea. I've been using the centro for ages so the size of the buttons on the Pre doesn't bother me (when he brought that up I waved the centro at him and he laughed and said 'good point'), the idea of them sliding out is something I've been enamored of since I saw angryhamster's phone ages back and I do not want a bberry, thanks. No offense to the many and varied bberry users out there, I've heard tons of great things but I like being a little different and having a phone that's really weird for everyone else to use. Also, my camera phone has a flash. Take that, iPhone fanatics!

So those are all the reasons that nothing would deter me from my love of this phone. These are all the reasons I love it.

• It is small, sleek and fucking gorgeous. Don't believe me?



It's gorgeous. The graphics are crisp and clear, the sound quality is really good. It's loud enough for me to hear easily, the alarm wakes me up with no trouble, and I can turn those down without any hassle if I ever want them quieter for some reason. There's also the nice little switch on top that turns it on silent instantly, or vice-versa.

• It's got a wonderful touchscreen interface with easy to learn gestures, though I'm finding myself screwing up on scrolling on my laptop now, oops. It's a marvel of multitasking I can have 50 applications open and flick between them in three different views- icons card view, or full screen view. A full swipe across the bottom of the screen when an app is in full screen flicks to the next app, a half-screen swipe goes back in the application. Zooming in and out is a snap, I can access the launcher from any view, everything just FLOWS. Turning the phone sideways re-orients the screen. It's responsive, and while load times for newly-opened applications can take a few seconds, YOU CAN LEAVE THEM OPEN.

• It has a QWERTY keypad and when you slide that out, it automatically wakes up the phone without you having to unlock it (you can wake it up with the use of a button and a quick upward swipe on the touchscreen as well). Typing while not in a full-screened app searches the phone for applications and contacts, then offers the option to search the web- google (or bing, your choice), wiki, twitter or google maps. WHICH ARE ALSO REALLY SLICK AND NICE (I got lost today and had to use that one). The spacing on the keys is much improved from its centro predecessor, making typing a lot easier.

• It's webOS. This means that my entire phone is backed up daily. If I ever lose or break it, it can be restored by just...logging in, really. Inversely, if it's ever stolen, all the data can be wiped remotely. This also sort of explains how the internet is so seamlessly integrated into it.

• THE TOUCHSTONE. I don't have this yet, but I am itching to get one. It's a charger, of sorts, that you just set the phone down on. Seriously, it's a little stand, magnetic, that you set the phone down on and it just AUTOMATICALLY CHARGES IT. Furthermore, if you set the phone down while on a call, it automatically swaps to speakerphone. It also gives you a "nightstand mode," which I'm not sure of the details for yet, but I want it like burning.

• It is really fucking pretty and is like having my laptop (WITH INTERNET) with me wherever I go. Which is obviously a huge perk to a constantly connected person such as myself. I've even loaded it up with TV shows to watch on my lunch breaks. It's has 16G of space and can sync with iTunes. In short, I am in love with this phone and am pleased with peaches over everything about it.

I apologize to anyone who got stuck listening to me gush over it the past few days, but I really love this phone.

So I'm going to shut up now and try to stop talking about what little geniuses Palm are for making my PERFECT PHONE, and go...idk, enjoy the rest of my day off.

♥!