Probably The Best Mobile Phone In The World

Mobile phones are ubiquitous, but in the pursuit of ever "Smarter" models, basic functionality seems to have been overlooked. My last two phones claimed to be tough, and indeed for a couple of years each survived regular dunkings before eventually failing. At £100 for the Samsung B2710 Solid Immerse and £50 for the slightly smaller B2100 they are better priced and more pocket sized than many and, if the data is switched off, can last a week or so on a charge. They also both had a big loop to attach a chunky lanyard and a torch. Both endlessly useful. The problem I have with these phones, aimed at users with an active lifestyle, so I guess outside - perhaps when the sun is shining -  is that it is impossible to see the screen in daylight. Quite an oversight. (No pun intended.)

A good game when ringing a Crapple iPhone clone or other "smart"phone user (assuming they get the call at all - more on that soon) is guessing if they are inside or out. The clue is whether they know it's you - i.e.  can they see the caller display.

For many months I came close to either re-buying a Nokia 8210 (sold my 1999 original on eBay with a mass of accessories a few years back) or a now ridiculously expensive 8910 (bought one and sold it again as it kept snapping open in my pocket) since both have the old school Monochrome screen that makes daylight use possible.

Enter the Nokia 1280.

I discovered this little marvel in the nick of time and having bought one for about £20 was so impressed that a week later I bought another five from the same eBay seller. The reason? Well six, because the model has been discontinued by Nokia/Microsoft - nice move guys. 

Why get it at all? Well just look at the features and benefits:

• Dimensions 107.2 x 45.1 x 15.3 mm
• Weight 81.9g

• Means it fits in your pocket & you hardly notice it.

• Monochrome Display

• Visible in daylight - even the brightest sunlight.

• Standby Time - 528 h
• Talk Time - 8h 30m

• You can make a call when you need to - no daily charging.

• Flashlight

• See in the dark.

I could go on about the simple user interface and predictive text that works beautifully, but it's a Nokia so these things are a given. It has every feature bar one I need and nothing I don't. My only regret is that it isn't waterproof, but I have two workarounds:

• Most supermarkets do a nice line in cheap freezer bags. Drop it in, tie a knot and you're good to go. Lightweight, cheap and you can still use the phone. I've taken this approach in the water and up a mountain many times and never had a problem.

• Aquapac make a fine range of floaty, strappy or dangly waterproof pouches from about £20. I've used them for years, having bought one full price and a second hand one for £2.00 in a junk shop.

The only feature of previous smart phones I've missed is a camera, which though poor quality was useful for snapping a reminder image - but this is a minor inconvenience. 

I believe this phone is aimed at developing countries, but I can't understand why Nokia don't see how great this is anywhere. The only negative reviews I've seen miss the point that it's a dumb phone for a more enlightened (smart) user. Most people that have one love it.

As I said, I was so impressed I bought six. (I gave one to my wife.) Now - where can I find a natty yellow cover?

Pure Evoke Flow Review

Bought to replace a Roberts that went pop when I plugged in the wrong charger. I decided to go down the DAB/Internet route to get Planet Rock, plus a wider range of stations and podcasts in addition to my normal morning bathroom dose of Radio 4 and Jonathan Ross’s weekend programme on Radio 2 at whatever time I want to listen to it. Here’s the good & bad after several months of use.

Good

• Nice looking item & solidly built.

• Does all the stuff advertised pretty well.

• Connected to my security enabled router easily with the instructions provided.

Bad

• Aerial. After the first two weeks so floppy that I have to lean it against a wall to get the right position. How hard to get this basic right? Tightening the screw has no effect.

• EcoPlus. “Reduced power consumption. At the heart of EcoPlus is the requirement to reduce the power consumption of our products while playing audio and also in standby.” Hmmmm. Sucks the (additionally purchased) battery’s power and I’m not sure keeping it on charge all the time against the time you need the 24 hour battery life quoted in one review is all that green. Has died on me several times so I now have to think a bit more about how long I’m listening to it unplugged so as not to get caught short. Not sure if it consumes power when it’s on standby but unplugged. Maybe that doesn’t help. When the battery has died it won’t even switch on for some time afterwards – you just have to leave it plugged in and let it wake up on its own.

• Volume. OK on DAB & Internet BUT my most regular chunk of listening is Radio 4 in the bathroom in the centre of our flat (no windows & stacks of reinforced concrete all around) in the morning. That means FM, and on maximum volume I can’t hear John Humphries & James Naughty when I’m in the shower or over the sound of my electric razor. Never a problem with the old Roberts. Our DAB reception doesn’t reach the bathroom and I don’t necessarily have my router on first thing. Not the end of the world but an irritation none the less.

• Podcasts. If the podcast/s that you want isn’t/aren’t listed on the Lounge web site you can ask for it/them to be added. I asked for Enterprise Nation’s, but it never happened and there was no explanation why.

• Cutting Out. On occasions the sound has died for no readily apparent reason. Nothing I can do (switch of, switch on) fixes the problem, but it fixes itself, again for no readily apparent reason, if left alone for a while. It first happened when I connected the stereo out into my hi-fi amplifier (after about three days of use in this way) but has happened a couple of times since without the amplifier.

Summary

A nice looking radio that does plenty but has a couple of minor irritations and doesn’t compete with a Roberts on its FM specialist subject. Have a duster handy to keep it looking shiny.

Once I had written this (Tue, 15th Sep 2009) I went to the Pure web site, had a surf around, and since the facility was there thought I would send them my thoughts so attached the review saying:

“Hi Help Team

Having had my Pure Evoke Flow for a while now I have written a review (since I read other people's reviews) to post online (Trusted Reviews & Amazon) to help other prospective purchasers, but I thought that you might want to have a look first. It's attached. Any comments welcome.”

After a little more surfing I then added:

“I should say that the help section on battery life offers an explanation but my observation still stands. 1 hour on maximum volume isn't much compared to my "old" Roberts.

The section on stereo out vs headphone socket throws some light on the muted problem but I have never muted the radio, in fact didn't know it was possible. Having tried this out it definitely wasn't muted as I checked the display and would have seen the mute symbol. I also see that if it is switched off and switched on again it is un-muted. When/if it happens again I will make a positive check.”

I sent this to Pure and had a reply from Jason Voice, their Technical Support Manager that day:

“Thanks for your feedback Simon.

Battery life is different on DAB radios compared to analogue radios as described in the support note. 1 hour may not seem much compared to an analogue radio - but the again it's not an analog radio. You would be closer comparing a laptop computer to the Flow rather than an "old" analogue radio as your Roberts and the Flow share no similarities behind the box. All demands are different (and incomparable) - especially power demands. My post on Electronics Weekly may go some way to explaining what we're trying to do with EcoPLus (http://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/engineering-design-problems/2009/07/digital-radio-working-hard-on.html#comment-1736182) and why it needs to be done.

The aerial issue you describe is certainly an odd one. We're the world's leading radio manufacturer and the aerial system used on Flow is no different to the millions of other PURE radios out there. Unlikely to be something we 'can't get right' - more likely to be a fault with that individual aerial. Forward your address and I'll put a replacement aerial in the post for you to try out.

If the cutting out is happening on web radio then you may be channel sharing with a nearby wireless network. Wireless crosstalk can cause this kind of random interruption in processing so it maybe be worth checking out (you have 13 channels to choose from). Use a tool like http://wifihopper.com/ and check to see if you are sharing the same channel as another network nearby. Armed with this info, does the problem persist if you move to a free channel?

Let me know how you get on with the drop out, and thanks again for your feedback.”

True to his word not one but two new aerials arrived within a couple of days. Thanks Jason – excellent support. I fitted one straight away.

Wednesday 6th January 2010 - Sitrep

"Hi Jason

Thanks for the two replacement aerials that you sent out and your feedback. Thought I'd send you this sitrep - obviously too much time on my hands.

Aerial The new aerial has been in place for about three months now and ... is as floppy as the first.

I’ve thought hard about whether I am subjecting it to undue strain. The set lives permanently in my home office plugged in to my desk plug block and most nights gets switched off (at the switch on the plug block so that all my office kit is completely off).

Most weekday mornings I switch it on, extend the aerial, take it in to the kitchen whilst I make breakfast and then to the bathroom for a shower – all Radio 4 FM stuff. It then goes back in the office – usually aerial still extended.

If I listen to it during the day (Radio 4 FM or Planet Rock online) the aerial probably stays where it is. If I have a shower after squash (twice a week maximum) I listen to Planet Rock so I’ll retract the aerial and take it take it into the bathroom and then the bedroom until it ends up back in the office.

At weekends it moves randomly around the flat listening to Planet Rock online with the aerial retracted.

On reflection, I wouldn’t say that this is excessive – and as I have said my old Roberts radio had the same life with no ill effects to the aerial.

Cutting Out This has never happened since I wrote about it. I have done nothing to influence it.  There are no other wireless networks anywhere close by.


Further Niggles

FM to Online Switching to online from FM listening takes its time – sometimes it seems as long as I would be in the shower anyway.

Battery Drain Sometimes, if I’ve been away for a while – up to a long weekend, it won’t come on at all and I have to charge it for a while before it will stay on.

Summary

Great piece of kit if you leave it in one position (so as not to repeatedly extend or retract the aerial), keep it plugged in and are not in a hurry to get to an online station. Otherwise it has three minor irritations, one of which still seems to be an avoidable mechanical design issue to me.

I must be the only customer you have who moves my portable radio around! Hope this helps."

Samsung SGH-M110 Solid - Mobile Phone Review

Similar Products Owned

Nokia 5.1
Nokia 3210
Nokia 5110
Nokia 8210
Sony Ericsson T68i
Sony Ericsson P900
O2 XDA
Sony Ericsson T610i
Motorolla
Nokia 8910
Nokia 8910i

Reason For Purchase

I have had enough of mobile phones, mobile phone shop staff and mobile phone users. Here’s why:
Mobile Phones: I have only found one handset that does exactly what I want with no waste and that is no longer made. The second hand 8910/is I have bought on eBay have never lasted.

Mobile Phone Shop Staff: They only really want to sell you the latest handset with the latest tariff, without really understanding how they work, or being able to sell you only what you need. My last attempt to patronise a local shop ended with me explaining to the staff member why he couldn’t listen to the music library he had paid for on anything other than his expensive handset.

Mobile Phone Users: Why buy a smart phone if you aren’t smart enough to use the technology. (Probably because you were sold to by the sales person above.)

My idea handset would have:

LCD Screen Visible in daylight! (Mono is fine)
Bluetooth Connects to real cameras for handling photographs, laptops & PDAs for internet access on screens that you can see.
2 Bluetooth Nodes Like the Sony Ericsson T610i this would enable pairing with two devices at once enabling, for instance, remote dialling from your PDA whilst connected to a Bluetooth headset.
No camera To make it pocket sized
Size Jeans pocket
Shock proof Because it’s going to get dropped
Battery life Plenty

The Samsung Solid had many of these features, so I bought one. See the almost there specification here.

The O2 Online Shop seemed the best place to buy because they had them in stock and my business SIM card is O2. Sadly it is impossible to extract a handset from the business shop and as I later discovered to get a VAT receipt for your purchase without about an hour on the phone.

First Impressions

No real problems on taking the handset out of the box – it was all as advertised. The phone appears to be reasonably dust proof and despite being quite lightweight it doesn’t seem cheap or fragile. I would hope that the lightweight construction (with no unnecessary features) lessens the effect of being dropped.

Sadly setting up is a hassle as, like most models, it is impossible to move your address book between handsets. The only option appears to be to move from one handset to the SIM card which cannot hold a record linking three or more numbers (mobile home & work etc.) 2 hours work later your phone book is ready to use. (And I only have 50 records!)

Then came an interesting revelation. Having carefully read the instructions for setup (both in the manual provided and that downloaded from the Samsung web site) it became apparent that the speed dial function was missing from the phone. Contacting Samsung only resulted in the buck passing to O2 – “Their fault.” said Samsung. A call to O2, giving them a chance to deny it and quote from the manual, find a Solid Handset, find a SIM card, find a charger to charge the flat battery, wait because you can’t use the handset until the battery has a little charge, reveals that “It’s not on this phone either!”. The answer: “It must be something that Samsung have removed.” Luckily with that base covered I offered them the Samsung technical support number to check for themselves at which point they acknowledged that maybe it was down to them. “Yes we’ve removed it.” was the final confession but they were unable to explain why. Beware.

From a week of use the handset seems fine, although I can’t say I have dropped it on purpose or accidentally. The torch has been useful a couple of times. Even so another problem has raised its head (apart from an hour on the phone to get a VAT receipt). On about 20% of calls I found that either I could hear but the other party couldn’t hear me or the call went through but neither party could hear the other. This was the case whether I made or received the call. After about three days of this I decided to investigate the O2 returns process. Deep joy!. 24 minutes on a premium rate phone line (which because O2 have changed their charging structure 12 months into my contract now costs me money) reveals that because with no other option I had to buy a PAYG handset, the process is that I have to return the faulty one for a refund and the buy another. I love the way that so many large companies, rather than thinking how can we make life easier for our customers in the event of a problem, invent processes that could not be more complex. A couple of tips from this exercise:
Remember to ask what the Freepost address is – it won’t be volunteered as their recommendation will be to send it recorded delivery.
Ask about how to claim back the cost of the 25 minute premium rate phone call and if you find out let me know.

So I have ordered a fresh phone online and will be returning the broken one in the original packaging that I had the foresight to retain. More to follow.

Summary

Happy so far with the build and functionality. However:

Speed Dial has been removed by O2
A fault developed after just over a week of use which meant callers could not hear me and sometimes we couldn't hear each other.
The O2 returns procedure is costly and convoluted, wit no provision to recoup the costs involved.

History

The Ministry of Crap Design is an idea that I had whilst whiling away a flight to South Africa in 2001, and was really because of my experiences in toilets, hence the name. It started in a notebook that a design agency I once employed gave to me as a gift - a suitable use for it I now think. It has developed into this web log and may one day go back onto paper, who knows. In short, it is a cry to those that are paid to design, to whatever level, to just pause to think for a moment.

My uncle always said that you could judge a restaurant on the way that the butter was served. If it arrived in a small pot fresh from the fridge, all was probably well in the kitchens. If it came in a foil packet, you deserved what you got. I developed my own theory; that if the toilets are clean, stylish and all in all a pleasure to use, then the kitchens are probably in a good state. (I always enjoyed the facilities at Harrods, even though on my last visit I spent a pound - pun intended.) Poor toilets….

Anyway, on the way to South Africa I discovered that not all toilets are created equal and this brought into focus things that I had noticed in over 30 years of toilet patronage, but not really given much thought to. Sadly the same must be said for those responsible. Some people who create a toilet do so in the knowledge that they will never have to suffer the results of their handiwork. There are many examples here.

I then decided that toilets are not the only examples of poor design that are forced upon us. The suffering reaches every area of our lives, in ways so blindingly obvious to my layman’s eyes that I can hold back no longer. And so I created this cry to the designers of the world. I am not a professional designer, and my intention is not to be negative about anyone’s product, service or business. I am enough of a realist to understand that everything is created to a budget, but surely many of the things that I have observed don’t actually cost money to get right. It is meant to help, not hinder, so don’t sue me for commenting on your product or service – far better to post a comment and let us know the reality. Bear that in mind if you choose to comment as a layman. My friends involved in the business of design have explained many times why things are the way they are. But sometimes the answer can be as simple as making a toilet door turn outwards rather than inwards, which ends this introduction where it started.

The Legal Stuff

The Legal Stuff Will Go Here.

Casio G-Shock Watch (AWG-101-1AER)

Similar Products Owned

• Timex Boys Analogue
• Casio LCD Digital
• Tissot Self Winding Analogue
• Puslar Analogue
• Swatch (Black)
• Accurist Analogue
• Rolex Submariner (Hong Kong Fake, Seiko movement apparently)
• Casio Digital (Various)
• Tag Heur 1500

Reason For Purchase

In 1994 I bought a Tag Heur 1500 series watch, after a Royal Marine colleague explain why he had bought one and how pleased he was with it. As he had been through SAS selection I reckoned that he probably expected more from a watch than I ever would, so I parted with £450 cash. For about 10 years it has been outstanding, consistently gaining only a second a week, until it needed servicing about three years ago and has not been right since. This year I finally tired of it needing a service every 12 months and being away for 2 months, paying £125 - £140 for the privilege. I also lost patience when the strap needed repairing or replacing, but that is another story.

I bought a Seiko watch for my wife some time ago for around £100 and this has kept perfect time, whereas my Tag has started to lose anything from a few seconds to a few hours a day. I did some Googling to see what I could expect as far as accuracy was concerned, having heard from my brother that his Rolex dealer suggested that he should be happy with his Submariner being only accurate to +/- 10 seconds a day. This was because it was a precision instrument! I learnt a great deal from the Time Zone web site and have decided that I have been had. My new definition of a good watch is one that just works. Prestige brands simply mean that you can afford the problems they bring with them. Hardly a cachet worth paying for.

More Googling resulted in me considering two models; a Seiko Kinetic Diver’s Watch and a Casio Radio Controlled Solar G-Shock. They both met my requirements which were:

• Accurate
• Require Minimal Maintenance
• Robust
• Analogue
• Waterproof (Various water sports, snorkelling being the deepest)
• Fit under a suit shirt (double) cuff
• Visible at night
• Subtle

I found that H Samuels had the two models I wanted so I tried them on there, to find that as I suspected, the Seiko would not fit under my cuff (and was also a little bling for my liking) so the Casio won. I bought it for £99.99, encouraged by the sales assistant telling me that The Gadget Show had recently run a test where a G-Shock was used as an ice hockey puck an performed well. Click the Play button to watch it.


This sounded the sort of durability I was after. Previous Googling had revealed that whilst some sites listed my model for £84.99 they were not clear whether the model was actually in stock. I parted with the cash for an AWG-101-1AER and you can find the technical specification on the Casio UK web site here.

First Impressions

• Setup was as per the instructions, which I went through even though it was set to London, The Rugby transmitter and therefore the correct time.
• The Date shows 1.29 to show January 29th American style rather than 29.1 to show 29th January correctly.
• The moulded rubber strap, which it looks hard to change, can be either a little loose or a little tight.
• The time is second perfect.
• It looks quite subtle by comparison to many watches.
Summary I found this video of what G-Shocks can stand up to. There are lots more on YouTube. Very pleased so far but early days yet and I have my first game of squash in it tonight – though I will be using a ball.

Update

After 2 years of ownership here's what I think:

The Good

Time always spot on

Robust

Still looks good (IMHO)

The Bad

Changing the time is not intuitive - rememebr to take the manual on holiday to say Egypt!!

Hands obscure the left & right digital displays at times.

You can't read the digital displays in the dark

Overall I like it - everlasting battery free accuracy outweighs the visibility issues.

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