Does anyone else treat their phone like crap?

[Jesda]

Maybe its because I'm accustomed to the ruggedness of my past Blackberrys. I have a cheap LG Optimus and havent bothered getting a case for it. Its been dropped several times on hard surfaces. I play Angry Birds in the shower (touch screen sometimes go wonky, requires an hour or so to dry off) and I rarely remember to charge it. In the car I put it in front of the instrument cluster for navigation and in a hard turn it sometimes flies across and hits the door.

Heck, I rarely even remember to bring it inside. Its usually sitting outdoors in the center console or on the floor with the top down. No one takes it because they probably think its broken.

I do have a screen protector on it because my roommate offered a freebie. The protector looks like it was chewed by a pit bull and I havent bothered to change it. Dont care enough to spend 5 bucks.

I'm also bad about checking my voicemail or most other messages. I love the ones that say "Pick me up at the airport please" [dated: "2 weeks ago"].

I guess my attitude might be different if I had an iPhone or something of value. The technological fascination is gone, and now this thing is like an anchor on my life that I'm burdened to carry around.

So I carry it around quite reluctantly.

[Zydeco]

I love to toss mine in the water. if it falls out of my lap and it hits the ground I dont even worried about it.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fX4iRJViuHs[/youtube]

[Razi]

I have a simple Samsung Sway.
I throw it everywhere, take calls on it when I have grease on my hands, and even spilled brake fluid on it once.

I'd probably treat a smartphone more differently though.

[alms24sebring]

The expensive ones are the ones you care about

[themadscientist]

My phone is all screwed up from dropping it and it riding around in my pocket with my keys and such. When they displease me I destroy them. One got smashed with a sledgehammer, another was dragged behind my car for a week until it finally hooked a drain grate and exploded into a shower of cheap plastic.

[JoeCool6972]

Yes, I hate my phone. I have the Samsung Reclaim. Got it because it was one of the free ones, I see why... it is a POS! I drop it all the time, throw it when it messes up, which is frequently. I already broke one, stupid Sprint gave me the exact same one again... FML.

[Kompresshun]

I was the same way Jesda, although I've also had many Blackberrys. Ever since I got the EVO though, I've taken a lot better care of it and keep it pretty close to me most of the time. I still have an Otterbox case on it though, ever since buying one for my last BB, I've been dead set on always having one on my phones. I've dropped my EVO a few times now and you can barely tell.

So to answer your question, yes you care about them more when you have a nicer one. I've destroyed plenty of phones, but the toughest ones have always been Blackberrys. Heck we let our daughter play with the wife's old BB Curve that she had before her LG Optimus, she throws it around, spills crap on it, and it still works if I put it on the charger.

I think a good smartphone with the Otterbox defender case is the way to go though, best of both worlds.

[krash]

As James knows, I treated my LG chocolate 2 like crap. It fell in champagne, got run over by a bus, flew out of my car, was stepped on multiple times, I cant even remember all the things its been through, but the only thing I had to do to is was buy a new battery for it after the bus incident.

My droid incredible however, I treat with much more care (even though I have accidentally dropped it once....)

[carloslebaron]

Hey! I do treat my checkbook the same way, I have a returned check because my account number was unrecognizable...

[krash]

Hey! I do treat my checkbook the same way, I have a returned check because my account number was unrecognizable...

[Jesda]

lol, speaking of... I checked my messages a few minutes ago and learned that I'm supposed to pick up my brother from the airport in 20 minutes. I have 8 voicemails from him and my dad -- they've been trying to reach me since 9am.

I like to leave the ringer off in case I forget to turn it off at a movie or something. With the phone sitting on a TV tray next to the dog downstairs (he likes the couch) I can't feel it vibrate. It is Newton's fault for not notifying me.

[Kompresshun]

So note to self: Jesda is not reliable and his dog forgets to give him messages.

[dre1507]

Not on purpose. I hate cell phone cases, yet i always seem to get phones that are somewhat easy to slip out of my hands.

[alms24sebring]

got run over by a bus, but the only thing I had to do to is was buy a new battery for it after the bus incident.

Whats the point of a phone then Jesda?

It seems like with every phone, especially smartphones, they just start doing retarded ish after about 9 months. Then you have to live with it for another year or more as it gets worse until you get another smartphone. Repeat.

[nissangirl74]

Note to self: nix the idea of asking Jesda for his phone number. He would not care what I had to say anyway.

To the OP: I'm pretty easy on the BB. I had a Motorola Razr and a Nokia that both got a LOT of abuse.

[Jesda]

I always reply but there's usually a delay between 1 and 20 days. Ray, James, and Christine can attest to this.

When I got to the airport tonight my brother's HTC Evo decided to have a ROM failure so I finally gave up on contacting him, parked in the garage, and walked around looking for him at Lambert International. I lucked out when I finally saw him. Phones suck.


I also looked at my call log and noticed that I missed another call from my ex-girlfriend.

She's nice and all, but you can see the soul-crushing crazy in her eyes. Last time she called was a few days ago at 5am. She just wanted to shoot the breeze. She was being extra friendly so I asked her if she was on her period.


When I'm dating, I have to admit, my minutes used go from 150 a month to as much as 3000, but when I'm not dating I experience cellular fatigue.



The last time I initiated a call was a couple days ago. The Prelude got a flat so I rang AAA. Emergencies and laptop tethering are primarily why I own a phone and with Virgin Mobile its only $25/mo with unlimited data.

[93coupe]

My phones take ridiculous amounts of abuse. I have a smart phone. You'd think that having something of high value would change my attitude about phone care, but it doesn't. I hope my cell doesn't have feelings.

[Otto.]

I take care of mine. I've only dropped it once and it didn't land directly on the floor. It doesn't really have any notable damage. I would probably take better care of it if I was on a real plan. I like mine for now though. (LG Optimus V, same as Jesda.)

[frapjap]

I used to take care of my BB, but then it started to do stupid things. I don't intentionally throw it at surfaces or walls, but sometimes it bounces off the couch when I toss it there in the morning. It'll take some serious abuse.

Last night a waitress spilled THREE beers on it (and me). I took the battery out, blew in it and on the keyboard to half-a** dry it out, then told her she owed me new jeans. The rest of the drinks were free for the night thanks to my tank of a phone.

[packerjd04]

When I got to the airport tonight my brother's HTC Evo decided to have a ROM failure so I finally gave up on contacting him, parked in the garage, and walked around looking for him at Lambert International. I lucked out when I finally saw him. Phones suck.

ROM failure is more likely his fault than the phones. Flashing ROMs is risky business. I treat my Incredible like the computer it is. I take care of it and it takes care of me haha

[Jesda]

When I got to the airport tonight my brother's HTC Evo decided to have a ROM failure so I finally gave up on contacting him, parked in the garage, and walked around looking for him at Lambert International. I lucked out when I finally saw him. Phones suck.

ROM failure is more likely his fault than the phones. Flashing ROMs is risky business. I treat my Incredible like the computer it is. I take care of it and it takes care of me haha

Its a stock phone. Not even rooted. It was a warranty replacement for his last Evo which had a hardware failure.

China can build things, but their engineering is crap.


If a telephone cannot make a telephone call when called upon [pun?], it is useless.

[Kompresshun]

There are a few EVOs out there that have been duds, my boss ended up getting one. Now both of my in laws have EVOs and so does my wife's uncle, no issues out of any of ours at all. Me and my father in law flash ROMs like crazy and have no issues, flashing ROMs isn't risky business unless you don't know what you're doing. It's just a matter of making sure it's a reputable developer and that you read their installation instructions first.

[MinisterofDOOM]

My G1 and G2 are cared for better than my older non-touchscreen dumbphones but still treated pretty roughly. They go in my pocket, with change and keys and sunglasses etc. They get greasy, grimy engine bay hands all over them. They get tossed around.

Flashing ROMs is risky business. I treat my Incredible like the computer it is. I take care of it and it takes care of me haha

Not really. The community support for smartphone hacking is outstanding. You can't walk a foot in the internet without tripping over a piece of software that helps you (relatively) safely root, flash, or otherwise hack your phone these days. Yeah, there are "this might brick your phone" warnings every 3 inches but that's just fear of being held responsible for a rare error. I've hacked many Android devices, WinMo devices, Palm devices...never had a "brick" or even a ROM failure on my hands. It's really not all that risky. Most of the time even if something DOES go wrong you can recover using (hey, convenient) hacking tools. In fact lately I'm flashing a new CM7 daily every couple of days or so on my "daily driver" phone.

Hacking phones of any type (except iPhone) has gotten so foolproof there's no need to be afraid of it. Whatever device you've got, someone, somewhere, has written a program to make things easier for you.

[Jesda]

Can your telephone launch space ships and do brain surgery

Is there an app for that

Does it come with fries

Do you like turtles

[Jesda]

Did you name your telephone

Did it come with a solar charger

Does it make burritos

[Kompresshun]

Yes it can and it's name shall not be spoken

[Jesda]

This phone made this burrito

[VQpwrdSE-R]

Washing my car once with my cell phone in hoodie pocket. I hear a distinct vibrating noise coming from the soap bucket.....sh*t.

[alms24sebring]

^lol

I dropped one of my old phones (dont remember what) in a puddle of AT fluid from my shirt pocket as I bent over. The smell after a week was horendous and the oil from between the buttons and smallest spaces always seemed to seep out. After 2 months I couldnt bear the smell anymore and got a new one.. still worked tho just fine even after I threw it across the parking lot for getting pissed that that just happened.

[AZ89two4Tsx]

I have a Droid 2. Basically a brick, I love it.

Dropped it many times on concrete, gotten it wet, thrown it around, and it still works like a champ. I've had it for over a year now.

I'd jump on a new phone like the Casio Commando, especially if Motorola made one. Imo all phones should be durable and tough. For most people, it's their most frequently used thing...out of anything. Personally I can't STAND being without my phone. Why buy junk?