Don't Back Down

Posted by Chad Everett on August 2, 2004

Downgrading Phones »

A couple of years ago, I upgraded my cell phone to a Samsung SPH-I300. I was pretty excited that I had one of these new fangled phones with a Palm built right in. I also happened to use it from time to time, as I was working for a company who distributed some Palm software products. Naturally I don't work for that company any longer, but even before that happened, I began to realize that I really didn't use the Palm stuff. Not occasionally, not once in a while, just not ever. So recently I decided to shop for a new phone.

My first choice was the LG VI-5225. It was a pretty little phone, and folded up into a compact little package that easily fit in my pocket. Reception seemed solid, but battery life was just horrible. On my I300, I could talk for two hours or more - straight - and hardly make a dent in the battery. On the VI-5225, I talked for maybe 70 minutes and was at half level. Wow. Not sure if this is a function of the color screen, or the vision phone, or what exactly, but I decided I didn't like it. Add to that the fact that the phone was $200 (I wasn't going to meet the criteria necessary for a $150 rebate) and I figured I could use a different unit.

After dredging eBay for a few days, and running the SprintPCS phones through Google to find one (or more) with a decent review at a decent price, I settled on the LG Touchpoint (TP) 1100. The reviews were decent except for battery life, but the size was right, and at $20 shipped, it looked okay to me.

Well, I've had the phone for about a week now, and thus far it's done very well. Of course, since my seizure last week I haven't talked much because it's rather painful - but when I've used the phone, it's worked great. And if the battery life isn't that great? Hey, it's only $20. I feel a lot better about poor performance for $20 than I do for $200, you know?