My First Week With the Blackberry 8310

In April '07 I wrote one of my first posts entitled "My First Week With the Blackberry 8800".
Now, 2 years later, my trusty 8800 is starting to show early signs of senility: it freezes, it resets itself unexpectedly and batteries run out twice as fast as before.

I don't blame the trusty old device. In the last 2 years it has traveled around the globe and suffered extreme temperatures, being dropped from various heights, used for hours a day and the network switched several times a week. Add to that the fact that I loaded it with almost any software I could find, and you can understand why it wants to check out early.

Well, due to the economy, rather than get an upgrade to a new 8900, I received a Curve 8310 device. Still stuck in Edge network (as opposed to 3G on the 8900), it still offers some perks compared to the 8800:

1. Camera and video camera - much missed from the 8800 and will allow me to leave my camera at home on some future trips.
2. Geotagging will add your coordinates to the picture you take - works only if you're outside.
3. Spell checker - finally! Now I cn snd emials wituot slepping erors.
4. 3.5" headphone jack - I can now use my QC2 rather than a special set.
   
5. The new 4.5 OS allows me to have Hebrew characters (or any other language you'd like) on my Blackberry, without resorting to arcane hacks needed in early versions.
6. Sound recorder - nice idea, not so great execution - it actually freezes the device from time to time.
7. HTML email view.
8. All my old games and applications function seamlessly on the new device.

But of course, there's no good without bad:

1. The device is smaller than the 8800, so it does not fit in the holster I have and AT&T does not provide a new holster, just a pocket protector. And who uses pocket protectors in the 21st century?
2. The keyboard is a throwback to the 8700 days. Clicky and plasticky. Very easy to hit the wrong keys, regardless of the size of your fingers. And did I mention small?
3. The speaker is less than great, compared to the 8800. And the ring tones sound more metallic.
4. You still cannot do anything else involving the network when engaged in a phone call, thanks to the stellar "Edge" network.
   
5. The shiny plastic on the back of this device is quite slippery, and basically invites scratches.
6. The number of useless links AT&T crams on this device is borderline criminal. "Buy games!", "Buy ringtones!", "Buy music!", "Buy our marketing people some brains!" etc...
   What's more, these cannot be deleted. I tried deleting them from the service book, but every time you do a full restart (like when you install a new software), the device senses it's missing something, and re-installs them all - for your benefit (yeah right!).
   The solution I found is to creat a folder, name it "useless links", drag all the links into it and hide the folder.
   

But all in all, I'm content. It was almost painful to transfer all my old apps and settings from the 8800 to the 8310 (with the exception of losing my theme and and game I was in the middle of - small price to pay) and it activated immediately. I wonder how many miles will I get on this device?

It's Official: Men's Brains Shut Down by Bikinis

This is a fun post to write. Mainly because I had to choose an image to accompany it .

We men always "believed" that a certain part of our brain shuts down whenever a beautiful woman passes by, or flashes on the screen for a second. For years it was a myth - now it's science.

According to a research published by Susan Fiske, professor of psychology at Princeton University, in men, the brain areas associated with handling tools and the intention to perform actions light up when viewing images of women in bikinis.

This is just the first study which was focused on the idea that men of a certain age view sex as a highly desirable goal, and if you present them with a provocative woman, then that will tend to prime goal-related responses

And the part that exonerates us is the sub-conscious decision process involved:

"They're not fully conscious responses, and so people don't know the extent to which they're being influenced," Fiske said. "It's important to recognize the effects."

The research has other conclusions about sub-conscious behavior, including highlighting latent sexism in some of the test subjects. You can read the full report in this CNN article.

As for me, this is the first time (and probably the last) I have a (scientific) excuse to post a beautiful woman's picture to my blog. And just to keep it local-patriotic, it's a picture of Bar Rafaeli .

Calendar Fixed

For the last couple of months (since September 08, apparently), the calendar links haven't been working well. They were actually pointing to the comments, rather than the articles. This happened due to Blogger.com changing their post feeds (you can read more here and if you've been using this particular calendar widget, find a fix here).

I didn't even notice the problem, until a diligent reader notified me. Thanks Shlomo!

Rest assured, the head of my QA department has been sacked for this. The position is now open

Consumer Rants: Avis

I want to share with you my worst rental ever, courtesy of Avis.

On my last trip to Israel, I needed a car for 2 days (I usually just borrow the family car). I found out the hard way that whatever price you get quoted on the website, flies out the window in Israel, where certain extra fees and VAT are applied. Fine – been there before, so I came prepared.

What I wasn’t prepared for was the horrible car I got. It was a small, slimy (and by that I mean EXTRA-dirty, inside and outside) that would be considered sub-sub-sub compact in the US, but was presented to me as “we’ve upgraded you!”. After I refused to take it, they’ve “upgraded” me again to (believe it or not) and even slimier Kia (here’s a link to some pictures I took of the car and of the form testifying that the car ha been serviced and cleaned).

Since I already spent quite a lot of time going back and forth (the rental offices in Ben Gurion airport are conveniently located as far as possible from the parking lot and several floors up – that saves you a trip to the gym that night. Add to that the diligence of the kids bringing the car around – suffice it to say “customer service” is not one of their core principles), I took the car. I regretted it almost immediately as soon as I hit the highway, and the motor started heating up and making a whining sound. And let’s not mention the horrible fuel consumption.

Upon my return to the US, I sent a complaint to Avis customer service, along with the photos and a photocopy of the contract.

Avis took their time. First they acknowledged my complaint. I waited 3 more weeks, prodded them with an email and got the following response:

Dear Mr. Vider,
Thank you for contacting us through the Avis website.
Providing good service is a major factor in separating Avis from the competition. To learn that you were not provided with the level of service you would expect from Avis was perhaps as disappointing for us as it was for you. Avis takes great pride in supplying its customers with mechanically sound and well-maintained vehicles. This commitment to Avis customers is
taken very seriously; therefore, a copy of your report, along with our comments, has been forwarded to the responsible manager as well as Avis' Quality Assurance Department. You can be sure that your comments have been well-noted and appropriate action will be taken.
We thank you for taking the time not only to bring this to our attention, but to provide an opportunity to demonstrate the true quality of our service. As a gesture of good will, we would like to mail an Avis Customer Service Certificate, which we hope you will use on a forthcoming Avis rental. Please provide your mailing address.

It took a couple of more emails and another month to get that "Customer Service Certificate" (apparently, when they need to send you something other than marketing material – they lose your address).

And I'm so thankful to Avis for sending me a certificate good for $25 off any full-priced rental I have in the future (i.e., you can not use it on a corporate or a discounted rental - the only rentals I have). I’m so underwhelmed by this certificate, that I just keep it around my desk, to remind me to never book Avis again, unless I have to.

Bottom line: Avoid Avis when possible. Avoid Avis in Israel always.

Have a chilling consumer-related story to share? Comment on this post or email it to blog@guyvider.com, and I'll publish it in a future rant.

Consumer Rants: Bose

I’ve been mulling over adding a consumer-centric category to my blog, to highlight some of my less-than-stellar experiences with certain service providers and to warn my readers about certain pitfalls.

As someone who’s constantly using the services of airlines, hotels, and car rental companies, it stand to reason, at least statistically, that some of my experiences will be bad. In this column I’m not going to dwell on each and every bad experience. Rather, I’m going to focus on cases where I actually complained, and received insufficient reply from customer service, proving, in my humble opinion, that the fish sometimes stinks from the head.

While starting to write this particular rant about Avis, I was suddenly struck by the negativity of it all, and decided to dedicate my first column to a positive experience I had.

I’ve had my Bose QC2 noise canceling headphones for 2 years now. On one of the flights, the gold tip at the end of the cable got bent when I pulled it out of the seat socket. The headphones still worked fine, but you had to giggle the cable in the socket to get stereo sound (I guess one of the contacts got frayed). Since this is a proprietary Bose cable, I went to the local Bose store at a Santa Clara mall, and knowing Bose’s high-prices-no-discount policy, fully expected to be charged upward of $50 for the cable.

I told my tale of woe to the store’s assistant. He disappeared for a second and came back with a brand new cable. To my surprise, he refused to accept payment. All he said was “enjoy your headphones” – and left.

The new cable works great. The socket is slightly less L-shaped and has a lighter profile, so it’s easier to use. And the quality is great again (in the picture: the old socket at the top, the new on the bottom).

Kudos to that sales rep and to Bose for not nickel-and-diming and for the overall great consumer experience.

Next time: how much does Avis care about you?

Have a chilling consumer-related story to share? Comment on this post or email it to blog@guyvider.com, and I'll publish it in a future rant.