Decision Time

With a little help from Vodafone, my next handset has been decided.

Ladies and gentlemen, the next phone to grace Cellfella's Levi's shall be...

The Nokia N95 8G.

No great surprises there, then.

To be honest, I was holding out for an N82 but there's every chance that this little beaut will never make it all the way to Vodafone. I can't change network either because Voda is the only one to cover both my office and flat.

Still, I didn't even bother asking for an upgrade, just went straight to the "You really want to leave Vodafone?" department and said I wanted to change networks. For some reason they are much more receptive to negotiation that way!

Why would I have preferred an N82? Well, look at it:

Some bloggers have been a bit critical of the design. James Burland's review on Youtube is very positive about the phone's features but quite negative about the design. I, however, am not a big fan of sliders and would much rather have an old school block in my pocket.

Having not played with one yet (O2 has bad reception in this part of the world, hence no N82s to investigate) I can't confirm or deny what the review says about the fiddly buttons.

Anyway, it's all water under the bridge now. I'm going slidey for the next twelve months.

Now I'm just waiting for Vodafone to deliver the thing...

Struggling to choose a new mobile phone

Well, I'm back from Argentina and faced with something of a dilema.

My trusty 6630 is really in it's dying days now. It still calls ok and sends text messages. The alarm still wakes me up bright and early in the morning for my work as an SEO copywriter. The screen still works and the ringtone still scares people. That, however, is about all.

The camera died a death before I left the country. The video camera passed away long before that. Since my return, the menu system also appears to have come unstuck. It is rather like driving through a large city in rush hour traffic.

The good news, however, is that I am now out of contract and free to hunt down the best contract and handset. Well, within limits... there is no reception in my flat for Orange and O2, leaving me the options of T-mobile and sticking with Vodafone.

Both of these present their own problems. Firstly T-mobile. Now, I'm not normally one to bear a grudge, but I have had some experince with T-mobile in the past and I'm afraid to say it wasn't good. My first ever mobile phone (a dearly departed Siemens which was so heavy that it has left me walking with a limp ever since) was registered with 0ne-2-one. The deal included free evening and weekend calls for two and sixpence monthly, which seemed like a clincher.

The problem, and my lasting resentment, stems from the fact that you had to stand on top of a towerblock in the middle of London to get one bar of reception. Honestly, it was like a bloody Rabbit phone. Even the one-2-one store in my native Watford didn't have reception, which struck me as enduringly crap.

My problem with Voda is that they won't offer me any decent handsets as an upgrade, depsite my having been a loyal customer for 5(ish) years and always paying my bills on time with minimal fuss.

All I want is an N82!!! Or even an N95. EVERYONE HAS AN N95. WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?!?

Anyway, I'm keeping my eyes open for good deals. Any advice please let me know. Anyone working for Voda want to explain why you're not nicer to loyal customers? Anyone from T-mobile got reception?