The Insomniac Coder

Image via CrunchBase No, this is not a repeat . No, this is not an Inception parody, but it almost feels like one. A timeline: On 1/29/2011 I replaced my Blackberry Curve (fucking bulletproof phone ) with a Samsung Intercept . I also replaced Ivette's LG Rumor Touch with a Samsung Intercept.  On 2/8/2011 I received a warranty replacement on the Samsung Intercept since the 1/29 unit was shutting itself off at random times. Ivette's phone? No issues whatsoever.  On 2/14/2011 I received a warranty replacement on my Samsung Intercept since the 2/8 unit (itself a warranty replacement) was shutting itself every time I closed the keyboard . Every single time. Ivette's phone? No issues whatsoever.  Sometime on 2/28 I am scheduled to receive a warranty replacement on my Samsung Intercept since the 2/14 unit was shutting itself every time I closed the keyboard. Every damn time. Yup, you guessed it, Ivette's phone still works absolutely perfectly.  So there you have ...

Image via Wikipedia Not a repeat. My new Samsung Intercept kept shutting itself down, and the Internet consensus was that it was a hardware issue and that Virgin Mobile will immediately replace the device. I emailed customer service, and I just told them the bare minimum: "Hi, my phone is a couple of days old and it keeps shutting itself off." Their reply came after a couple hours: "We are sorry for your problem with your phone. You can either go back to the store and swap it, or we'll send you a replacement and a prepaid return envelope." My reply: "My retailer sucks. Please send me a replacement." They said sure, asked me to verify my shipping address, and FEDEX 'd a replacement phone. Just like that. NO buts, no excuses, they simply overnighted a replacement phone and a prepaid padded pouch to return the old phone. I could get used to this kind of customer service. The phone swap was actually really simple and I was done in ab...

Image via Wikipedia It's been 5 days since I switched from a Blackberry Curve 8530 to a Samsung Intercept (Android 2.1), both with Virgin Mobile USA . Ivette switched from the LG Rumor Touch to a Samsung Intercept, same carrier. Here are some of the things that come to mind about the past few days: These things drink batteries, especially if you don't have the discipline to turn off GPS and WiFi whenever not in use. We picked up two extra batteries and a charger for $30 and it is really nice to be able to swap batteries instead of getting tethered to the damn charging cable.  The camera is really good, much better exposure control than what I had hoped. Ivette has been taking snow photos with PJ and she has produced photos that remind me of the HDR+ mode in my Sony DSC-TX7. Call quality is at least on par with the Blackberry and better than the LG Rumor Touch. This is of course subjective, but we have both experienced the same differences in call quality.  I hate h...

Got the phone switching bug again, and this time I am going to try to see if I can live with an Android phone . According to Virgin Mobile, they will be upgrading their Samsung Intercept to 2.2 froyo sometime in Spring, since I am completely new to Android I am not too worried about it yet. And no, I am not interested in a jailbreak. The dots are used for the unlock pattern, which after very little time becomes instinctive, much easier than having to remember a password.  The new phone is slightly longer and narrower than my Blackberry 8530. The back cover is as flimsy.  The Samsung Intercept is of course thicker since it has a slide-out keyboard.  I haven't measured them, but the new keyboard feels at least twice as wide as the one in the Blackberry. The only problem is that due to the USB port being on the top of the phone, and I am a lefty, it is really damn hard for me to type if I am charging the phone. I imagine right handed people have the same ki...

Image by pvera via Flickr Wondering why the hell your emails from your Blackberry append this: Sent from my BlackBerry® powered by Virgin Mobile. To your emails even after you specifically changed the setting in your Blackberry email preferences menu? Simple. You have to remember that your emails go through RIM servers, which is their excuse for what I call the "Blackberry Tax" (every Blackberry provider in the country will tack some kind of fee to your bill and call it something like "Blackberry Service," in Virgin's case it is $10/month). You need to go to RIM's server and change your preferences there. For Blackberries serviced by Virgin Mobile, it is not even hard. All you need to do is go to  http://virginmobileusa.blackberry.com/  from your blackberry and it should recognize your device. From there you can edit or remove that annoying signature.  Make sure you do this from your Blackberry, otherwise it will ask you to enter your PIN and your Devi...