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#1
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Cruising Cell Phone Condrum
My LG, a “Feature Phone” Verizon calls it, with Internet access just
had had its camera die. I don’t use the camera much but it’s nice to have. About all I’ve used the Internet for is Doppler Radar when cruising in cell phone range while thunderstorms are forecast. They don’t carry the phone at Verizon any more so I’m faced with choices: Door #1: Keep the phone and plan I have and live without a camera. Door #2: Keep my current plan but go to a clunky phone I don’t like with a camera of poorer quality. Door #3: Upgrade to a Droid phone for about 100 bucks and a 30 dollar a month increase in my bill which would give me email on the phone, and all the cool new stuff as well as a camera with more resolution than my current real camera as well as usable video. This also requires committing to a new 2 year contract. The reason I’m posting this here is that I expect to be doing the ICW Bahamas thing next fall. Will any of that Droid stuff via Verizon do me any good in the Bahamas? I’ll be in Canada most of next summer which they assure me will be just the same as the US with a plan upgrade except for possible huge roaming charges if I do too much Internet and data stuff. It would be nice to have email on the phone so I’m not dependent on marina’s for WiFi. I’m not sure it’s worth 30 bucks a month though. Being out of touch is one of the nice things about cruising. Does anyone here have experience with the slide out keyboards in a salt water environment? The sliding contacts look like one drop of seawater would put the thing out of business. I would like to get a phone with a keyboard because I’ve found the touch screen on mine rather difficult to use when it’s humid or cold. Should I go with a fixed keyboard that has a full membrane over it? -- Roger Long |
#2
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Cruising Cell Phone Condrum
On Mon, 6 Dec 2010 08:34:28 -0800 (PST), Roger Long
wrote: My LG, a “Feature Phone” Verizon calls it, with Internet access just had had its camera die. I don’t use the camera much but it’s nice to have. About all I’ve used the Internet for is Doppler Radar when cruising in cell phone range while thunderstorms are forecast. They don’t carry the phone at Verizon any more so I’m faced with choices: Door #1: Keep the phone and plan I have and live without a camera. Door #2: Keep my current plan but go to a clunky phone I don’t like with a camera of poorer quality. Door #3: Upgrade to a Droid phone for about 100 bucks and a 30 dollar a month increase in my bill which would give me email on the phone, and all the cool new stuff as well as a camera with more resolution than my current real camera as well as usable video. This also requires committing to a new 2 year contract. The reason I’m posting this here is that I expect to be doing the ICW Bahamas thing next fall. Will any of that Droid stuff via Verizon do me any good in the Bahamas? I’ll be in Canada most of next summer which they assure me will be just the same as the US with a plan upgrade except for possible huge roaming charges if I do too much Internet and data stuff. It would be nice to have email on the phone so I’m not dependent on marina’s for WiFi. I’m not sure it’s worth 30 bucks a month though. Being out of touch is one of the nice things about cruising. Does anyone here have experience with the slide out keyboards in a salt water environment? The sliding contacts look like one drop of seawater would put the thing out of business. I would like to get a phone with a keyboard because I’ve found the touch screen on mine rather difficult to use when it’s humid or cold. Should I go with a fixed keyboard that has a full membrane over it? Hello Roger, good to see you back on the group. I can't answer all of your questions but I'll take a shot at those I know about. Everyone I know with a 'Droid seems to be very happy with it. There are also some very cool GPS street map and marine chart applications for it at very inexpensive prices. I can't speak to the durability issues but haven't heard any complaints. No standard US phone that I'm aware of will work in the Bahamas. Batelco has a complete lock on service there. What you need is an unlocked GSM phone which you can buy online for about $50. When you get to the islands look for the nearest cell phone tower and you'll usually find a Batelco office underneath it. They can sell you a Batelco SIM card for about $13 which gives you a local number in the Bahamas. You purchase minutes as needed, also at the Batelco office. If you have access to a fast WiFi connection you can also use a VOIP service like SKYPE to make calls. If you're going to be spending much time in the US it would probably be less expensive to get a plan here where you purchase minutes as needed or on a month-to-month contract. |
#3
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Cruising Cell Phone Condrum
No doors, I'm just going to duck under the table for now. I typed "LG
phone camera error" into Google and instantly came up with the advice to remove the battery and push hard on the camera lens housing. It works! |
#4
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Cruising Cell Phone Condrum
On Mon, 6 Dec 2010 13:57:50 -0800 (PST), Roger Long
wrote: No doors, I'm just going to duck under the table for now. I typed "LG phone camera error" into Google and instantly came up with the advice to remove the battery and push hard on the camera lens housing. It works! Heh, now you've done it, and you were all set with a good excuse to get the phone you really wanted. I understand that if you drop them a couple of times or get them wet... |
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