Okay, NOW I’m a little disgruntled.

I went to Verizon on Sunday just to make sure my phone really was dead. At home, plugged in, the most I could get out of the LG Ally Android phone is a couple of red blinks on the indicator light. It wouldn’t turn on. I was hoping it was just a battery issue, so that if I replaced that ($40ish, I estimated), the phone would work again. At Verizon, even with a new battery in place, the salesclerk couldn’t get beyond the couple of red blinks, either. So now what are my options?

I could get a new Android phone. But as I was only 3.5 months into my new contract, I’d have to pay full price for the phone. There are a few new Android models out that I would try, but I was unwilling to pay the $500 (average) price tag. (I already knew I wouldn’t re-buy the LG Ally. It was an okay phone and the initial battery short life had improved exponentially over the intial weeks of use, but the phone had other issues. It’d freeze up when a couple of applications were running at once. Random application would turn on and run on their own even tho I’d set them to not turn on automatically. The touch screen wasn’t very precise, or maybe it wasn’t very sensitive. The camera had an insane delay and didn’t take great photos. The detail was fine, but the colors were often off and the flash would go off too early so that the photo was dark again by the time the camera took it. Photos I was uploading to social network sites would seem to be uploading successfully, but never appear on the site. And the reception on the phone was significantly inferior to that of last phone, the LG enV2, also on the Verizon network. Of course there were good things about the Ally, too; it was pretty and I liked that I didn’t have to jailbreak it for a personalized look and free apps. The apps were cool, and full internet access was cool, altho that’s more to the credit of the apps and not to the phone itself. I also liked how the phone organized photos and videos.)

I could get a certified used Android phone. But the discount seemed minor compared to the price of their new counterparts, the selection was very limited, there really wasn’t a model I wanted so I’d be settling, AND none of these phones were in the store; they’d have to be ordered and delivered later. So, no.

I could start a new contract by adding a new line of service to my account, and with that, I’d get the new-customer price on phones. But I’d be paying monthly for TWO Android lines and only be able to use one, so that just seems dumb. And I’d have to terminate one line a couple of years later, anyway.

I could reactivate an old phone I had, and adjust my phone plans for the old phone. I happened to have my old beloved LG enV2 phone in the car still from when I upgraded the LG Ally Android phone 3.5 months ago, and this is the only free option, so I went with that. Since the enV2 is a feature phone and not a smart phone, I expected to save money monthly when I switched back to that. I’d keep my minutes/text plan the same, and I can now come off the Android system add-on plan. Turned out, the plans had changed since I left them 3.5 months ago. Now, to go back to the same plan I had mere months ago, it would cost exactly the same as what I was paying for the Android phone, without the Android benefits. This is because what used to be free and/or unlimited is no longer free or unlimited. In fact, if I decide to keep VZ Navigator, a GPS program I love and had used quite a bit, it’d cost an additional $10/month. Total bill: $90/month. For a REGULAR PHONE. Plus whatever usage and downloads may cost, because “unlimited” data ($29/mo) doesn’t mean unlimited data and unlimited features anymore. NOW I’m disgruntled.

But I’d forgotten how great this LG enV2 phone was until I restored it by putting my old microSD chip back into it, and all the old addresses, text messages, photos, videos, mobile email and other settings were still there. The bluetooth connection between it and my car was still there, because for some reason I’d been reluctant to delete or discard anything related to this phone when I’d “upgraded” to an Android phone.

I’m not sure what to do between now and when my contract expires in 17 months and I am again eligible for a new (subsidized or free) cell phone. I suppose if some irresistable piece of technology comes out, and it doesn’t cost too much, I’ll considering buying it at full price. Switching back to an Android system is free and the monthly plans cost the same anyway. Actually, less since I’d have the free Googlemaps app and won’t have to pay $10/mo for VZ Nav.

I’m comforting knowing that at least I didn’t pay a bundle for the LG Ally that I drowned. It ended up being free from my New Every 2 program, altho I did spend $50 on random accessories. Oh, well. The important thing is, the DSLR is safe.