Technology Geek

So its been a good while since my last post, what can I say I have been a busy (but also very lazy) man lately and I have since made the move to a Nexus One and I thought I’d share some of my experiences with the device so far. I’m gonna break it into a few parts since its too late for a review and I have had the device a few months now and have run into some issues that no one with any sort of good luck would have run into. That said here goes:

My Short Review and Thoughts on the Device

The day the Nexus One was announced, all I could do was pull out my credit card and drop down a good chunk of my hard earned cash. I mean WOW, I was in love, Google had finally put together everything I wanted in an Android phone: A big beautiful hi-res screen, blazing fast processor, amazingly thin design and most of all, it was being sold by Google, so I can pretty much expect updates coming to the device very fast. I was literally Blown away. I was even more blown away that I  received the device the next day and anxiously tore through the packaging like a kid on Christmas morning. It was the most beautiful phone I had ever held at that point and certainly the most well built Android device on the market.  I was in love (and still am) with this phone, the interface was polished and the hardware was stunning. It was all I was asking for in an Android handset.

Performance wise, this thing was a beast. I have owned the T-Mobile G1 (rooted and unrooted), The Mytouch 3G (rooted and unrooted), & The Motorola Cliq (not for long on this one, terrible phone!) and became accustomed to what I called “Android Lag”, but man the Nexus One showed me that if Android is on state of the art hardware , it runs smooth as butter. Things like the app launcher and the new the Photo Gallery were just giant leaps of progression from early Android handsets. I can’t count how many times I have pulled my Nexus from pocket, to have a stranger ask with excitement “what phone is that”. I honestly can’t say that ever happened with my G1 which proves that after some failed attempts, HTC and Google had finally nailed formula. To conclude: the Camera was great (flash was a nice touch) , the screen looked amazing, the software was fine turned and the hardware was just the right balance between beauty and durability.

The Glitter is Gone: A Run in with HTC Customer Service

They say good service can overshadow a bad product but bad service can ruin the best of products. This almost happened in my case when my Nexus One had came down with a very pronounced rattling sound that could be heard when the phone was sat on a table or shaken (the rattling sound was present the day I received the phone however worsened daily). I had never once dropped the phone (not even into my pocket, I protected it with my life and gently guided it to the bottom of my pocket each time) and still I had this issue. I searched the web and found no wide spread issue so I assumed my issue was isolated and in need of a replacement. Here is where the trouble started: I then called into HTC’s Nexus One customer line and spoke with a rep who advised me that he had escalated the issue and that I would be contacted in 2 days about a DOA replacement of the device. Needless to say 2 days past with out a call. So Five days later , I decide to call in myself to see the status  and low a behold, they tell me that I again would be escalated and to expect a call in 2 days. 3 Days pass and I finally call in and demand a manager and am told that the escalations department already has my case and will be again calling me in 2 days, I decide that,  that answer is not good enough and am finally able to get the DOA replacement set up. The DOA replacement required me to have HTC hold $50.00 of my money and required me to first send in my device to have them check for user inflicted damages. I send in my device on a Monday and they receive it on a Wednesday. I was promised that since it is a DOA replacement, that my new phone would be shipped back either same day they receive it or the next day. However 7 days go by and I don’t receive any word from HTC, just that they received my phone. I call in numerous times for the status and am told they could not tell me anything. Every HTC rep I spoke with was more clueless than the last. I finally had to send a very angry email to HTC’s demanding for at the very least my old phone back because this was not the process I was told about. So in conclusion, yes I finally received my device and yes it took them a total of 10 days after receiving it and yes I was deeply pissed off  and not because of the wait but rather because it’s not the process I was explained it to be and the lack of knowledge from the Reps.

Thats only half my bad luck as just 2 weeks ago I am pulling my unprotected Nexus one from my pocket and I lose a grip on it and literally watch in slow motion as it hits the hard pavement taking chunks from the phones metal encasing and destroying the power button.  My heart was broken into tiny little pieces however a wave reassuring calm over took me as I remembered that a few days after purchasing my Nexus One, I had contacted T-Mobile about adding Assurion Insurance for my Nexus One. So literally after a brief inspection of my phone and deciding I could not live with the damage, I decided for the first time to utilize my options of an insurance claim. I called Assurion, and they set up the claim for me however I was told that the phone is out of stock currently and It would be in stock in five days and I would be contacted when it was. Hmm, this felt oddly familiar, being called back by a company with out me having call in and inquire about it? What a novel concept! As you can expect, 7 days had past (5 full business days) and I had not received a call, so I again had to be proactive and make the phone call to Assurion.  Again I was told that the phone was out of stock and that they should be in stock any day now. I waited two more days and finally decided I’d had enough and wanted to speak with a manager and low and behold, the manager tells me that Assurion has NEVER had any Nexus One’s in stock and that the only option was for me to repurchase the device and then have them reimburse me 400.00 (I paid 530.00 but there is a 130.00 deductible). I was again appalled, not by process but rather because if they would have told me this from the first day I would have had a phone the next day and been closer to getting my money back from Assurion (it takes 3 to 4 weeks to receive a refund).  Wow, was my luck bad, not only did I have to go without a Nexus One for 10 days when I did the DOA replacement, I had to go 10 more with a broken device because of ill-informed Assurion reps.  In the end, I have a working brand new Nexus One (though I still haven’t received my money from Assurion) and got what I needed however I made a total of 25 phones between HTC and Assurion and spoke with countless clueless reps that really left a bad taste in my mouth. GRRR

Protecting My Nexus One and Protecting me from Assurion and HTC

So the worst thing is that I broke my phone on Monday and my 2 cases I ordered online arrived the next day, how ironic! When I received my new device I was now hell bent on protecting it and keeping my ears away from the misinformation of HTC and Assurion.  I purchased 2 cases, One from Cimo which is a Hybrid of silicone and rubber for the bargain price of $8.99 and one from Case-Mate which is 2 ply case with a rubber part that covers the device as a normal rubber case would and then the second piece is made of hard silicone that wraps around the rubber the protect the back and the corners and provides a very nice reassuring grip, for a whopping $30.00. I was torn between the sleek design and shiny back of the Cimo case and the ultra protective but bulky look of the Case-Mate. The case I used on the broken Nexus One while waiting for a replacement was the Cimo case. It made it look like an Iphone 3GS with its slick shiny back and I loved how it added only the slightest amount of additional thickness but I don’t think I could trust it in protecting my precious Nexus One in a serious tumbling accident on concrete.

When my new device came in, I right away carefully placed on a invisible shield and a popped on the $30 Case-Mate and haven’t looked back since.  Though it adds a great deal of bulk, I just can’t afford to break this phone. While it adds a considerable amount of bulk to my pocket, its not to point where its uncomfortable.  IF you’re looking for the best protecting for a very expensive phone I highly recommend the Case-Mate and if protection is not of the utmost importance, but rather look and feel then I gotta say the Cimo case is a great buy (especially at $8.99). You can find the Case-Mate here HERE and the Cimo HERE.

The Cimo Case

The Case-Mate