I haven’t had a lot of luck with phones. If I wasn’t figuring them out on Twitter, or trying to disactivate the drunk-dialling button, then the phone itself was stolen, mugged, dropped into water, unwillingly donated … or fake. I was pretty excited when I bought a Nokia Asha 311 this year – it was my fanciest (and priciest) phone yet!

Unfortumately, it didn’t last very long because the volume was too low and it doesn’t have an awful lot of apps. I actually considered writing a post titled ‘Please don’t buy the Nokia Asha 311’ but meh. So … what exactly is wrong with the Asha?

Nokia Asha 311

Well, for one thing, she’s blonde. She’s absolutely gorgeous, and I got a lot of compliments as she sat on my desk. Plus, as a touch screen, she’s easier on the fingers as well. Unfortunately, that’s all that can be said for her. I love my Nokia games, and she comes pre-installed with quite a few … which you can play for three minutes before you’re prompted to buy.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with freemium marketing models, but if I have to pay for the game, then why install it on my phone in the first place? I mean it’s either in there or it’s not, right? Also, Asha 311 doesn’t have a torch or a stopwatch or a compass, the very features I’ve always loved in Nokia. It does have Angry Birds though.

There is an ovi store, but it only stocks apps that are specific to S40, and those are alarmingly few. I couldn’t even find a working Twitter App. And please, for the love of all that is holy, do NOT suggest Twitter for Nokia. Just. Don’t.

The phone does have Whatsapp pre-installed, which counts for something. But the keyboard is really tiny, leading to typos notwithstanding the baby-like fingers on these delicate hands. Typing on it got really old really fast, and I often gave up and sent emails or paid texts, because the phone and Gmail keyboards were much bigger.

Why did I buy a Nokia Asha in the first place? Because I’ve always loved the brand. Mostly because you can drop them without breaking them, and I throw my phones around. A lot. All the phones I’ve ever owned except this one have been Nokias. I’ve played with a few others, but I sold them or gave them away, mostly to the boy I was with at the time. He had an unusually high track record of ‘losing phones.’ Maybe that’s where my baby gets it from.

Anyway, I’ve been eye-ing the Nokia 7230 for years, and about three months after I got Blondie (that’s what I named my Nokia Asha), I got a 7230 as a present. Isn’t she beautiful? She also looks a lot more expensive than she is, which is always a good thing in a handset. Unless of course you’re trying not to get robbed, in which case, you’re screwed.

Nokia 7230 Side

My new Nokia and I have been pretty happy together. But I guess the honeymoon is over, because now the trouble has begun. The phone has this habit of randomly going off. At first I thought it was a battery problem, since it never seemed to charge all the way. I’d leave it plugged in for hours, but whenever I pulled it off, it would say ‘Battery not fully charged’. Sometimes the phone goes off in the middle of a call, or even while it’s plugged in to the charger.

I considered buying a new battery, but was told the battery had already been replaced twice, so that wasn’t the problem. I tried using a different charger, or even charging via USB, but nothing seems to work. It turns out the 7230 is a pretty old model, and that mine was bought online because it wasn’t available in the shops. Oh dear.

I’m currently using a Mulika Mwizi Samsung that has been officially been declared a public embarrassment by the powers that be my pre-teen daughter. Here’s what happened. She wanted to get a phone for her friend’s birthday, since said friend’s phone had ‘problems’. I suggested she give her the Samsung, which was lying around the house anyway. I bought it as a punishment stop-gap measure after she lost yet another phone.

(Incidentally, that makes four lost phones and counting. After she lost the first one at age 5, I told her she wouldn’t get another until she was twelve and responsible. This, however, has not stopped her doting grandma from buying her phone after phone after pricey fancy phone. Le sigh.)

When I asked if we could give the Samsung to her friend, my baby girl gave me the dirtiest look I’d ever seen on her face and said, ‘Sasa mum hiyo itamsaidia na nini?’ *shudder* And that’s the phone I am now lugging around. So I should probably find myself something more decent. My only requirements are that it be pocket-sized, Android, and preferably not Samsung. Or Sony Ericson. Or SQNY. And it would awesome if it looked at least a little bit like this.

Nokia 7230 Slider

My devotion to Nokia is way past dead, and I’m not quite ready for my dream iPhone yet. I don’t need bells and whistles, just  a small phone with a big screen. I’d love for it to cost 15K or less … but I doubt I can get anything better than a Tecno on that budget. Le sigh. So, suggestions?

♫ Hurricane ♫ 30 Seconds to Mars ♫

29 thoughts on “So I’m in the market for a phone. Again.”

  1. Techno Phantom A is a budget phone that comes with a pencil sharpener and it also has all the whistles that correspond to the bells of other smartphones. It’s downfall, is that you can not let it fall down. Check it out at Airtel stores in Nai.

  4. I love the Nokia Lumia, I have the 1020 but there is a range to choose from depending on your budget.
    And please Whatsapp me, I just got hooked up a month ago. I know I know

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