• Jan 5, 2010

    Review: Samsung Reclaim

    Last week, I finally bit the bullet and got new cell phones for my wife and me. (The batteries weren't holding charges and I've been unable to get replacement batteries that hold a charge.) I was very cautious to pick phones that wouldn't affect my plan, so that pretty much ruled out phones such as the Pre or HTC Hero. As I liked the slider on the Pre I have for work, I decided on the Samsung Reclaim for our new phones (we already had unlimited data for both our phones; unlimited data being EVDO Rev. 0 data).

    Some may think that this is a step down for me as I've had a smartphone pretty much all the time since I first got a Treo 180 on Cingular. Every smartphone I've had has been for work and paid for by a client or by work. In addition, I swore off smartphones as my primary phone since the Treo 300 when its battery drained itself on a number of occasions due to OS crashes.

    In any case, I've had my Reclaim for about a week and my wife has had hers for a day. The primary use of a phone for me is to make phone calls and the Reclaim does that fairly well. I paired the phone with the Bluetooth car kits in both our cars (both car kits are aftermarket, one is a Parrot CK3100 and the other is a Raytel Tellphone 4200) and it works well. As a phone, so far it lives up to what I need.

    Battery life is a major concern for me and even playing around with it throughout the day, the battery hasn't completely drained, so in that regard, it is looking good.

    While the phone isn't a smartphone, its email and web browsing capabilities are quite respectable. Email can't show HTML, but I don't see that being a bad thing. I was able to setup my Gmail account quickly and reading email isn't half bad. The keyboard is small, but usable. If you don't have big fingers, you can text and compose email with very few mistakes.

    Pros

    • Speaker independent voice recognition. (Only some smartphones have this which is surprising as my 3 year old Motorola RAZR had it.)
    • Battery life appears to be good.
    • Keyboard is usable despite it's small size.
    • Decent email client.
    • Good value for the money (phone was free with a 2 year contract renewal; I just had to pay taxes on it).
    • Very compact size.
    • Easy to navigate using one hand.

    Cons

    • I'm unable to use Google Maps even though there is an icon for it; I'm getting a SAX error when I download the handler. I'll need to contact Sprint about this.
    • Sending a bunch of contacts over Bluetooth from my Mac resulted in 1 entry, so I had to send them one at a time and I'm not quite done with this.
    • Sending contacts from my wife's RAZR to the Reclaim failed when it got to an entry with a / in it. I'm not sure if this was on the sending or receiving end, but I tend to blame the receiver as it gave the failure message.
    • Email can't display HTML messages.
    • Web browser isn't a full browser.
    • Only a limited number of J2ME applications can be loaded onto the phone and most aren't very exciting.
    • The Sprint network can't do voice and data at the same time; it's a minor inconvenience.
    • Dialing phone numbers that aren't contacts is a little harder than on the RAZR.
    • Contacts and calendar don't sync with Google where I store all my info.

    Summary

    While I've only had this phone a short time, I don't plan on returning it. It looks like it is going to more than adequately meet my needs. It is a basic messaging phone that I think can meet the needs of many users. Many of the features of a smartphone will go unused and paying extra for features that you don't need doesn't appeal to me.

    If you're on Sprint and looking to replace a phone, the Reclaim is a good phone. The "green" aspect may appeal to some, but to me, it's just a gimmick. My wife has never had any type of messaging phone and is really enjoying the phone. While she wanted a BlackBerry, I couldn't justify adding the BlackBerry plan and then text messaging on top of that. For her needs, this phone is comparable to the BlackBerry.

  • Jan 5, 2010

    Affording cell phone service

    Recently I replaced my cell phone and my wife's phone with new ones. As I was doing so, I was quite careful about not getting a phone that would require me to change my cell phone plan. Many of the new phones (at least on Sprint), can't be activated on the plan I have. My plan is over 7 years old; I got it when I first got my Handspring Treo 300. This plan originally cost $85/month which included unlimited data, unlimited picture mail, unlimited SMS, 2000 anytime minutes, free mobile to mobile (on Sprint), and a second line. Since then, I've been able to get some additional discounts on it and I've added 2 lines to the plan (for my parents). Now I pay about $90/month including taxes for the 4 lines (unlimited data and SMS is only on the primary line).

    Let's compare this plan to what it would cost for an iPhone plan on AT&T. A 2100 minute plan for 2 lines costs $109.99 + $9.99 for each additional line. Data for the iPhone is $30/month and unlimited messaging is $20/month. So to get a comparable iPhone plan for me and standard phones for my family, it would cost me $180/month + taxes which is more than twice what I currently pay.

    If we just look at individuals, we're talking about $39.99 for 450 minutes + $30 data + $20 for messaging. That is $90/month + taxes for a single line!

    It turns out that I've basically written about this before, but aimed at teenagers.

    Maybe I'm just cheap, but I can't justify spending more on cell phone service. This might change later on, but for now, I'll stick with what I have. If I was more mobile and didn't work from home, maybe I could justify the added cost, but my cell phone needs are pretty basic. It's kind of funny saying that as I work for a company that provides wireless data solutions to companies!

  • Jan 5, 2010

    Review: Ryobi One+ 18V Cordless Combo Kit

    About a year ago, I wrote about getting the Ryobi One+ 18V Cordless Lithium-Ion 4-Piece Combo Kit. Once I got the kit, I put the tools to the test and was very pleased with it. I used the reciprocating saw (much larger than the 12V version) and the circular saw (again, larger than the 12V version) to remove a tree. Both tools worked acceptably. However, the circular saw started making a grinding noise, so it went in for service.

    I've used my tools on and off since then and recently bought 2 more tools that go with the Ryobi One 18V line and am more than happy than the line of products. They aren't the most expensive products and aren't professional quality, but this kit has everything I need to do projects around the house. A few weeks back, I used a number of the tools to build a stand for our clothes dryer; I never had a circular saw before and never had a drill with so much power.

    Pros

    • Powerful tools for home use.
    • Easy to swap batteries.
    • Fairly long lasting batteries.
    • Reconditioned saves a few bucks and probably doesn't make a big difference in quality.
    • Magentic screw tray on the drill is handy.

    Cons

    • Flashlight is kind of pointless.
    • Quality is questionable; the tools won't hold up on a job site.
    • Circular saw is a little small; a 5 1/2" blade will barely cut through a 2x4. If you accidentally lift the saw, you won't cut through the bottom of the 2x4.
    • Extended use of drill may give you blisters; the drill is a bit heavy and the grip could be more comfortable.

    Summary

    While I was originally just trying to replace my old cordless drill, I now realize that by not having the right tools, really hampered my ability to do projects. This combo kit provides the right pieces for a homeowner that needs to do small, weekend projects. There are more expensive kits and tools, but they may be overkill for people like me that occasionally do home projects. If you're in the market for a cordless drill, definitely consider a kit that has options for other tools. (I bought a jigsaw and a finish sander to go with the tool line.)

    I know that Ryobi isn't the most trusted name in tools, but the versatility of the product line and low cost of this, make it a winner in my book.

  • Dec 26, 2009

    Is more security a solution?

    I just heard on the news that the TSA and local police were beefing up more security at the Detroit airport. For off, this sounds like closing the barn door after the horses have left. Second off, the flight didn't originate from Detroit (it didn't even originate in this country)! So adding more security in Detroit won't help flights coming into the airport. Wow, brilliant.

    (I hope the news just got this wrong, because if someone actually decided this, it seems like a complete waste to me.)