Back in the early spring when I got the Lothesome Job I also decided since my new employer would be severely limiting my access to the Internet it was time to upgrade to a “smart phone.” I choose not to go with the iPhone for a few reasons.
At the time my early-adopter techie friends were almost universally telling me that in DC the iPhone was a great computer and a really crappy phone. This was right before the iPhone provider landscape opened up when the only option was AT&T which has surprisingly bad coverage in my major metropolitan area. The other reason I decided not to go with the iPhone is because I am almost infinitely cheap.
The cost of the device isn’t the issue. The cost of the device is never the issue. It’s always the cost of the overpriced service plan that makes me hesitate when it comes to mobile devices.
In DC you can’t get an iPhone service plan for less than $69.99 per month. In fact, the current price for a plan for the iPhone 4 (16 GB) for basic access, the lowest priced text messaging plan, and 5 GB of data transfer (that’s browsing the web, checking email, tweeting, scrolling through Facebook) is $94.99 per month on Verizon. A comparable plan from AT&T costs $104.99 per month. That’s a Benjamin+ every month before taxes just to have access to their network.
Right now I pay my cell phone service provider $25 per month, plus tax, for unlimited talk minutes, unlimited texting, and unlimited web browsing, and right now I’m paying for about $10 per month more access than I actually use. I do all the talking, texting, and browsing I do using the LG Optimus V which is LG’s Optimus line specifically branded for Virgin Mobile.
Since the Optimus is the only smart phone I’ve ever had I admit a narrowness of experience in saying this: the user experience design on this phone pretty much sucks.
Some of this is due to the fact that it’s an Android based phone. Given that Android is an operating system developed by a company whose primary business is search it shouldn’t be surprising that the browser on this phone defaults to search. Unfortunately, search isn’t my natural inclination. Defaulting the browser to search also doesn’t make a lot of usability sense given how oriented toward applications the mobile phone market is; if you want to find a restaurant near your location it’s likely you’ve got an application specifically for that functionality and you’re unlikely to plug that query into Google. The biggest reason the user experience design on this phone sucks, though, is directly due to the hardware and software interaction.
The “home” button on this phone functions inconsistently; sometimes it takes you home to the main page of the application you’re using and sometimes it takes you to the phone’s home screen. More important is how the off button functions.
The hardware button on this phone brings up a menu that includes:
- Silent mode
- Airplane mode
- Phone off
Selecting “phone off” doesn’t actually turn the phone off. The OS on this phone requires confirmation that yes, you do really want to turn the device off. Given that you have to hold the hardware button for several seconds in order to bring up the menu and then you must tap a selection on said menu, confirmation seems like an unnecessary step for the user.
The off button on this phone doesn’t turn the phone off. No, in order to actually turn this phone off you have to hold the hardware button long enough for a menu to come up. From that menu you must then select “Turn Off” and then confirm that yes, you mean to turn the phone off.
I realize this is a gold-plated problem but since user experience design is part of what I do professionally it’s increasingly hard not to apply that knowledge to the rest of my life.
If you don’t mind inconsistently functioning buttons and a slightly cumbersome interaction for basic functionality, the LG Optimus isn’t a bad entry level smart phone. If you want something you don’t have to figure out, this isn’t the phone for you.
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