it's always something...

the first time i upgraded my phone (motorola t730 to motorola v325), i gave up ring profiles and the ability to change ring profiles with the phone closed. i gained sturdier construction, ring lights, a camera, and a better screen.

the second time i upgraded my phone (motorola v325 to motorola w385), i gave up the ring lights and the ability to read the clock on the front screen like a normal person (hinge up). i gained even sturdier construction and a sleeker design. this was probably my best upgrade (because i didn't lose anything i ultimately cared about, though i didn't know that at the time), but i was still unsure of it for a while. that's how i am. i second-guess myself.

this would be the third time i've upgraded my phone (motorola w385 to motorola entice). i gave up aesthetics (it's newly-released, but it looks like it came out as a cheap phone 5 years ago) and some solid-ness (the phone feels a bit hollow, and has a bit too much weight in the top half). most importantly, i gave up my coveted monochrome screen. this hurts, almost physically. i do not like not being able to glance at my phone, without touching it, and read the time. i feel like i should not have to *turn on* the screen to see what's going on.

what i gain is possibly the best so far: threaded sms (the ability to sort your messages by contact, instead of by incoming/outgoing). because of the nature of my communications and the people with whom i communicate, i txt more often than i call, so this is a more important update than visual voice mail (which i do not have). i do not like having to wade through my outbox to figure out what someone's reply means because the reply didn't come right after i sent the question. this is significant.

i also get the ability to switch from ring to vibe with the phone closed, but i don't really like this ability because it has an annoying habit of putting my ringer to medium high when i tell it to switch off vibe, even though it was on medium low when i switched it *to* vibe. by the time i realize this, it's because the phone has made a noise, and i have to figure out how to shove my stomach back into my torso through my mouth. not happy. medium high seems to be the default, and i can't find a place to let me change this.

with all this said, i do believe i'm going to hold onto this phone. i will mourn the loss of my friendly monochrome front screen, but hopefully not for too long. i'm probably being overly dramatic about this, but i really do hope that handset manufacturers move back towards using monochrome front screens (even though they're pretty much moving away from dual screens in general).

i read a review on the samsung knack (verizon's answer to the jitterbug, it seems -- definitely marketed as the simple phone for old people. yes, i considered this phone.) that complained the monochrome couldn't *possibly* be easier to read than a *color* screen--isn't color easier to read? i have no idea where people get these things, but i think it hurts my ability to get what *works* in the open marketplace. newer is not always better... but if someone could produce a backlight-able color epaper front screen, i'd be all over it. i'll be waiting.