I have a new phone!


So, I haven’t done so well on the writing prompts front. I’ve been sick for the last 2 weeks (the longest I can remember being sick, ever) and lacked motivation but my new phone gives me lots of motivation.

On a side note, if you have any remedies for sore throats and blocked noses I’d love to hear them.

Anyway, you might recall I recently decided to buy a new phone because my HTC was driving me a bit crazy. I got a good response of answers about what phones everyone recommends but mostly it was just ‘get an iPhone’ and well, no. I wasn’t willing to spend $800 on an iPhone (I did consider spending that amount on an HTC One M8 though) because Apple. I only use Apple products when it’s free (like the iPad I won).

In the end I decided on a Nexus 5 which, being a Google phone, comes with KitKat installed. It’s also super light at 130gm which feels like nothing in comparison to my old phone. I have been playing with settings and apps and while KitKat is nice to look at, it’s missing some of the things I liked having like swipe and pin security, for example. With the Nexus 5 you can choose wither swipe or pin, if you set the pin delay it just doesn’t lock the phone until that time is up.. Fortunately I found a app that will do that for me.

All the pretty of my home screen
All the pretty of my home screen

I’m pretty pleased with how my home screen looks! Getting used to 3 buttons instead of 4 has been difficult, and these ones are on screen buttons too not physical. I have been missing the Settings button, but given this phone doesn’t crash, it has 4G and is super light and pretty, I haven’t missed it that much.

I am also looking for a new twitter app. I’d like it to be able to zip/mute tweets, have a proper conversation view (no blue lines thank you very much!) and, preferably, be free. Let me know what you use.

One other thing I decided on as part of getting a new phone was finally moving away from Vodafone and becoming a Telstra customer. I always said I’d never change to Telstra but their coverage and speed is just so much better than the competition that it seemed like a given I’d one day change. Funnily enough, the plan I have now has  more and costs less than what I was on with Vodafone. For those not in Australia, it’s very rare for Telstra to have competitive pricing, they rely on having a better service to get customers generally. 

If you are in Australia and looking to move to Telstra but find their plan pricing is too high go into a store or give them a call and ask for their cheaper Casual Plans. You’ll need a BYO phone for this but their casual (month to month, no contract) plans actually start at $25/month rather than the $55/month advertised on their website.

I decided to go in store to sort this out. It was really busy and I thought I’d be waiting forever but a floating employee asked me a few questions and found a sales person for me. As I already knew what I wanted and had the required information it was a really quick process and the sales person was very friendly and helpful.

When I looked into porting my number across online it said it would take anywhere from 24 to 72hrs to happen. I asked the person in store how long it’d take and he said it was pretty fast and more likely up to 24hrs but I’d get a message from Vodafone when they had received the request. I walked out of the store, noticed I already had the text and went to message Jarrod to say I was on my way to meet him for lunch.. I wasn’t fast enough though as it ported within about 2 mins of me checking my phone. I was pretty amazed at how fast it happened.. and also how fast my internet on my new phone/with Telstra is.. delicious 4G.

Long story short, I have a new phone!


7 responses to “I have a new phone!”

  1. Keith just had that same experience with his HTC and he moved on over to a Samsung Note…the thing is massive, haha. I’m an Apple user (except for my laptop) and wouldn’t know what to do with all of those buttons. your homescreen does look awesome though! It’s so organized! Have fun getting to know your new phone!

  2. Yay, I’m glad you finally got one!

    I was on Vodafone until a couple of years ago, then I moved to Optus. They haven’t been too bad (in all honesty, reception hasn’t been a huge issue for me), the only thing I dislike is that they don’t allow personal hotspots on prepaid phones. 😐 Stupid, really, that I have to spend more money on a plan. I am thinking of using Telstra for my new iPad though. I’ll probably go with their $120 for 12GB in 365 days, that works out to be around $10 a month which seems alright.

    James swears by crushed garlic and milk for sore throats. Another friend of mine goes with cayenne pepper and water, just swallow it quick. They are very harsh (IMO), I personally just have hot and spicy tom yum soup. It makes me feel a lot better, clears my nose and throat, even if it doesn’t necessarily cure it.

    • I heard a lot about garlic.. but in a cup of milk? That sounds so scary 😛 I don’t know if I could do it!
      I’ve also heard of spicy/chilli being good too, I guess for those reasons. One of my colleagues at work suggested it and I thought he was joking.

  3. Congratulations on the new phone. 🙂 Personally I’m not a fan of Androids, but that’s just because I had a bad experience with a HTC. I guess I like the way in which you can customise Androids a lot easier than iPhones.

    I’m with Vodafone and they are the worst network to be on in terms of signal and customer service. I can’t wait until my current contract is up so I can get my phone unlocked and switched to someone else.

  4. God, the Nexus 5 is such an awesome phone! Such a good price for a “higher-end” phone! I love that they have stock Android and no stupid UI overlay like TouchWiz on Samsung phones. How’s the battery life on that phone anyway?

    I really want the One Plus One phone (http://oneplus.net/). It’s completely custom made and uses CyanogenMod (which allows you to completely customize Android). Sadly, there is limited supply and you need an exclusive invitation to purchase it. I might consider getting a Nexus 5 though 🙂

    As for your sore throat, drink lots of hot tea! I read somewhere that marshmallows does the trick too! Feel better 😀

  5. Congrats! I’m getting a new phone too, I believe a Sony Xperia Z, so I’m excited. It comes with new options it has, so I’m happy. I can’t wait to put it in my hands.

    Good job snagging a Nexus 5~!

  6. Yay for new phones~ Looks nice. The style looks kinda like a Samsung. What’s your fave app so far? I love my iPhone 4S but I want to upgrade to a iPhone 5C ;P

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