This is The World According to Buchs - Keepin’ it moving since 2003!

Back in March of this year, I broke down and got myself a cell phone. I had always sworn that I’d never, ever need or want one, but I couldn’t hold out any longer.

Then, a few weeks later, I wrote about how my frustration at trying to exchange the cheapo “free” phone I received with the new service.

Well, a short 7 months later, and I finally went out and upgraded that phone. I used to have the Sony-Ericsson t226. It was certainly servicable - I was able to make calls, I was able to receive calls. Heck, I was even able to load some fancy-schmancy ringtones onto the thing. My major point of displeasure with that model was its size. It was tiny. For some, a plus. For me, a pain in the ass to use. The buttons were about 1/4 the size of a Tic-Tac.

I’ve been eyeing up a new model the whole time: the Sony-Ericsson z600. The problem was that it’s not on the list of their supported phones. I did a little research, and found that it was technically compatible with the network. So, I started scoping them out on eBay. The going rate was around $250. I was putting in maximum bids of closer to $190, hoping I could catch a steal. Earlier this week, I caught a steal.

As I explained it to Judy, I “accidentially bought a new phone”. I had placed a bid on this one, was quickly outbid, and then moved onto another listing. A few days later, I checked back in to find that the person who had outbid me had theirs retracted for some reason, which left me as the high bidder. I fully expected to be outbid again before the end of the auction, but my bid stood.

So, it’s a used model. The girl I got it from bought it while in China, I think. She neglected to tell me that the instruction manual is in only Chineese; she felt so bad about it, she refunded my $20 shipping fee. All in all, I feel like I got a great deal.

As for the phone, it’s great. It’s got a camera, so I can take snapshots if I want to. It’s much larger than the old one, so it’s much more usable, IMHO. It’s also got BlueTooth, so I can connect to my home PC and synchronize the address book and calendar, plus move photos back and forth.

And, the “coup de gras”… I can switch out the faceplates. It came with 2 — a lime green faux-aluminum and another that looks like a mesh metal. Guess which one I’m using? I’m thinking of picking up a few more (they’re cheap)… just because I can.

It was a snap to switch to the new phone. Inside the old one, there’s a little memory chip, called a SIM card. I just had to slide that out, and move it into the new phone. That card contained my address book and some other settings, and also identifies the phone with my number.

It took me a little while longer to get the wireless internet settings up and running. In fact, it took about 4 days. But, I’m happy to announce, I was able to make a connection earlier this afternoon.