I HAVE HAD a Smart Phone since they were first introduced. San Geraldo has had what would be called a Dumb Phone much longer. Also known as a flip phone, his phone is so old and so small that his huge fingers could make only limited use of the keypad (no touchscreen, of course) and he used that as his excuse to never use his mobile phone for anything but calls with me. I was his go-between for appointments, text messages, emails, and everything else. Once, after exchanging a dozen text messages on San Geraldo's behalf with our friend Tynan, I ended the final message with: "Signed, Jerry's Fucking Secretary."
But San Geraldo has graduated! Tuesday we splurged on iPhones for us both. Mine is an iPhone 8. We got San Geraldo the jumbo version, an iPhone 8 Plus. Those big hands, you know.
I received 30 euros on the trade-in of my old phone. Needless to say, San Geraldo did not.
Our experience in the Apple Store was pure perfection. We then had to go to the Movistar store to get San Geraldo a new SIM card. Let's not talk about that!
You can see in the second photo that San Geraldo is going to have quite the learning curve.
HE TENIDO UN Smart Phone desde que se presentaron por primera vez. San Geraldo ha tenido lo que se llamaría un Tonto Phone (Teléfono Tonto) mucho más tiempo. También conocido como teléfono con tapa, su móvil es tan viejo y tan pequeño que sus dedos enormes solo pueden hacer un uso limitado del teclado (sin pantalla táctil, por supuesto) y lo usó como excusa para no usar nunca su móvil para nada más que llamadas conmigo. Yo era su intermediario para citas, mensajes de texto, correos electrónicos y todo lo demás. Una vez, después de intercambiar una docena de mensajes en nombre de San Geraldo con nuestro amigo Tynan, terminé el mensaje final con: "Firmado, el puto secretario de Jerry".
¡Pero San Geraldo se ha graduado! El martes nos derrochamos en iPhones para los dos. El mío es un iPhone 8. Conseguimos San Geraldo la versión más grande, un iPhone 8 Plus. Esas grandes manos, ya sabes.
Recibí 30 euros en el intercambio de mi teléfono anterior. No hay que decir, San Geraldo no.
Nuestra experiencia en la tienda Apple fue pura perfección. Luego tuvimos que ir a la tienda de Movistar para obtener una nueva tarjeta SIM de San Geraldo. ¡No hablemos de eso!
Puedes ver en la segunda foto que San Geraldo tendrá una curva de aprendizaje muy empinada.
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| SAN GERALDO'S DUMB PHONE. EL TELÉFONO TONTO DE SAN GERALDO. |
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| TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO PUT A DEMO iPHONE 8 BACK IN ITS STAND. TRATANDO DE ENTENDER CÓMO PONER UN iPHONE 8 DE DEMOSTRACIÓN EN SU SUPORTE. |
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| IGNACIO, OUR SUPERB SALESMAN IN THE APPLE STORE. IGNACIO, NUESTRO SÚPER VENDEDOR EN LA TIENDA APPLE. |
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| SAN GERALDO WANTS YOU TO SEE THAT HIS IS BIGGER THAN MINE (IN HIS DREAMS). SAN GERALDO QUIERE QUE VEAS QUE EL SUYO ES MÁS GRANDE QUE EL MÍO (EN SUS SUEÑOS). |
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| WELCOME TO THE 21ST CENTURY, MY BLUE-EYED WONDER. BIENVENIDO AL SIGLO 21, MI MARAVILLO DE OJOS AZULES. |
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| WHEN WE GOT HOME, THE CATS DIDN'T CARE ABOUT OUR PHONES. DUDO WATCHES THE DRAIN, MOOSE WATCHES THE SKY. BIRDS! CUANDO LLEGAMOS A CASA, A LOS GATOS NO LES IMPORTABAN LOS TELÉFONOS. DUDO MIRA EL DRENAJE, MOOSE MIRA EL CIELO. ¡PÁJAROS! |
IGNACIO - I'll take him instead of the phone! ;-)
ReplyDeletegood to see the boys on patrol for angry birds.
"HIS IS BIGGER THAN MINE (IN HIS DREAMS)" - hee hee hee!
anne marie:
DeleteI forgot to mention, Ignacio was part of the package when we bought two phones.
Hi Mitchell, Hubby has the same phone as Jerry did. Work phone so they go with what is the cheapest. Otherwise we don’t have a cell phone.
ReplyDeleteLove those cats!
Robin:
DeleteJerry insisted he didn't need a Smart Phone... and then had me do all his texting, receive phone calls for him, and look things up whenever he had a question. I wonder how things will change now. He DID call me yesterday.
I have a Dumb Phone too. And even so, I only got it 4 years ago. I've been resistant to cellphone technology for a long time. Wishing San Geraldo all the best with the learning curve!
ReplyDeleteDebra:
DeleteI must admit there are times I hate the tecnology. I'm expected to always be reachable, to have it with me no matter what I'm doing, and to respond immediately. But I hated even more having to do all that for us both. But then I love being be able to look things up whenever a question comes to mind and to get directions on the fly. Jerry will probably learn this fairly easily since we are a Mac household and he uses his iPad all the time.
Welcome San Geraldo to the nightmare world of the iPhone. What used to be a wonder, a delight, a fascinating toy, a marvel, a connection to a whole world of knowledge and communication has become a frustrating, annoying, intrusive, complicated, multi-non functional, irritating, contraption that never works the same way twice in a row, that seemingly does whatever it wants, whenever it wants, except what you want it to do. The mysterious sequence of button pressing to turn the damn thing off or go from one use to another is something I can't seem to ever get right without 2 or 3 tries. Whenever there's an "update" one wants to smash the damn thing to smithereens. And don't get me started on Siri. Mostly useless - if she/he/it actually understands the question, then it's "I didn't get that" or "What can I help you with?" or "Here's what I found" and the results are either totally irrelevant or what I could have found myself. (e.g. doesn't know the major international airport in Albuquerque, only the local airports even when I ask the question 4 different ways). Have Geraldo send me his old phone. I'm ready for a downgrade.
ReplyDeleteSo, Frank, tell me how you REALLY feel about your iPhone.
DeleteI remember back in the day, ones with the hidden keyboard were as wanted as badly as the newest smartphones today. They were paying hundreds of dollars to get them. Once the smartphones came out they were either really cheap or free. Makes you wonder how much these things really cost
ReplyDeleteAdam:
DeleteI agree. The prices are ridiculous, especially for the iPhones.
I hope he enjoys it. When I bought my first "smart phone" the salesman lied to me. He said "after a week we won't be able to pry it out of your fingers" it was more like the next day.
ReplyDeleteTravel:
DeleteIt was the same for me.
I love my smartphone that I have had for 5 years, one of the old Galaxy Note IIs with a stylus in a little slot. I rarely use the stylus, but it is handy for some things. I'll hang onto it for a few more years before I upgrade. I remember the first time I saw a smartphone and knew I had to have one. My newest gadget is an iPod touch to replace my old style iPod with the wheel that is beginning to lose its controls and is impossible to repair.
ReplyDeleteJust look at Moose's tail thwacking in anticipation!
Wilma:
DeleteI still use my iPod (version 1.3) that I bought around 2002. I keep wondering when it's going to die, but I haven't yet had a problem. I dread that day, because I've got about 4,000 songs on it that I downloaded from my CDs into iTunes. Needless to say, they are no longer in my iTunes library... and there's no CD drive on my iMac!
The cats have the right priorities - phones of no use to them!
ReplyDeletesillygirl:
DeleteDudo had tried but the touchscreen keypad gives him trouble. (They're together staring at the drain hole right now.)
I still have a flip-phone and I'm fine with that!
ReplyDeleteAlso, size DOES matter, even in phones.
I'd buy a new phone from Ignacio ... I'd buy anything from Ignacio.
The Bird Guards don't ever take a holiday??
Bob:
DeleteSo far, the bird guards have not missed a day -- morning, noon, and night. Moose just came back in for a snack, but Dudo's covering for him. Ignacio was part of our package. Buy two phones, get Ignacio.
I held off as long as possible but when we started our company 5 years ago had to graduate to a smart phone - no looking back now - so much easier! It will be a learning curve but be sure to show him all the cool things it does. What a good secret...I mean husband
ReplyDeleteCheapchick:
DeleteHe's been online reading about (and trying out) all the things he can do with his iPhone. He's enjoying the discovery and I'm staying clear.
You know that the "best before date" on any electronic is two days after you buy it?????
ReplyDeleteWillym:
DeleteCrud. Two days have passed!
We both have smart phones but have 'dumbed them down' after about 3 days!! We like it better that way.
ReplyDeleteHave fun with your new ones! Hey, SG may just surprise us all!!!
Jim:
DeleteI'm not one do download every app and live on my Smart phone. I use it primarily for texting with friends (WhatsApp, primarily), email when I'm out and expecting something, looking things up when we wonder about important things like how many seeds are in the average persimmon, OH and as a phone!
iPhone, uPhone, we all Phone. We have two "dumb" phones and a land line.
ReplyDeleteWalt the Fourth:
DeleteWe have a land line because it came with the Movistar bundle (TV, 2 mobiles, 1 land line). We don't use it and if it rings we know it's someone selling something (or a wrong number).
Love it!
ReplyDeleteLina:
DeleteWho knows? You may even receive a text from Jerry... or not.
As I use your blog to also provide Spanish lessons, I am shocked to discover 'tonto' means stupid? What was the lone ranger thinking?
ReplyDeleteSpo:
DeleteThe Lone Ranger and Tonto, yeah, pretty appalling.