- Joined
- Sep 16, 2008
- Threads
- 96
- Messages
- 2,930
- Location
- Freensville
- Website
- www.poolpartydeathmachine.com
My green LG EnV phone of the past five years has finally crapped out. It was something I'd acquired as a freebee from Verizon back then, and, at the time, I sneered at its overcomplicated style, but came to enjoy "The Booger" as I called it.
It was surprisingly rugged, comfortable to type with, functional where it mattered, but was given to quirks with its battery life, and it would randomly shut itself off without so much as a warning. All of which I took in stride, but time was not kind to The Booger, and when the outermost screen busted on the tile floor of my gym locker room, I understood it was time to replace it.
I wanted something more rugged, but retained the flip-out QWERTY keyboard (especially while working the graveyard shift, text messaging becomes incredibly convenient.) That's what lead me to the Casio Gz'One Brigade:
This thing's by far the best phone I've ever owned. The battery life is great, the keys feel good, it's robust and functional where it counts, the sound quality is decent, but good for a phone. The buttons feel great, though the layout is a little odd to learn at first. The buttons on the face feel somewhat crowded, I often mash multiples while trying to dial out.
I really appreciate the flashlight mode of it, as I've found myself in situations where such a tool on-hand matters alot. In fact, my first night-hike up Mount Saint Helena was backed up by the flashlight on my friend's Blackberry.
I would have paid extra for a similar phone without a camera because of my predilection against them, but since this was the only way to end up with an emergency flashlight for when it mattered, I'm willing to suffer through.
Another standout feature for it is the simple black-and-white LCD screen up front. It'll pass as just a simple clock, but it's a fully-functioning interface screen that allows interaction with the entire of the machine, however, it's the clock mode of it that adds an additional layer of usefulness to the whole package.
The keyguard feature is another plus, with a phone like this, it's important to have a good system, and my time with The Booger and its preceding phone were a nightmare of pocket-dials, pocket-pictures, and random "talking pants" episodes. So far, though, The Brick's keyguard really does the trick - it's engaged as soon as the lid's closed, and takes a two-step (read: "secret handshake") process to unlock it that's prevented pocket dials thus far.
The water, dust and shockproofing seems legit, but I'm yet to seriously take this beast out in the field yet, I hope to update then.
Finally, the layout of the phone makes access to Airplane Mode a breeze, since this little beastie will be my alarm clock and watch while backpacking, I find that very important.
As for the serious knocks the interwebs had to offer, I really can't say. I'm too poor to shell out for internet service on my plan, and therefore couldn't care less about browsing capabilities. I also have a 30 Gb Zune dedicated to music and movies, and therefore no reason to load music onto my device.
The best part about this purchase was the service selling it.
I purchased mine used from The Blue Dot on flea-bay, based on seller history alone, which led me to some uncertainty. I had reason to fear not, as the sellers were prompt, responsive, they didn't gouge me on shipping, and even offered a free car charger promotion with upgraded shipping.
When I got the package, the phone was in great shape, but there was no car charger. Confused, I fired off an email to them, and received a prompt reply that they didn't have enough of the chargers to make it happen, they refunded my shipping charges and steered me toward a seller with the item I needed.
Based on how much I appreciate this phone, and how accommodating the seller was, I may purchase a second to keep around as a spare for the inevitable day this thing has to be retired. (hopefully I can squeeze five years or more out of it).
It was surprisingly rugged, comfortable to type with, functional where it mattered, but was given to quirks with its battery life, and it would randomly shut itself off without so much as a warning. All of which I took in stride, but time was not kind to The Booger, and when the outermost screen busted on the tile floor of my gym locker room, I understood it was time to replace it.
I wanted something more rugged, but retained the flip-out QWERTY keyboard (especially while working the graveyard shift, text messaging becomes incredibly convenient.) That's what lead me to the Casio Gz'One Brigade:
This thing's by far the best phone I've ever owned. The battery life is great, the keys feel good, it's robust and functional where it counts, the sound quality is decent, but good for a phone. The buttons feel great, though the layout is a little odd to learn at first. The buttons on the face feel somewhat crowded, I often mash multiples while trying to dial out.
I really appreciate the flashlight mode of it, as I've found myself in situations where such a tool on-hand matters alot. In fact, my first night-hike up Mount Saint Helena was backed up by the flashlight on my friend's Blackberry.
I would have paid extra for a similar phone without a camera because of my predilection against them, but since this was the only way to end up with an emergency flashlight for when it mattered, I'm willing to suffer through.
Another standout feature for it is the simple black-and-white LCD screen up front. It'll pass as just a simple clock, but it's a fully-functioning interface screen that allows interaction with the entire of the machine, however, it's the clock mode of it that adds an additional layer of usefulness to the whole package.
The keyguard feature is another plus, with a phone like this, it's important to have a good system, and my time with The Booger and its preceding phone were a nightmare of pocket-dials, pocket-pictures, and random "talking pants" episodes. So far, though, The Brick's keyguard really does the trick - it's engaged as soon as the lid's closed, and takes a two-step (read: "secret handshake") process to unlock it that's prevented pocket dials thus far.
The water, dust and shockproofing seems legit, but I'm yet to seriously take this beast out in the field yet, I hope to update then.
Finally, the layout of the phone makes access to Airplane Mode a breeze, since this little beastie will be my alarm clock and watch while backpacking, I find that very important.
As for the serious knocks the interwebs had to offer, I really can't say. I'm too poor to shell out for internet service on my plan, and therefore couldn't care less about browsing capabilities. I also have a 30 Gb Zune dedicated to music and movies, and therefore no reason to load music onto my device.
The best part about this purchase was the service selling it.
I purchased mine used from The Blue Dot on flea-bay, based on seller history alone, which led me to some uncertainty. I had reason to fear not, as the sellers were prompt, responsive, they didn't gouge me on shipping, and even offered a free car charger promotion with upgraded shipping.
When I got the package, the phone was in great shape, but there was no car charger. Confused, I fired off an email to them, and received a prompt reply that they didn't have enough of the chargers to make it happen, they refunded my shipping charges and steered me toward a seller with the item I needed.
Based on how much I appreciate this phone, and how accommodating the seller was, I may purchase a second to keep around as a spare for the inevitable day this thing has to be retired. (hopefully I can squeeze five years or more out of it).