Dropped calls

In the 2 1/2 weeks that I've had my new cell phone, I've experienced four or five dropped calls. At first I was concerned that these was Bluetooth-related, but the phone indicators show the Bluetooth still connected during these dropped calls, while the carrier signal bars drop down to nothing, suggesting that the problem has nothing to do with Bluetooth.

When they occur, what happens is that I can still hear the other side, but they can't hear me. Then in a few more seconds, the call ends.

After describing these symptoms to Johnny, he suggested that the problem had to with with a "battery save" option in the Motorola phone. But after going through the menus thoroughly, I still could not find such an option. Finally, I start searching the web for answers, and apparently this particular function is absent from the V551 phones. Strange. But that still doesn't help me with the dropped calls.


Another search result suggests that I'll have to "reboot" the phone so that it can properly sync with Cingular's network at least once every three days.

I'll have to test it out and see if it works.

Playstation Portable

There was no line at Toys R Us, so I was able to get my own PSP. It works great, although I did notice two "off" pixels on the screen. As has already been reported, it smudges easily... I guess that's why it came with its own wiping cloth.

US PSP release

Sony's Playstation Portable is officially released for the U.S. market today. I don't expect that I'll be able to find one in stock and available, but I'll stop by Toys 'R' Us (and possibly Target) to see if I can lay my hands on one.

Cardo Scala 500 - Part II

Today I found the LED on the Scala to be blinking red instead of its normal blue, an indication that the battery is running low.

Considering that I got this thing and charged it up last Thursday, that's a pretty good standby life, close to the advertised one-week standby from Cardo's website. I'd talked on the thing for a total of about an hour (give or take 15 minutes) during that time, which I imagine has something to do with the headset not being able to reach its stated one week standby time, and that's fine by me.

Recharging the battery took about two and a half hours, with the headset still in standby mode the whole time. All-in-all, it's been doing quite well.

(Not) Finding Neverland

New DVDs are typically released on Tuesdays. So since I stopped buying DVDs online, I've been dropping by the Target store right next to my office on Tuesdays during my lunch break, and pick up new DVDs that I like.

I forgot to do that yesterday. As I was driving home yesterday (in the rain), I remembered that I wanted to pick up Finding Neverland, which seems like a very interesting movie, plus I like both Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet. But as I was already on my way home, I didn't feel like turning back for it, plus there's another Target store nearby my place.

To my surprise, they did not have a single copy of it in stock when I got there. There was shelf space designated for both Widescreen and Full Screen versions of the movie, but they were all empty. I had no idea it was be this popular.


So I dropped by Target near work today, and did not find a copy of Finding Neverland there, either. Instead, they put more copies of The Incredibles to fill up the empty space, even though the labels on the shelf still read "Finding Neverland."

Looks like I might have to order it online, afterall.

WTF charges

I just logged on to Cingular's website, and was surprised to see that my bill, despite not having gone over any of my plan's usage, ran up to $98.96. WTF is going on? I clicked on the "My Bill" link, and see that there is an additional charge of $42.16 for "TOTAL CREDITS, ADJUSTMENTS & OTHER CHARGES," and when I check the details, all that shows is "Government Fees & Taxes"--Again, WTF?!

Cardo Scala 500

The Cardo Scala 500 I ordered arrived today. After I cancelled my order with DataVision, I went to order from Amazon, which basically redirected me to J&R Music World. Since I didn't want to have to wait too long to get it (not being able to pick up the phone from the headset without having to flip the phone open was starting to be a real drag), I went with their expedited shipping, which was supposed to take about three business days, so I was pleasantly surprised to receive it today, as opposed to getting it tomorrow like I expected.

As per its specs, this headset is really light-weight. What I didn't realize was that it was also quite small... which I like.

Here's a size comparison--next to it are my cellphone (Motorola V551) and mouse (Logitech MX1000)

Getting it "paired" with my phone was quite easy. It came with a quick-reference guide, and a "full" manual in a small-sized CD, and the instructions were easy enough to follow. I was quite relieved to find it to work well without any noticeable static with my phone.

Unfortunately, what I have found out is that Motorola, in their infinite wisdom, has decided that whenever their cellphone users are using a Bluetooth headset, all of the rings will be their default "Continental" tone. There is no way to change it to any other tone. But at least this was still better than some of the earlier Bluetooth models, where the phone wouldn't ring at all, and the ringing would be transferred to the tiny speaker of the Bluetooth headset--I wonder what genius came up with that idea.

So, I'm left with two choices: Either live with not having my personalized ringtones, or use a somewhat convoluted method to answer my calls with the Bluetooth headset.

Once the phone is paired with a BT headset, you can "drop" the phone's connection with it, which can be reactivated when you press the "call/answer" button on the headset. And as long as the phone's not actively connected with a BT headset, you still get your ringtones.

The first caveat is that it takes a little bit of time for the BT connection to be re-established, and then once connected, I'd have to press the "answer" button again to answer the call. Apparently the first action only gets registered as a connection request, not an "answer" command.

Problem with that--the second caveat--is that when I'm using the headset to answer the phone, I might not be able to look at the display on the phone to see if the Bluetooth connection is ready, so if I press the button a second time too quickly, it still won't pick up. And if I press it the second time too slowly--third caveat--the call will have already been transferred to my voice mail.

So the key is to time it just right, and I'll be able to answer the phone. In testing, I'll have to press the button right after I hear the phone ring, while the headset is still hanging on my neck, then put it on my ear, and press the button again. If I hear the phone ring early enough, it won't go to my voice mail. I'll have to see how that goes in actual practice, and if it doesn't work well, I'll have to be stuck with the Continental ringtone.

The final "problem" that I've had in my tests is that sometimes, after I "drop" the connection with the Scala 500, it seems to turn off. So pressing it won't activate the phone's Bluetooth link. I'm not sure if this problem is specific to the Scala 500, or it's because of the cell phone. Either way, I've found that the best way around this problem is simply to turn off the Scala, then turn it back on. Turning it off automatically gets the phone to drop its BT connection, so I can have it on standby and just wait.

In short, the steps to keep my own ringtones on the Motorola phone while still be able to use a Bluetooth headset to answer the phone are:

1. After the phone and the headset are paired, get the phone to "drop" the Bluetooth connection with the device.
2. When the phone rings, press the headset's "answer" button.
3. Put the headset on.
   
4. Press the "answer" button again.
5. When the call is over, hang up.
6. Turn off headset, then turn it back on.
7. Repeat steps 2-6.

As opposed to settling with having to use the "Continental" ringtone for all my calls, for which the steps would only be:

1. Get the phone and the headset paired.
2. Press "answer" button when phone rings.
3. Hang up when conversation is over.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3.

If only Motorola would let us use our own ringtones while the phone is using a Bluetooth headset...

The seedy side of Internet shopping

So after getting the new cellphone, I decide that I should get myself a Bluetooth headset for it, as well.

In my search to find one that had respectible sound, battery life, is light and inexpensive, I set my eyes on the Cardo Scala 500. And with CNet Shopper giving it a certified 5-star rating, I went with DataVision as my online store (which, even at the time as of this posting, lists the Scala 500 as being "In Stock," as was its listed status when I placed the order).

The problem is that they don't have it in stock.

Shortly after I placed my order, I received two email messages from them. One to confirm that my order was received, and the other included this little gem as part of its message:

Due to great demand and low availability for the product you ordered we
will be able to ship your
Item Number 828831000057 in 5-7 business days.
once it is out of backorder. Once your product leaves our warehouse
shipping and tracking information will be emailed to you.

M^&%*#f@*kers! Then why do you still have the damned thing listed as "In Stock" on your website?

To top it off, I see no way of cancelling the order online. So I will have to remember to call them, cancel my order, and get it from somewhere else. I guess it's too much to ask for a little bit of honesty from a vendor.

New cellphone

Last night I happened to drop by Life Plaza, where there was a wireless counter, and decided to go with a different carrier for a free new phone, as I had wanted to get a new cellphone after the headphones of my Samsung died. I've had the Samsung for at least 3 years, so it was time for a new one, anyway.

The only way to get a free phone was to switch carriers, as cellphone carriers offer more incentives if you're a new customer. It didn't make sense to me that they wouldn't want to offer similar incentives as a means of keeping their existing customers, but that's life for ya.

I ended up with a Motorola v551 from Cingular.



It's got a lot more features than my old phone, though I've had to downgrade my service plan, and pay more per month, just to have a plan that I'm happy with. Luckily, since I don't talk on the phone too much, I don't expect to use up all of the minutes on my plan anyway, so they'll just rollover to the next month, which is good for "just-in-case" emergencies.

Burr Grinder

UPS has just confirmed that the burr grinder that I ordered is scheduled to arrive on Thursday. This is good news for me, as Amazon originally estimated the arrival date to be anywhere between the 10th and the 12th. So it's at the early end of the spectrum.



I had been reading up on burr grinders because I decided to finally try the French press coffee maker that Gretchen left us, and by all accounts, it is recommended that I use a relatively coarse and uniform grind for Frech press, which cannot be achieved by a blade grinder like the one I've been using.

I'm not sure how I missed all of this information before, when I was researching the best coffee brewing methods, regarding the disadvantages of blade grinders: uneven grind, higher temperature, both of which can affect the taste of the coffee to be brewed. I probably won't be able to tell too much difference between the two, but maybe I'll prove myself wrong. I can't wait.

Don't order from Deep Discount DVD

In mid-February, in an attempt to save money, I ordered the third volume of Tsukihime from Deep Discount DVD, because it had the lowest price listed by comparison site DVD Price Search (and because attempts at finding volume 2 in stock at the local Target and Fry's proved fruitless).

I vaguely recall telling myself not to buy from them before, and now I remember why--shipping took forever.

It took about half a month for my order to finally be delivered, admist worries of whether or not the shipment had been lost, with no tracking info available. So I don't think I'll be ordering from them again.


At least I did finally get it, and as the third volume is the last in the series, have now finished the series. It's quite an intrigng story, so I was hoping that they may have produced follow-up stories for it. It doesn't seem likely--based on the collective info found on the web, the anime series is based on the Japanese adult computer game (H-game) of the same name, which was a graphic novel game with a branching story.

The way they ended the series in the anime, it doesn't seem likely they'll be able to do much in way of a sequel. Not without serious deployment of Deus ex Machina, at any rate.