is this what they call a "phablet"?
August 26, 2014

We got finally got around to getting new phones--and, for the first time since the 1990s--a new carrier. Went with Verizon, because:
In reputable reviews, they get a solid 80%
I'm sick of never getting a signal.
It's going to save me about $40/month, right out of the gate
I am (possibly) eligible for a further 8% discount through work.
I will now get service in both my hometown, and in the town where my dad lives.

For the phone, we splashed out a bit, and each got the LG G3. They were $100 apiece, and are a hell of a lot of phone for that price: a 5.5-inch, 1440 x 2560 (QHD) pixel resolution screen, which provides 538 pixels per inch. An excellent 76.4% screen to body size ratio. Android 4.4 KitKat powered by a quad-core Snapdragon 801 and 3GB of LPDDR3 RAM. 32GB of internal storage and a microSD slot. A 13-megapixel camera, with improved Optical Image Stabilization+ and laser auto focus, and a 2.1-megapixel front-facing cam that comes with an "enhanced selfie mode"--whatever the heck that is. (Look, all I know is--I have old, tired eyes and the display on this thing is needle-sharp).

Plus, we each got a professionally applied, tempered glass screen cover. that was another $40 apiece, but Spouse figured it was worth it. I plan on getting a nice cover for it, too--but I'm all spent out for this week. We didn't go with the Verizon Edge thing--since we don't mind about having contracts, and we aren't the kind who have to have a new phone every five minutes, we didn't see any advantage. Just as soon pay the phones off right away, so we won't have monthly "time payments" on the bill. Nobody ever saves in the long run with time payments. And they are going to give us $25 apiece for the Galaxy S2 phones we're replacing, which ain't much but I'll take it!

Got it at Blue Box, and it was close to being an ordeal--took almost as long as buying a car! But the rep was very nice, and super-helpful. Unfortunately, I couldn't remember the password for my phone's gmail, and their data transfer machine was down, so I have to go back if I want them to load my apps and contacts for me. I may not bother--I really don't have that many!

It took me almost an hour to apply for the work discount, and I ended up having to upload a pay stub. And I still have to wait to see if they approve it! Ugh. Well, it isn't in their best interests to make it easy.

So I have a new toy that I cannot leave alone. The only downside I've seen so far is that it's incompatible with the Text Twist app, so I won't be playing that game on my phone anymore. Still have it on my notebook and tablet, so no big whup.