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Stress-Testing the Verizon G'zOne Cellphone 112

Posted by kdawson from the extreme-abuse dept.
abkaiser writes "You can dunk it under water. Put it in the oven and crank up the heat. Drop it, smack it, treat it like the hunk of plastic that it is. And yet this is a cellphone. I got my hands on the Verizon G'zOne (pronounced 'G-Z-One'), a phone designed for high-abuse environments. Come for the test methodology, stay for the photo of a cellphone cooking in an oven."
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Stress-Testing the Verizon G'zOne Cellphone More

Stress-Testing the Verizon G'zOne Cellphone

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  • High abuse environments... (Score:4, Funny)

    by patio11 ( 857072 ) on Monday January 29, 2007 @09:41AM (#17798616)
    ... seems to describe the marketing staff's relationship to controlled substances. "G'zOne" is not an electronic device, it is a name for a freaking Klingon. Come back when you have given up the faux hipsterism. Even *authentic* hipsterism isn't an endearing trait.

    • Oblig. ATHF (Score:5, Funny)

      by Dachannien ( 617929 ) on Monday January 29, 2007 @10:23AM (#17799120)
      "G'zOne" is not an electronic device, it is a name for a freaking Klingon.

      Hip College-Age Guy on TV Commercial: Dude, you're getting an OoGhiJ MIQtxxXA! [ooghij-miqtxxxa.com]

    • That's probably why it was called the CanU when it sold in Korea. But that sounds worse- imagine all the advertising that would follow that.
    • I think even the most courageous Klingons are going to run aways before the wrath of the 21-months old Ally from the "Test 5 : toddler attack".
    • > "G'zOne" is not an electronic device, it is a name for a freaking Klingon.

      Smile when you use the G'zOne...
    • Just set the phone next to your server. It'll be in flames before you can say "slashdotted."
    • They claim the thing is to be pronounced "Gee zee one". Problem with that is the apostrophe/tick mark in the middle of the name, which typically indicates a glottal stop. That means the air stops moving over the epiglottis completely. There's one in the middle of my name, which has no apostrophe. This is why no one seems to be able to properly pronounce or in fact understand my name. "Name please?" (pronounced correctly) "Martin." "Marty?" "MAR TIN". Anyway the point of all this is that if you pronounced th

  • I wonder how resistant the LCD is to cracking (Score:3, Insightful)

    by antifoidulus ( 807088 ) on Monday January 29, 2007 @09:42AM (#17798626) Homepage Journal
    I swore off ever buying an expensive phone after I broke my old one by stepping on while taking off my pants after a night of drinking. I was only on it for half a second, but the stupid main LCD(the secondary one on the outside of the clamshell was fine) cracked. The phone still worked as a phone, but I could never tell what I was dialing and if I hit the wrong button I could end up in some weird menu and not even realize it. No SMS to boot. From then on, it was sub-$20 phones. If I break them, I don't really care.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by gatzke ( 2977 )

      I dropped my Treo in a parking lot after taking some hefty back-pain meds... When returned the next day, the LCD was cracked but the left side worked.

      I have to cut-and-paste text messages then add carriage feed returns so I can read the text...

      $100 for new screen
      $200 for new (replacement) treo
      $300 for new treo version

      Too cheap and lazy to upgrade or fix it now...

      • Re:I wonder how resistant the LCD is to cracking (Score:5, Informative)

        by Odiumjunkie ( 926074 ) on Monday January 29, 2007 @10:35AM (#17799262) Journal

        I dropped my Treo in a parking lot after taking some hefty back-pain meds... When returned the next day, the LCD was cracked but the left side worked. I have to cut-and-paste text messages then add carriage feed returns so I can read the text... $100 for new screen $200 for new (replacement) treo $300 for new treo version Too cheap and lazy to upgrade or fix it now...


        When I broke the screen on my sony ericsson T610 about a year ago, I was given a quote of about $200 for a new branded screen - I went to my local asian-run backstreet electronics store and got a new generic screen installed for $30 including labour (although labour is nothing, I could have installed it myself). Anyways, it was hugely cheaper than a branded part, and brighter than the original to boot! It's been working flawlessly since then.

    • Re:I wonder how resistant the LCD is to cracking (Score:5, Funny)

      by Intron ( 870560 ) on Monday January 29, 2007 @09:55AM (#17798788)
      Here's the link [weightwatchers.com] to what you need.
    • I agree about buying inexpensive phones. I put my cheap Seimens A65 - which was switched on - through the washing machine a few months back. I let the phone dry for a week or so, and it is as good as new now. There was actually a puddle in the screen.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by J0nne ( 924579 )
        My Siemens A50 also survived a trip in the washing machine. It died a few months later though (the display would randomly go blank, even though the phone was functional).

        I'll never spend a lot on a phone. I only need Voice and SMS, the rest is unnecessary crap. I don't even need a color display.
  • There's no comments yet and already the server won't send me the pictures from the article. The ultimate stress test? Running a webserver on a phone and front paging it on Slashdot.

  • Dotted already (Score:4, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 29, 2007 @09:44AM (#17798656)
    mirrordot [mirrordot.org]

  • Clearly the most ridiculous name for a phone yet (Score:4, Funny)

    by John Nowak ( 872479 ) on Monday January 29, 2007 @09:44AM (#17798666)
    A gzone sounds like an italian sort food filled with cheese... with an environmentally-concious twist... for Gnome... err

  • Special permission? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Rob T Firefly ( 844560 ) on Monday January 29, 2007 @09:48AM (#17798712) Homepage Journal

    Disclaimer: I was given special permission by Verizon to stress-test the G'zOne. Verizon and I both agree: DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME. These tests were performed so that we as consumers can validate Verizon's claims without you having to test them yourself. If you break your own equipment, you're the one responsible.
    I understand why the reviewer would want a disclaimer of some sort, but since when does a product reviewer need "special permission" from a vendor to do a proper review?

    • Re:Special permission? (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Mononoke ( 88668 ) on Monday January 29, 2007 @09:52AM (#17798756) Homepage Journal
      since when does a product reviewer need "special permission" from a vendor to do a proper review?
      He probably signed papers requiring him to return it in the same condition as it was given to him. He wouldn't be able to truly test it without facing the possibility of destroying it and violating that agreement.
  • mirrordot [mirrordot.org]
  • I hate my company cell phone so I abuse it every chance I get, yet the damned thing keeps on going like some undead zombie from a B-rate horror film. Why pay extra for a feature that's already built into sucky phones like mine?
  • ...the "EuroStyle" vibrating massager. Also, another "G-zone to use it on."

  • So they're building things like they used to. (Score:4, Insightful)

    by gfxguy ( 98788 ) on Monday January 29, 2007 @09:59AM (#17798822)
    We've become so accustomed to crap that when someone builds something the way they used to it becomes news.

    For the record, I washed AND DRIED my Motorolla v70 a few years ago (in the pocket of my cargo pants).

    I had to replace the antenna, and the microphone made me sound like crap, but it worked.
    • The way they used to? One of the tests:

      The G'zOne Type-V was immersed in water for a period of 30 minutes at a depth of 1 meter (3.28 feet)

      I've had mobile phones for a long time now, never has one performed like this. Neither did your v70 by the sounds of it!

      I hate to disagree with you, but there's plenty of very old electronics in my house and I'm not going to put any of it in the bath.

      • I hate to disagree with you, but there's plenty of very old electronics in my house and I'm not going to put any of it in the bath.

        Depends on how old "very old" is. A couple of times now I've taken old tube radios, removed them from the case, removed the tubes and anything else removable (dial cord, etc.) and plunked them in the dishwasher. Run them through a wash-only cycle (i.e., no drying) with no detergent, then stick 'em in the oven at 200F for a few hours. Does an excellent job of cleaning off all the gunk that old radios tend to accumulate, and it doesn't hurt the electronics a bit (although any paper labels on the chassis w

      • I used to work for Tektronix fixing oscilloscopes and test equipment. In the field repair offices the first thing we did with ANY gear that came in the door was send it to the wash rack. We hosed it down with essentially the same nozzle and soap & water that you use at the self-serve car washes. Rinse, then it went in the drying ovens for about three days (I don't remember the temp, not terribly high tho). Only caveat-- make sure any enclosed transformers were oriented so they would drain, because i

    • Re:So they're building things like they used to. (Score:4, Interesting)

      by clonmult ( 586283 ) on Monday January 29, 2007 @10:19AM (#17799050)
      Likewise. My first phone, a Nokia 6130 (branded Nk702) took a major dip in Tango, which just made the keys a bit sticky, open up, clean keyboard, and it was fine.

      After it got retired, I passed it to my son for use as a kiddies toy, and it took years of that abuse. Never really checked to see if it worked, but then realised it had a bunch of numbers in it I needed. Powered it up after 3 years of being a toddlers toy (hate to think the abuse it experienced), and everything worked perfectly.

      Menu was snappier than most of the current batch of phones as well. And battery life was considerably better. Progress, eh?
    • I had my Sony Ericsson T610 thrown -hard- against a solid brick wall. The battery cover came off but the battery didn't escape, it was even still powered on. I just put the cover back on and put it back in my pocket before it happened again. Friends are interesting when slightly fermented (drunk) aren't they?

      In general it seems to be the "solid block" phones that can survive the most punishment, most dual-screen sliding/flip phones are quite easy to damage.

      I have a Nokia 6020 now (I got it on renewal of my
    • Yep, same thing with my RCA Lyra. My ex-girlfriend put it through a full cycle without realizing it was in my pocket; it worked fine immediately after (including the SD card). :^)

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by flimflam ( 21332 )
      Agreed - most things suck. But for the record, I spilled an entire pint of Guinness into my brand new (at the time) 12" Powerbook a couple of years ago (well, actually my two-year-old daughter did it. Please don't ask what she was doing with a pint of Guinness). I quickly pulled the battery, drained the computer and let it dry for a couple days, and except for some stickiness in a few keys (that went away after a couple months) and a distinct smell of burnt beer (that lasted about six) it's been fine ever s

  • Any relation (Score:3, Funny)

    by edmicman ( 830206 ) on Monday January 29, 2007 @10:10AM (#17798940) Homepage Journal
    to the Pizza Hut P'ZONE?
  • I was very disappointed. I was expecting a video of Verizon in the oven, not their phone.

    Damn!
  • It's called the molten fumes of hell when I try to send an SMS message or call customer support - neither of which actually work. All I hear is Satan chortling at me.

    All a more durable phone means to me is I kill more reps with it when I throw it at them.

  • Lost in translation (Score:4, Informative)

    by Zadaz ( 950521 ) on Monday January 29, 2007 @10:19AM (#17799052)
    The -one- cool phone they bring over from Japan and they uglify it.

    And strip half the features and change twice at much. Guess that's what took two years.

    (Link to original phone. [kddi.com])
    • They're going to sell the new Japanese version (W42CA) in America too now. Of course, it's still uglified... This is why I go GSM- unlock the phone and use it without modifications.
      • They're going to sell the new Japanese version (W42CA) in America too now. Of course, it's still uglified... This is why I go GSM- unlock the phone and use it without modifications.

        Good luck with that - it's not a GSM phone :-)

  • If it's that tough, and resistant to damage, why not offer some kind of 2 year warranty or something? If I spend $300 on a phone because it's supposedly indestructible, I would like that to be backed up by the company.

    • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

      by Bucc5062 ( 856482 )
      Oh my, what a good chuckle you gave me this morning. A telco company backing their product for any extended period of time...for free?...Tried to get my mind around the concept, but seems it is harder to grasp then imaginary numbers.

      I think any major corporation that says "We stand behind our product" is really saying "We stand behind you, please bend over, this wont hurt a bit".

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by szembek ( 948327 )
        I guess there will be people who buy it anyway, but to me it would be like paying a premium for a hand tool that doesn't come with a lifetime warranty.
  • G-Z-One sound like the name of a pron movie.
  • Still happy with my 5 year old Ericsson R310s [gsmarena.com].

    Party trick - set it to "vibrate" mode, drop it in a pint of beer, and phone it - instant cocktail shaker! :-)

    Completely gortex'd up phone. You can find them on ebay here in the UK for about 50 pounds now and again, old stock people are dumping...

    • That's a beast of an antenna!

      My solution for the 'tough phone' thing is get a good quality phone with voice dial, and keep it in the pocket of a decent Goretex coat. Hook it up to your bluetooth headset (You can get ones with proper over-ear mufflers and boom mics with windshields if you check professional suppliers) and it works perfectly.

      The one problem I see with phones designed for outdoor pursuits is that more often than not you're out of range anyway. If you need connectivity, get a sat phone, most po

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by fantomas ( 94850 )
        yeah, ninja antenna eh?

        outdoor theatre gigs - so phone gets dropped from ten feet up a scaffold tower, falls into puddles, works outside when pouring with rain, knocked against all sorts of hard unforgiving surfaces, rattles around in land rovers, that kind of thing. Good call on the tucked away phone for weather proofing - something I will investigate in future, but shock proofing and good for all weathers definitely a must. I think these new Japanese phones might be useful for sure.

        Signal is usually not t
        • I managed to drop a parcan off a tower onto my phone (It lived, Nokia 5210), but haven't yet dropped my phone. I generally don't have my phone on me when doing rigging but I can see your point if you roam around a site.

          The quest for an indestructible communications device continues eh?
  • ...because Verizon has made it their policy to lock down the filesystem of every device they get their greedy mitts on. My first phone with their service was a Samsung a670, which worked great, allowed me to read and write to the filesystem for free (so I could get fancy with ringers, wallpaper, pull pics off quickly and for free, etc) using BitPim and QPST.

    Then the time came to pick a "free" phone for work, and unfortunately I chose the Pantech PN-215, a "Verizon brand" phone. While it was more or less s

    • Verizon has made it their policy to lock down the filesystem of every device they get their greedy mitts on.

      I agree with your general sentiment, but I'd like to point out that not every Verizon phone is completely locked down. In the past few months, I have purchased both a LG-VX5300 and a Motorola Razr V3m from Verizon. The LG is not locked down at all and I was able to sync phone book, add ringtones, transfer pictures, etc. using Bluetooth and BitPim. The Razr V3m, on the other hand, is completely locked down and can't connect to the PC at all without buying some software from Verizon.

      This is pretty ridi

      • I guess I didn't explain what I've observed clearly enough: Verizon sells many different phones along with their service. Some of those phones bear the "branding" of their original manufacturers, while others are "Verizon brand" phones, even though Verizon is just slapping their name on a device manufactured by some other company. The latter is what I have discovered to be unacceptably locked down. I'm sure there are other non-Verizon-brand phones that are locked down, but I doubt there are Verizon-brand
    • Good luck finding one, Verizon seems to go further and further down the road of restricting access to equipment their consumers buy with every new phone they release.
  • OK, the phone being waterproof is news. However, As far as ruggedized phones, Nextel has been releasing mil-spec phones for years and years. An abuse proof or abuse resistant phone is nothing new, but in typical verizon style, they tout everything new to them as if they are the first to ever do it, when rarely they are.
  • Are you sure being on slashdot isn't the stress test?

  • Why? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by l0ungeb0y ( 442022 ) on Monday January 29, 2007 @11:13AM (#17799754) Homepage Journal
    "a phone designed for high-abuse environments"

    Hey, if you're a telco that intentionally cripples the bluetooth features on its phones to the point of uselessness and still sells it as bluetooth even after a class action lawsuit, you've already created enough of a high abuse environment for me as a customer to never want to ever return.

    Citation for my gripe: http://support.vzw.com/capability/bluetooth_popup. html [vzw.com]
    "Bluetooth is a wireless networking technology designed primarily to replace cables for communication between personal computing and communication devices. For example, Bluetooth technology allows you to use a wireless headset to place and receive calls." ...While we all know that Verizon intentionally cripples the Bluetooth file transfer features to the point that you have to use Verizons pay per transfer cellular feature.

    So what self respecting /. user uses Verizon? And if you use it and pay for it out of pocket... WHY???
    My #1 use for Bluetooth is file transfer to store media on my 1G of built in storage on my phone as I would a USB HD, but transferable without the cables.

    I switched from Verizon to Cingluar a couple years ago and have been happy to transfer files from my desktop to my cell to my laptop or other peoples computers for years now. I can also plug it in and use it as I would a USB HD. But since I am in SF and so many techies here use MacBooks, because MacBooks lets Pros work like they want, it's just easier to have BT file transfer. BT is also great for syncing my Apple Address Book and iCal to my phone, infact, it syncs multiple computers via blutooth to my contacts and calendar. Verizons crippleware requires you plug in a USB cable and use proprietary software to do this. My Motorola and Mac just use iSync, which comes with my Mac from Apple with OS X for free.

    I tried switching to HELIO last month, but I found out after subscribing that their bluetooth was HEADSET ONLY. I unsubscribed within 30 minutes, that's how long it took me to get home and find that my workstation and handset could not talk to each other... my workstation could see the handset but the file browser was "FEATURE NOT AVAILABLE ON THIS DEVICE" and they wanted me to install some proprietary software/spyware. Not suprisingly, HELIO uses Verizons and Sprints networks. I'd be willing to bet $500.00 that there is a contractual arrangement for use of the Verizon network that requires HELIO (EARTHLINK) to cripple Bluetooth to headset only.

    And I am glad HELIO crippled their devices in this way without making it clear. I unsubbed, returned my eqpt and went back to Cingular with the only hitch that HELIO was playing games on my number being assigned back to CINGULAR (it took 3 days!!! While Cingular had the number to SPRINT/HELIO inside that 30 minute window) Because I am now just waiting for the Apple iPhone to come out and I will gladly drop cash for that.. ESP since SF will be wifi enabled withiin a year of the phones launch and will be one of the first cell/wifi phones on the market and by far the coolest.

    iPhone on Verizon????
    HAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHHA
    HAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHA

    You'll have to install so many hacks on the iPhone to get it to work like Cingular users will have it work out of the box that you might as well just sign it off as "PWNED to some hacker in Beijing".

    So WHY? WHY does any self respecting /. user use Verizon?
    Or does the /. crowd == the "I WANT A PHONE THAT'S ONLY A PHONE" crowd?

    • While I agree with most of your rant against Verizon's anti-file-transfer policy your point about iSync is incorrect. I have a Motorola RAZR V3c and I use iSync all the time to sync my contacts. (The calender sync doesn't work though I can't figure out if that's iCal's fault. And I don't much care.)

      That aside I think it's pretty pathetic that because of Verizon's policies the $250 phone in my pocket functions more like a $20 phone.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Ankou ( 261125 )
        Thats a well documented problem. You can edit the profile in iSync here [macosxhints.com]. Then you'll have calendar syncs. But be aware dont go syncing more than 1 month content (check to make sure it may be 1 week of content, there is an option to how much far to sync calendar events). The reason iSync has it disabled is because Verizon's firmware crashes the phone as it cant handle more than 1 month of calendar schedules and thats a Verizon firmware issue not iCal or iSync. Of course Verizon has no motivation to fix

    • WHY does any self respecting /. user use Verizon?

      Well, for me, it comes down to coverage. I work in the Hudson Valley and travel by train between New York City and Albany nearly every day of the week. Verizon is the only carrier with decent coverage for both my cell phone and EVDO Internet access for the entire trip. Sprint, Cingular, Nextel have very spotty coverage, especially north of Croton-Harmon.

      Now, we can argue about EVDO and wireless technology and money-grubbing telco execs forever, but at t

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Shakrai ( 717556 )

        Well, for me, it comes down to coverage. I work in the Hudson Valley and travel by train between New York City and Albany nearly every day of the week.

        T-Mo has solid coverage up the Thurway between NYC and Albany. Dunno about the route that your train takes though. Might be worth looking into.

        The only difference between RIAA and Verizon Wireless is that Verizon actually does have complete control over their users. And Verizon markets it better.

        • T-Mo has solid coverage up the Thurway between NYC and Albany. Dunno about the route that your train takes though. Might be worth looking into.

          Thanks, I've looked. There are a number of T-Mobile users among the train regulars, and they drop signal far more often than Verizon users (though it also depends on the phone model). Upstate NY commuter train lore (vaguely confirmed by Verizon employees among the train regulars) claims that Verizon has their towers closer to the river than the other carriers. T

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Shakrai ( 717556 )
            Phone selection matters regardless of your provider. On VZW I had the best luck with (and you'll laugh at me for this) the old Kyocera's. Some of the new Motorola's are ok -- but the VZW version of the RAZR is a cheap POS with lousy RF performance in my experience. With T-Mobile I've had the best luck with Motorola and Nokia. The Samsungs that they sell are garbage.

            In any case it sucks that you are stuck with big red. My agency is stuck with them because they do transports for our patients and VZW has

            • Agreed about the Kyocera models with VZW. It's still true with the various EVDO models -- the Kyocera K650 card seems to be one of the best. I briefly had an AudioVox cell phone with VZ that was crap; my current Motorola (not RAZR) works nicely.

              Tip: if you have to use VZW's EVDO service, save a few bucks by buying from Booster-Antenna.com [booster-antenna.com]. And get their external booster antenna. Much better signal strength == better transfer speeds. Using it right now, actually... zipping along at 90mph along the Hud

              • Re: (Score:2)

                by Shakrai ( 717556 )
                I also loved the old school Kyocera user interface. They had the neatest speed dial feature ever and I've never seen it duplicated on any other brand of phone (perhaps they have a patent on it?). Your name in my phone book is "Jason Smith". I dial "52766" and it will list all the users that match "Jason" on screen. I select your name and hit dial. I need only dial enough digits to get a unique match. It was the most obvious idea ever and still nobody else has adopted it. Direct dialing right from the

                • Your name in my phone book is "Jason Smith". I dial "52766" and it will list all the users that match "Jason" on screen. I select your name and hit dial. I need only dial enough digits to get a unique match. It was the most obvious idea ever and still nobody else has adopted it

                  If it's that obvious, they probably have a patent on it.

    • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

      by indigest ( 974861 )
      Verizon phones are perfect for /.ers! You have to hack them, void your warranty, and risk bricking them in order to get them to work the way you want!

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Shakrai ( 717556 )

      So what self respecting /. user uses Verizon? And if you use it and pay for it out of pocket... WHY???

      I just dumped them and switched to T-Mobile for exactly this reason. Never mind the data transfer and PC connections -- with Verizon's new UI you can't even customize your d-pad buttons (besides the down one). Three of them go to VZW services that cost extra money. Screw that! I took a coverage hit to switch to T-Mobile because they don't pull this shit. My T-Mo phone will work for about 80% of the

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by RESPAWN ( 153636 )
        And on the plus side, they are going to start pro-rating the contract cancellation fees.

        That said, I just love how every article that mentions Verizon has to have at least one person griping about how they are such an evil company. /sarcasm. In my personal experience, the rest of them aren't much better. It really just seems to come down to a six of one, half a dozen of another situation. Just pick what gets you the best coverage at the best price, and be done with it.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Shakrai ( 717556 )

          So cell phone carriers all suck. I don't suppose that's news. Verizon just sucks more then most. Name another one of the big four (T-Mobile, Sprint, Cingular, Verizon) that disables native phone features to force you to buy stuff from them. Name another one of the big four that prevents you from changing something as simple as a d-pad shortcut on your phone (they all go to paid VZW services).

          Factor all that in with the fact that Verizon uses CDMA/IS-95 (a proprietary standard patented and owned by one

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by RESPAWN ( 153636 )
            Actually, on my LG 9900 (Verizon markets it as the enV, I think) I can change every one of the D-Pad shortcuts and by default the only one that links directly to a paid service is the Up key which links to the browser. (Internet access is something I gladly pay for on my monthly bill, anyway.) From what I understand, Verizon is changing the menu systems on all of their new phones to the version of the menus that is on my phone -- I assume that this will include the D-Pad remapping.

            Additionally, the follow

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by Shakrai ( 717556 )

              Actually, on my LG 9900 (Verizon markets it as the enV, I think) I can change every one of the D-Pad shortcuts and by default the only one

              I can't speak for particular phones. I can only tell you that of all my friends the only one who can do any sort of customizations to his phone is the one who got the Motorola E815 -- and that was the last (non PDA) phone that our local VZW store sold that didn't have their crappy UI installed on it. On my old VZW phone (the V325) I couldn't change three of the four

    • The sad truth is that Verizon has the best (consistent) coverage in the northeast once you get outside of high population areas.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Shakrai ( 717556 )

        The sad truth is that Verizon has the best (consistent) coverage in the northeast once you get outside of high population areas.

        Umm. Cingular seems to match them pretty well in Upstate NY. There's a few areas where Verizon isn't that Cingular is -- and a few areas where Cingular isn't that Verizon is. Sprint and T-Mo users have almost the same coverage -- via roaming with VZW and Cingular.

        In any case I decided it wasn't worth putting up with big red's bullshit for those three or four times a year tha

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Mr2001 ( 90979 )

      So what self respecting /. user uses Verizon? And if you use it and pay for it out of pocket... WHY???

      I do, mainly because of data services. When the cable modem goes out, I can get online at tolerable speeds with 1xRTT, and it's totally free at night or on the weekends. Once I upgrade my phone, I'll be able to get online at usable speeds with EVDO.

      EDGE and GPRS are a joke, so no Cingular or T-Mobile for me. That leaves only Sprint, but after the billing nightmare they put me through a few years ago, I'm not going back.

      • Also (Score:2)

        by Mr2001 ( 90979 )
        I don't use Bluetooth. After getting ripped off with a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard that barely work, I'm not about to make my cell phone decisions based on that mangled abortion of a wireless technology. I can use a USB cable to transfer ringtones and connect to the internet.
  • FWIW, my Nextel i560 lived through all of that, as do the i530 models that I have out there every day. My current Sprint/Nextel ic502 has been going strong, too. I have a few other milspec 810F certified phones in service that have been dropped out of a car at highway speed, run over by a truck, thrown, submerged, exposed to temperatures regularly ranging from -5*F to 80*F repeatedly, and more. None of them have developed any problems, as of yet.
  • I've had one of these phones for a few months now. I live in an area where Verizon is pretty much the only option. It was the only phone I tried that didn't feel like a cheap piece of plastic in my hand. I've had no problems with it, unlike other phones I had used in the past. I only wish it supported bluetooth, but I only have the cheapest minutes plan and I really don't need a bluetooth headset like some might need for long work calls. The biggest plus is it doesn't look like those god-awful razor phones.

  • Pronounciation (Score:3, Funny)

    by AJWM ( 19027 ) on Monday January 29, 2007 @12:05PM (#17800442) Homepage
    (pronounced 'G-Z-One')

    That's "gee-zed-one", right?
  • You drop your phone in the toilet while it's flushing, as two people I know have done.
  • I have a mixed reaction to this phone. My first, upon reading the advertizing which is all I could access after the /.ing, was "Why doesn't Cingular offer a phone like this." (I am not an unbiased observer.) I work for Cingular and a day doesn't go by where I don't see a broken RAZR. Yesterday's was cleanly halved from (supposedly) a single drop. The only phone Cingular sells that in my experience qualifies as remotely durable is the Blackberry, and that does nothing for the "I want a phone that's just

  • Except the moron there can't type. I inserted the spaces in the ht tp part to keep from hotlinking.

    If the asshats at this website do not want slashdot's attention maybe they should have used a 404.

    wget ht tp://www.andybrain.com/extras/gzone-review.htm
    --15:15:59-- ht tp://www.andybrain.com/extras/gzone-review.htm
    Resolving www.andybrain.com... 64.141.135.25
    Connecting to www.andybrain.com|64.141.135.25|:80... connected.
    HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 302 Found
    Location: ht tp://www.slashdot.comextras/g

  • The real question is will it survive extreme cold. And will it survive sudden chilling or sudden heating.
    • It's survived our winter cold snaps here in Montana and then being brought into a warm home after being in 0 degree temps for hours is still working fine. The thing is tough, and you can feel it when you hold it.
  • i never really believed the stereotype about /.ers being womanless nerds until today.

    the guy straps a phone onto a vibrator, and not one comment.
  • Someone had to say it. Submitter, your daughter is adorable.
  • They're getting close...

    Will Verizon's next phone be called G'sPot?
  • Luckily I happen to have a copy of MIL-STD-810F right here. In practice you have to take these standards with a grain of salt, but some funny things come to light when you compare what the article/Verizon's claims are vs. what the standard prescribes. Also, it's likely that many existing "non-ruggedized" cellphones would pass these tests.

    Water Resistance (Method 506.4, procedure I). The writeup says the test was designed to simulate rainfall of 2 inches per hour with a 40 MPH wind. This is fine if you t

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