The New Phone of 666

My new toy is a Motorola V265.

It replaces a Motorola V120e, which I got for, well, free when we signed up with Verizon.

I got it for a few reasons.
1. It was free (for the most part).
2. It took all my old accessories. More specifically, my headset, chargers, and most importantly, data cable.
3. It is supposed to get better reception than my old phone, which was actually pretty good.

The only thing I knew I was going to lose on my new phone was battery life. The Old Phone of 666 had fucking legendary battery life. An anecdote: when I was at the National Punishment, erm, Training Center at Fort Irwin two years ago, I was out in the box. I was able to receive an analog signal in the Verizon extended network, meaning I wasn't getting charged for airtime to call Maura's bat-phone (since it was on the same share plan). In three days in the box I could count on three calls, all about a half hour long, transmitting in analog mode. I did switch the phone off, but the battery was that good. No shit. No charging in the meantime. For what I paid, that phone was the muthafuckin' heat! Added in with 1XRTT capability, I was averaging data rates in excess of 120Kbps while on the road in scenic Charm City.

So...there were a few non-negotiables.

1. Had to have tri-mode. I almost never use 800 MHz analog, but when I do, it pays off big time. I found I spent quite a bit of time in 800 MHz digital based on places I went.
2. Had to have 1XRTT connectivity. My fat ass will be in Pennsylvania for a large chunk of this summer and the place I'm staying probably won't have broadband.
3. Had to be compatible with our existing set of chargers and headsets. Headsets, not a big deal since they're all using 2.5mm plugs. The chargers were a little more problematic, but as it turns out, Motorola has largely standardized it, so staying Motorola had some benefits.

A couple of added functionalities I got with the V265.

1. Speaker phone. Not sure how much I'll actually use it, but who knows?
2. Camera. Not sure how much I'll actually use it, but it's actually been useful once.
3. Polyphonic ringer. I could sit down and program the Imperial March into the New 666, but I have every intent of uploading it in MP3 format when I get around to it. Or Mike Oldfield's opening from Tubular Bells. Or something equally satanic and antisocial.

It's too early to see what to think of the battery life for now. On a more encouraging sign, I'm getting about 115Kbps from the phone where the Old 666 could only eke out maybe 35-40Kbps on even a good day. Data reception like that only bodes well for voice...

Now I have to think of how I intend to trick out the New Phone of 666.