little things

i've had my new-new phone for about two months now. its a sony ericsson k310i. it came free with a low-cost (relatively) pre-post-paid cellphone line account. "pre-post-paid" you ask?

its like a pre-paid cellphone credit system, except that you pay at the end of a billing period; and instead of a line system of certain minutes free calls and a number of free texts, it has a fully consumable amount for either voice or sms. only after you exhaust that pre-paid amount do you get charged as a line would be for going over the limits.

...seems like a good deal so far.

now on to the "little things" bit.

this is my first sony ericsson phone, coming from a long line of nokias of various "trim levels". the k310i, is, unless i'm mistaken, based on the symbian series-60 platform (just like my late lamented 3230). however, somehow or other the s-e developers have been able to get a good deal of performace out of the platform - the interface is downright zippy compared to the nokia (even to 6030 i initially replaced the 3230 with).

its taken some getting used to, but thus far its been a pleasant experience.

little things i'm appreciating:

- the "return" key - the function of which is to basically exit a given menu level (e.g.: menu -> messaging -> inbox -> sms. each '->' is a level deeper.) the nokia phones have two ways out of a menu level: the "exit" soft key, or the "end call" key. the "exit" key has to be pressed once per level, the "end call" boots you out completely. on the k310i, the "return" key works both ways: you can press once per level or you can press and hold and are out completely. much more convenient, methinks.

- the shortcut for silent mode. on the keypad, its the "#" key. press and hold. et viola! silent mode. better than menu -> settings -> profiles -> silent -> activate (on the nokia).

still and all, its the early days with the phone.

i'm sure i'll get to the niggling bits in due course.