Back from a lo-o-o-ng road trip thru the heartland of America where my (circa 2010) semi-smart phone (“donated” to me by one of my kids 2 yrs ago) died on me. I ended up visiting an AT&T store on 9/2 where I purchased a Galaxy S7 Active with 6 buttons which I can feel while I’m driving and with an industrial-grade textured gold metal back which is supposed to be dustproof and waterproof (haven’t yet had a chance to validate these claims). So far, so good, but I may need to “reprogram” one or more of the actual buttons (3 on the sides and 3 on the bottom) because they cause my phone to go silent and other (undesired) effects when accidentally hit. This phone is so incredible and I have a LOT to learn about it. It has a faster computer in it than my two desktop computers which I use all day every day!
The AT&T corporate store I visited while traveling gave me a break because I was a transfer into them from Cingular back in the day and I had not been under contract with them for nearly 10 years so they waived the activation fee and gave me 3 GB data per month for free (of which I have used very little so far). My monthly bill will not increase at all to operate this phone except for the interest-free $26 month to pay for this (expensive) phone (which I am free to pay off any time). It is big and bright and I can see it in the direct sun … even in high-altitude states such as CO where there is no cloud cover!
I didn’t have any problem whatsoever with it recognizing my Jabra bluetooth earpiece. It found it right away.
I’m very happy with my new phone so far and did not realize what I was missing while using multiple used phones over the years (from “donations” from relatives and ebay phone purchases) for which the updating was soon to be or already expired. My phone which recently died took 1.5 to 2 minutes to load one web page and was often unsuccessful! I believe my new phone was introduced on or about 5/1/16.
The Galaxy S7 Android a great phone but can be a bit complicated to learn for a phone-technophobe type like myself. I did not want an iphone because I needed a heavy-duty case with buttons I can feel and the ability to add to its 32 mb memory at a later date. I’m hoping to keep my new phone for a very long time.
I plan on ordering a (~$5) “glass” screen cover for it tomorrow (AT&T wanted $35 for it and retail stores do not yet carry it – it has a cutout for the front 3 buttons which differentiate it from other Galaxy S7 screen covers).
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btw, my 22+ year-old car ran like a top and floated like a boat for the entire trip. Double and triple tractor trailer drivers were my friends! Total trip mileage was 4422. “V-rated” tires are the bomb!!
