The Saga of GB's Telephone

[Gaybutton]

I finally broke down and bought a new mobile phone. I finally decided the time has come to retire the phone I've been using for about the last seven years and get myself well into the 21st century. I wanted a phone with good internet capability. I bought a Samsung Android phone - their Galaxy Cooper model. The reason I went for that one is because RichLB had been telling me his boyfriend has one and is very pleased with it. I asked where he bought it. He said he bought it at Lotus, not Tuk Com, because at Tuk Com you never know if you're getting the genuine article or a counterfeit.

So, off I went to the Sukhumvit Tesco-Lotus. There was the phone - on display with all the others. They wanted 9900 baht for it. I called the salesman over and told him I want that phone. Next thing I knew, he disappeared. A few minutes later he returned and told me to go to the service desk. When I got there, the guy behind the counter said, "You want Samsung?" I said yes. He produced four different Samsungs, none of which were the model I asked for, but all of which were much more expensive. I said, "Why are you showing me these? You already know the one I want."

"No have," was his reply.

"What do you mean, 'No have'? It's on your display."

"No have," he repeated.

I wasn't about to spend thousands of baht more, so I bid him a fond farewell. In that same Lotus, there's another phone shop near the cashiers. I went over and there was the phone I wanted on display. I said I want it. "No have." the guy said. Ok, bye bye.

In one of the shops outside, there is a Telewiz. I went in there and there was the phone in their display case. I told the salesgirl I want one of those. 'No have."

Totally frustrated, I left and went over to the Sukhumvit Big-C. When I looked at their display, there was the phone. Their price was 8900 baht - a thousand baht less expensive than the Lotus price. Great! I told the salesman I want that phone. Can you guess what he said?

"No have."

Now I was totally frustrated. "What's the matter with everybody? Why do you people put a phone on display if you don't have it?"

Of course, I got no answer - just that sheepish Thai smile. The term "bait and switch" entered my mind, except nobody was baiting. I wasn't responding to any ads. I was simply trying to find the phone I wanted.

On the way out of Big-C, I spotted yet another phone shop, right next door to the DTAC shop. The phone was on display there too, at the 8900 baht price. When the salesgirl came over, I said, "That's the phone I want. Please don't tell me 'No have.'"

"Have," she said. "But only color white."

I said, "I don't care if it's orange with purple polka dots. I'll take it."

Finally, I got my phone! The girl spoke very good English and got the phone all set up for me, using my DTAC SIM card. Then she said I should go next door to the DTAC shop and arrange for internet service. I told her I was able to access the internet on my old phone using the same SIM card. She said yes, but it's very expensive to do it that way and I would be much better off to get one of DTAC's package deals. That's what I did. I took their top package - 400 baht a month for unlimited service.

I had no idea about all the features these phones have. Until now, I thought the purpose of a telephone is to talk to someone who isn't there in the same place you are.

You know how sometimes when you get something new, you don't know how you ever lived without it? That's how I feel about my new phone. Meanwhile, I've been trying to get everything figured out. I didn't even know what an app is. Of course, the phone comes only with a small "quick start" guide - no manual. I downloaded the manual from the internet, but the manual is practically useless and assumes a lot of prior knowledge, which I don't have.

Fortunately, a close friend has one of these Android phones and he knows quite a bit. I went over to his place and he gave me lessons and showed me features I never would have imagined. There's probably plenty more I don't know yet too. But now I have a much better understanding of why so many Thai boys always seem to be constantly engrossed in their mobile phones.

I've downloaded several apps that are very helpful to me. I'm overwhelmed by all this, but it's all probably old news to many of you.

One of the things I'm trying to do is figure out how to get the phone's GPS to save and store waypoints. So far, all I know how to do it tap the screen at a destination or input a destination stored on Google Maps, but what I really want to do is get the waypoints I already have stored on my standard GPS into my phone, and I have no idea how to do it. I have all the waypoints stored on Google Earth. I managed to figure out to save those waypoints on my computer as a KML file and load them into Google Maps. But so far I haven't been able to figure out how to get them from the file on my computer into the phone and then save them once they're in. If any of you know how to do it, HELP!!!

I wanted to download the Google Earth app. When I tried a message popped up saying the download is not allowed in Thailand. No problem, though. I called my friend and he said he has an idea. He's got a SIM card from the USA and he put it into his phone. Apparently that makes the phone think it's in the USA and he downloaded Google Earth with no problems. When he put his Thai SIM card back into his phone, Google Earth worked perfectly. So, when I get a chance, I'll go back to his place and do the same thing.

So, that's the saga of me and my phone. It's fun having a new toy. Now all I have to do is figure out everything about how to use it.

[Captain Kirk]

Aha. I'm much the same with todays technology GB. I guess it's a case of "don't care, don't need it" until of course needs must. When I first landed here in the summer, if someone was meeting me on the beach and asked how to find me I'd tell them "it's easy, just look for the only person with a Sony walkman.
Alas my trusty old walkman has bitten the dust and I now own something called 'an ipod'. There's me thinking I'm finally with the in crowd only to be told nobody uses them much nowadays. Nothing like technology for making you feel old.

[bao-bao]

Nothing like technology for making you feel old.

No kidding. It used to be you caught someone's eye who you thought was attractive, kept walking and then stopped to look back to see if they were looking at you as if interested. Now people fire up some app called "Grindr" on their phone and just follow the dots.

I feel for you, Gaybutton - for the first week or so I felt like my Smart Phone was smarter than I was. After a year I've still only added two or three apps (I don't really need my phone to display how much change I have in my pocket) but I do like the GPS helping direct me if I'm driving someplace new. Street signage in California can be sadly lacking.

[Gaybutton]

To continue the saga, I did manage to figure out how to get the waypoints stored into the phone.

Google Earth was a slightly different story. When I went to my friend's house we switched out the SIM cards and opened the Android Market on the phone. No Google Earth. It was nowhere to be seen. We then tried opening the Android Market via his computer. There it was - Google Earth. That's not the first app I encountered that doesn't show up on the Android Market via the telephone, but does show up via computer. I can't figure out that one at all.

Then came the unpleasant surprise. Despite the fact I now had the same SIM card he used in an almost identical Android phone, when we tried to download Google Earth, instead of a message popping up telling us it can't be downloaded in Thailand, a message popped up telling us it's incompatible with my device.

Huh? What? We both have the same operating system, but his is a different model Samsung Galaxy. Despite that, neither of us could make sense out of that at all. Unless we can figure out a way around that, no Google Earth for my phone. Oh well, Google Maps works and the waypoints are in, so I guess all is almost well with the world . . .

[gottchakhrap]

Ohhhhhhhhhh dear. The trap was set and you took the bait. Glad you got a phone,
and hope the color wears well.
My buddy rags on me all the time to get a new phone..to "move into the 21st
centuray" as he puts it. My phone is a two-year old Nokia - simple, easy and no frills.
But it does what I need it to do. I can call out, and I can recieve calls. As far as I'm
concerned, that's what phones are for.
Good luck!

[Gaybutton]

I can call out, and I can recieve calls. As far as I'm
concerned, that's what phones are for.

That's what I thought too until I got my new toy. It does so much and has so many features that I'll be using frequently, I'm glad I bought it. I'm sure it will be obsolete in about a year, though.

My old phone makes a nice paperweight now. I thought about giving it to one of the boys if they have no phone, but I think that would be resented more than appreciated. They may not have a pot to piss in, but they always want top-of-the-line, state of the art phones - and the more expensive it is, the better. I've seen many of the boys carrying around expensive phones, but don't have money enough to top it up by even as little as 50 baht.

[Alex]

I thought about giving it to one of the boys if they have no phone, but I think that would be resented more than appreciated. They may not have a pot to piss in, but they always want top-of-the-line, state of the art phones - and the more expensive it is, the better. I've seen many of the boys carrying around expensive phones, but don't have money enough to top it up by even as little as 50 baht.

My observation exactly, and even after so many years, it never fails to puzzle me!

Have fun with your new toy!

[Gaybutton]

Have fun with your new toy!

Merci. And I'm definitely having fun with one little discovery I didn't know about. Gay Romeo has a link especially for mobile phones. The photos, profiles, and the whole thing comes up in very good size and easy to read. Excellent. Now I can have a look at Gay Romeo from anywhere.

I'm learning new things every day. Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?

[Alex]

Gay Romeo has a link especially for mobile phones. The photos, profiles, and the whole thing comes up in very good size and easy to read. Excellent. Now I can have a look at Gay Romeo from anywhere.

Right. There's actually two URLs for mobile phones, http://m.planetromeo.com/ and http://touch.planetromeo.com/, the latter being optimized for mobile phones with touch screens, having bigger buttons. You might have also noticed their "Radar" feature, which reminds of Grindr, but finding users who are nearby by using their GPS coordinates still seems to be under development.

[Gaybutton]

There's actually two URLs for mobile phones

I tried both. On my phone, the "touch" URL results in the best of the two screens.