I lost my phone

[gorilla]

Like the idiot I am I left my phone in a taxi and am unlikely to get it back - don't worry this isn't a sob story.

First up, this is a bit of a rambling post and I wasn't sure where to put it, but it covers many aspects so "general" seemed appropriate to me.

This is the first time I have ever lost a phone and am strangely relaxed about it. I blocked the sim, changed all my passwords and because I have been using google+ all my photos have been synced online, so I've only lost the phone.
I say only but I can replace the phone it's the data that is normally so important.
As an android user I have been experimenting with many ROMs which has led me to continually backup my data and look at using cloud based storage which eases the pain when performing wipes (recommended when installing custom ROMs).
So what have I learned? Firstly, don't leave your phone on the back seat of the taxi ;-)
Secondly make sure you are syncing your contacts - I use google as my main contact manager these days.
Third, regularly back up. If you have an iPhone make sure you sync it regularly with iTunes and Android users should be syncing their data to google. I know people with Android phones who do not know their google username and password. Madness. They use hotmail.
If you buy music or take photos on the handset make sure you back these up.

I'm a three customer and they dealt with my call very quickly. My sim was blocked within a few minutes of me calling them. I collected a new sim in store and it was activated within 24 hours. When I went to the store I expected to buy a new handset and was eyeing up the Galaxy S2, but the sales guy never even offered me anything or try and up sell my current 30 day contract. So I legged it over to Argos to buy the Orange San Francisco (AKA the ZTE Blade) which cost me £120 (including £10 topup).
Why the Blade? Cheap and cheerful handset that can be unlocked for free online, rooted and allows me to install a custom ROM.
After charging the handset I was up and running with an android handset running the latest version with about 10 - 15 minutes.
I unlocked it first, then I had a look to see what version of the Blade I had (a Gen 1) added the necessary files to root and install the custom ROM (see herehttp://android.modaco.com/topic/337798-gen1-to-gen2-tpt-upgrade/) I am running a CyanogenMod nightly build.

How do I like the blade? Well it's no Nexus S (my lost phone), but you know it's not that bad. In fact it's actually fairly decent. It has a nice form factor, being light and small and is fairly responsive. What I am having to get used to is the small screen. However, I can type really fast on the Blade, so perhaps the smaller screen makes typing easier.
I have no expectations about the device and it really will be a stop gap until I set my sights on newer hardware, but for anyone wanting to dip their toes into Android waters this would be a good choice.

I can see me making some decisions over the next few months. I've always been a phone geek, but I don't actually use a "phone" and I have an iPad now, which let's be honest is quite portable and much better than any phone. Yes it's apples and pears, but my point is that I do not need an all singing all dancing phone anymore.
Could I therefore be tempted to keep the blade for the next 12 months? I seriously doubt it, but the blade is a good phone and I would need to justify the cost of yet another phone.

And that is my story. When all is said and done, I feel like a numpty and will really miss the Nexus S, but that is what happens when you don't look after your property!

[hecatae]

So what phone did you lose? ( ah nexus s, hecatae will read twice in future)

I was sent a Galaxy S to test for issues last week, was running 2.2.1 Darky's rom, I very quickly got bored and installed GalaxySMTD CM7 Nightly 77 on it, immediate boost to Android 2.3.5 and I cant see any issues.

It's now running Nightly 80 from 07/08/2011 and will be sent back to the owner.

But the biggest shock for me is I went back to my ZTE Blade, now running CM7 Nightly 156 from today, and I prefer it over the more expensive handset. The Galaxy S capacitive buttons did nothing for me, the power button on the side and the volume buttons on the other side were also a non-starter, add a pretty useless centre key that only goes back to the homescreen and I was left wondering why.

The ZTE Skate has just been released, and I'm waiting for the kernel source so that it can be adapted to the Blade, so further power saving and optimisation can be achieved.

Android 2.3.5 introduces NFC enablement, so we will be seeing it on handsets like the LG Optimus Net P690, but even LG is unsure about NFC as they have also released the Optimus Net P692 without the NFC chip.

If anyone is thinking of getting the Orange Monte Carlo aka ZTE Skate, please be aware that the current version is 800mhz armv6 and ZTE have advised a 1ghz armv7 version will be released in November 2011.

In regards to your "will I keep the blade for 12 months?"

I'm nine months into my ZTE Blade ownership, and I have yet to find anything worth replacing it with

[Ben]

Ah, sorry for your loss :(

My recent iPhone theft was my first experience of it, too, and I was surprised at my calmness. I was under the impression that my life would end if I were to be parted from my iPhone even momentarily. As it happened, I plugged a new one into iTunes less than 24 hours later and, other than the fact it was now white (lol), it was as if nothing had ever happened.

iOS 5 will make that even more seamless.

Find my iPhone was just creepy, but I greatly appreciated remote wipe :)

Good luck with the Blade!

[gorilla]

Cheers guys.
I have this feeling that I shouldn't like the blade, but like hecatae I have a growing fondness of the handset. I will probably have two ongoing gripes with it.
1. the headphone port seems broken and this is something I would use a lot. (I hear a background hissing noise).
2. the camera. Until the Nexus S I was a very reluctant cam-phone user, but that changed with the surprisingly good camera on the Nexus S.

I'm running NB 156 as well. A quick question: on installing a CM nightly, do they always overwrite all existing user data?

[Hands0n]

Urk! Sorry for both of your losses. I have not been through the experience yet and am a bit OCD about the security of my handsets. Always have been!

Gorilla's advice is absolutely spot on though. With everything backed up to the cloud (Me.com or Google as appropriate) getting everything back is absolutely straightforward and simple. More so even with Android (believe it or not Ben :) ).

There are location apps available for Android that may make recovery easier. At the very least they will allow a remote wipe if you can get to a browser quick enough. There is an interesting article on Mobile Industry Review that suggests a few apps and services here -> http://www.mobileindustryreview.com/2011/08/can-you-locate-your-device-if-lost-sort-it-out-today.html

In general, it is all about doing stuff in advance. Setting up your smartphone security in anticipation of the worst, while hoping that it will never happen. At least, thats what my pet "OCD" tells me :D

NB: If like Gorilla you are too late and the phone is already lost it may still be locatable using Plan B from Lookout security. Touted as the only location app you install to your Android phone after you have lost it! See here https://market.android.com/details?id=com.lookout.labs.planb

NB (2): AndroidLost is another (free) solution for a phone already lost - but can be installed before too - See --> http://www.androidlost.com/#features

[hecatae]

Cheers guys.
I have this feeling that I shouldn't like the blade, but like hecatae I have a growing fondness of the handset. I will probably have two ongoing gripes with it.
1. the headphone port seems broken and this is something I would use a lot. (I hear a background hissing noise).
2. the camera. Until the Nexus S I was a very reluctant cam-phone user, but that changed with the surprisingly good camera on the Nexus S.

I'm running NB 156 as well. A quick question: on installing a CM nightly, do they always overwrite all existing user data?

what headset are you using, the included kit is utter crap
the 3.2mp camera is still using froyo libs, an official gingerbread build is due in september, so there will be an update then, plus a 2.6.35 kernel. There is a 5mp blade, which used the same camera sensor as the Dell Streak, I have asked www.cnn.cn if they can find stock.

CM Nightlies always wipe user data, though unless the new nightly build includes actual Blade fixes there is no reason to update. Nightly 157 contains no blade fixes, so you could stay on build 156 if you are happy with it.

I use http://review.cyanogenmod.com to see what new fixes are being merged or considered

[gorilla]

Thanks for that. I've discovered that some of the podcasts I downloaded had audio issues - I am using Shure EC2 headphones.
I'll keep an eye on that NB review site.