Stupid phone

[shmokes]

So, I have a Blackberry Pearl.  I carry it in my pocket, so I always lock the keys so I don't pocket-call people.  Unfortunately when the pearl (the little trackball/button) is pressed it brings up an option to make an emergency call.  If the option is selected and the pearl gets pressed again it will call 911 even though the keys are still locked.

I've pocket-called 911 maybe 6-10 times over the last couple years.  Once it happened twice in one night.  It's incredibly irritating.  I think the emergency call feature is a good idea, but for god's sake why tie it to the Pearl navigation?  Why not require something sensible like a series of key presses -- you know, like what is required to unlock the phone (press star and then the green phone button).  The whole point of that feature is so your phone doesn't become unlocked inadvertently.  Why not say, "Keypad is locked.  Press * [green button] to unlock, or dial 911 to place an emergency call."  Problem freaking solved!  It's such asinine design.

Normally when I pocket-call 911 an operator calls me back and asks if there is a problem and I apologize and that's that.  Tonight, though, the Miami-Dade police dept. called, identified themselves and then asked if I have any children.  I said I have a little girl and they asked if everything was alright.  I said, "Yeah, did you get a 911 call?  My stupid phone can call 911 from my pocket even when the keypad is locked." 

They said they were going to send the police to my place anyway just to be sure.  I was like, "Well . . . I'm not even there.  I'm on the road right now"  But they wanted to send someone anyway.  I had to call my wife and tell her that the cops were on their way over.  Then to make matters worse the cops went to my neighbor's door instead (duplex) and they said someone from my number called and asked the cops to come to their house.  So the neighbors called me in a panic (not recognizing the number) and asked why I had sent police to their house.  Needless to say, I told them that the police were supposed to go next door and that they weren't even supposed to go next door -- that the whole thing was an absurd mixup. 

LMAO.  The whole thing is so stupid it's hilarious.  But also pretty obnoxious.

edit: typos

[hypernova]

Get a new phone?  At some point, don't they start charging you for these false alarms?

I agree...it's a good idea, but bad execution.  Certainly you're not the only one who has this problem.

[shmokes]

What?  Of course I blame the phone.  It is designed in such a way that even when the keys are locked the phone has called 911 6-10 times (from my front pocket, FWIW).  You think a customer, who locked himself into a 2-year contract and paid a substantial sum of money for an otherwise excellent phone, should have to go out and buy a new phone (this time without the benefit of a contract subsidy)?  You think that's a reasonable solution to this problem.  Instead of, say, a firmware update from the company?  Don't be absurd.

[SavannahLion]

Heh... it used to be if you dialed 911 on my phone it actually locked the phone. Throws it into this sort of "emergency" mode that, I guess, enables the GPS(?) and prevents both incoming and outgoing calls unless they're from emergency personal. It took several minutes of panic through the manual to find how to get it out of that mode. Eventually ended up entering the service menu and disabling the complex "exit" sequence.

I get why they did it, but requiring the manual to get it out of the 911 mode is really not what I want or desire in any phone.

[Blanka]

Maybe you can load it with a European firmware. Then it dials 112. Not a big problem in the USA I guess?
They should do it like on most phones. That you can press 1-1-2 or 9-1-1 in that particular order when locked, so you need to press 3 buttons at least in the correct order.

[CheffoJeffo]

Let's see ...

• keep doing exactly same thing despite repeated occurences of the problem
• take no responsibility for the new occurences, even though you know that the same thing will happen
• blame the manufacturer

I wonder what shmokes wants to be when he grows up ....

 

PS -- get a sleeve, a holster, a new phone or learn to Google ...

Key Lock and Emergency Calls
The Pearl, like most phones includes a key lock feature so that you can put the phone in your pocket or purse without pressing buttons. However the Pearl includes an “Emergency Call” feature which can get activated while in your pocket or purse. This feature can be launched by the track ball which remains unlocked while in key lock mode. To avoid calling 911 from your pocket, don’t use the key lock feature. Instead use the standby mode by holding the mute button on top of the phone. This mode will put your phone to sleep and lock all keys and the track ball. It will save your battery life and you will still receive phone calls and message notifications. To bring your phone out of standby mode, simply press the mute button.

[Ginsu Victim]

Maybe you can load it with a European firmware. Then it dials 112. Not a big problem in the USA I guess?

112 is the number for Best Buy's Rape Squad.

You don't want them showing up 6 to 10 times.

Lame.

[ChadTower]

I used to work security in an office where some idiot would call 911 from a fax machine about 10 times a week.  No matter how many times we explained it to the woman... "THE FAXES DO NOT REQUIRE DIALING 9 TO GET AN OUTSIDE LINE... SO ON A FAX MACHINE IF YOU DIAL 9, THEN 1, THEN FOR SOME STUPID REASON ANOTHER 1, YOU HAVE CALLED 911 AND SET OF A COMPLEX CHAIN REACTION THAT COSTS THE COMPANY $700 EVERY SINGLE TIME."

BTW, I agree with everyone else, if you know it's a problem work around it.  Stop wasting public safety officials' time and blaming it on the phone.

[Kevin Mullins]

Google has also brought up mention of a particular holster specifically for this phone that automatically locks the keypad AND the trackball.

Me personally.... I don't agree with carrying a phone directly in the pocket anyways. Especially ones with large screens. Lord knows how many busted/scratched screens I've seen the rest of my family go through.

[shardian]

1-2 times, phone's fault. 6-10 times, user's fault.

want a new phone? Go to ebay and get another. You can sell yours to fund another.

Me? I'm still trying to figure out how a guy trying to scrape his way thru law school can afford the luxury of a blackberry and a data service contract. I know I sure can't. 

[ark_ader]

Well my answer to all of this is to buy a proper case for the blackberry.

I have the XDA Orbit, and a Body Glove and I must have had that phone saved 100s of times from drops and falls.  It has a strong clear plastic front that reduces accidental key presses.  I have to take it out of the case to use the touch screen on the phone.

Cost $20.00 from Sams Club.

Its the best $20 I have spent.

[Hoopz]

Its the best $20 I have spent.

Never bought a box of condoms and a six pack of PBR when in college?   

[ChadTower]

Never bought a box of condoms and a six pack of PBR when in college?   

Not for $20 he didn't!

[ark_ader]

Its the best $20 I have spent.

Never bought a box of condoms and a six pack of PBR when in college?   

Never, just a bottle of Jack and my G/F.  And she always bought the Jack. 

I looked on the site after I posted and figured their Perl Jackets are not what I was referring to.  This one is the business.

[Cakemeister]

This reminds me of the commercial where a man's butt makes a phone call to his wife/gf and she gets him a new phone, with a sarcastic "Yay", then his butt hangs up on her. Funny commercial.

[shmokes]

The phone has a design flaw.  Continuing to use the phone doesn't make it user error.  I'm using the phone AS INTENDED.  Continuing to use the phone doesn't say anything except that I'm continuing to use a flawed product.  The cons don't outweigh the pros for me.  If somebody points out the stupidity of the iPhone's lack of cut-and-paste (finally being addressed in the upcoming 3.0, btw) do you say, "User error.  If you wanted cut and paste you'd just go out and buy a different phone."  How retarded is that?  The main difference here is that the bad design decision I'm talking about isn't just a missing feature, but an honest to god design flaw.  I'm using the phone in a perfectly reasonable way -- in a way it was intended intended by the manufacturer to be used, and on a regular basis the ---smurfing--- thing calls 911 without me intending it to.  How can you say with a straight face that there's nothing wrong with that?

The Pearl's ---smurfing--- raison d'etre is its pocketability.  Otherwise a person would just get a full-sized Blackberry with a bigger screen and a full-sized keyboard.  I don't want to put my Pearl on my belt.  I got the pearl vs. a full-sizer specifically to keep in my pocket.  I also don't want to put my phone in standby.  I've started doing that, but now I can't use it as a watch or check the screen to see whether I have any new text messages or voicemails without taking it out of standby.   

This is so funny.  Y'all are just digging your heels in for the sake of arguing.  Whether or not I could obviate the problem by changing my own behavior doesn't magically make it not a problem.  Surely you wouldn't say that a poorly designed roof with eves that begin to sag is not poorly designed because after one or two of your eves began sagging you didn't go around and prop poles underneath them to give them added support.  Maybe there's an inconvenient solution to your problem, but that doesn't mean the eves weren't poorly designed.  Shrug.

BTW, I don't have a data contract on my phone.  The only thing I miss out on is an extremely crappy internet experience and push email.  I still get Blackberry's excellent calendar and the Pearl's perfect formfactor, awesome Suretype, qwerty keypad. 

edit: typos

[ChadTower]

While you're all up on that horse, consider that the consequences of the design flaw outweigh your personal convenience.  Police have better things to do than chase down a guy whose hardon called 911 on a cell in his pocket.  It's not like it called your grandma. 

[CheffoJeffo]

Did you even bother to try the tip that I passed along ... or are you just feeling all vitriolic today ?

Mrs. Cheffo has a Pearl, doesn't use a holster and has never dialed 911 by mistake .. apparently sometimes she does listen to my advice and keeps it in a sleeve, AS INTENDED.

And, yeah, if you wanted cut and paste and bought an iPhone, I would definitely call it user error. If I want to play Major Havoc, but bought a Black Widow cabinet, THAT would be user error.

A better analogy might be if I bought a WG G08 and it caught on fire, then it would user error because I KNOW that it is going to catch fire.

Duh!

[shmokes]

Did you even bother to try the tip that I passed along ... or are you just feeling all vitriolic today ?

Would you be referring to this tip?

I also don't want to put my phone in standby.  I've started doing that, but now I can't use it as a watch or check the screen to see whether I have any new text messages or voicemails without taking it out of standby.   

Mrs. shmokes also has a pearl and she also has never dialed 911 by mistake.  Like Mrs. Cheffo, however, she keeps her phone in her purse, not in her pocket, so I don't see how her experience relates to the issue I'm talking about.

And I think your analogies don't really work very well.  Obviously buying an iPhone for cut and paste would be user error.  That's not what I said.  I said that it was simply missing a feature that it should have -- that it was poor design.  I made a point of distinguishing it from the Pearl which has, "an honest to god design flaw."  Your Major Havoc/Black Widow analogy suffers from the same problem.  Buying a Major Havoc cab to play Black Widow would be user error.  Obviously.  Buying a Blackberry Pearl to carry in your pocket is not user error.  It's made for just such a purpose.  In one case you are absurdly trying to use a product for something it was not intended to be used for.  In the other you are using the product in the way it is intended to work, in the way it should work, and it's doing bad things.

I actually don't understand the monitor analogy.  I guess that this monitor has a reputation for catching fire?  Even so, you may have made an unwise choice, but that's not user error.  A monitor that bursts into flames when it's being used properly obviously has a design defect.  Please don't argue otherwise.

edit: spelling

[Kevin Mullins]

It's not like we're discounting your frustration over the calling 911 by mistake ordeal, it's just that there are preventative measures you can personally take.

First off..... they made it easy to dial 911 for a reason.
Heck, why do you think it's only three digits to begin with?
And if some phone manufacturer can make it even easier then all the better....... in case of an emergency.

Ok, so you don't want to wear it on your belt...... you want it "pocketable".....

http://www.blackberrysource.com/store/catalog.asp?item=3493

[shmokes]

While you're all up on that horse, consider that the consequences of the design flaw outweigh your personal convenience.  Police have better things to do than chase down a guy whose hardon called 911 on a cell in his pocket.  It's not like it called your grandma. 

Noted.  While you're all up on your high horse consider that Blackberry has sold hundreds of thousands (millions?) of Blackberry Pearls.  Why don't you take a look at what a google search of "blackberry pearl emergency calls" turns up.  Now multiply the numbers you gleen there by about 10,000 to arrive at approximately the number of people with this issue who don't post about it on the internet.

So go ahead and wax self-righteous on me, but if your concern is wasted emergency resources perhaps your ire is a bit misdirected.  You're missing the forest for a tree.  I think what you mean to say is, "Yeah, Jesus, that's a major design flaw.  Shmokes is right; Blackberry should spend about five minutes to write a firmware update to correct this issue for thousands of people using this phone.  In the meantime, shmokes, you ought to take measures to stop contributing to the problem."  

To which I might reply, "Yeah, agreed, as I stated earlier, I've started putting the stupid thing in standby mode.  How obnoxious, huh?"

[CCM]

I don't think the issue is whether the phone has a design flaw or not, the issue is your blatant disregard for wasting the time and resources of emergency services.

Surely you wouldn't say that a poorly designed roof with eves that begin to sag is not poorly designed because after one or two of your eves began sagging you didn't go around and prop poles underneath them to give them added support.  Maybe there's an inconvenient solution to your problem, but that doesn't mean the eves weren't poorly designed.  Shrug.

There's your problem right there... your house has eves instead of eaves!  How the hell is your house even standing..  

[CheffoJeffo]

shmokes, shmokes, shmokes ...

I don't think that anybody is arguing that there isn't a design flaw with the phone. If it could be really fixed with an OS upgrade, then it likely would have been.

The manufacturer's defect explains perhaps the first 3 or so times (for me, it would have been 1) that you have dialed 911 by mistake.

Every time after that, however, is pretty much due to you being a dumbass and/or having no regard for the fact that you *are* dialing 911 and consuming services best used for emergencies.

Perhaps, because the issue can be traced to a poor design, you feel that absolves you of responsibility. The fact that it inconveniences you to either use a sleeve (I never said that Mrs. Cheffo keeps her phone in her purse, did I?) or to put the phone in standby does not mean, to my mind, that you should willfully continue to do things that you *know* will have a particular outcome.

At what point in time does shmokes assume responsibility for what shmokes *knows* is going to happen when shmokes does certain things ?

To put it in terms that a lawyer might relate better to ... coffee is hot and cars move -- if you spill coffee on yourself while driving maybe you shouldn't be so quick to just blame McDonald's.

 

We can deal with the analogies another time ... they were a response to your "iPhone/how retarded is that" analogy ... and just about as relevant!

[ChadTower]

To which I might reply, "Yeah, agreed, as I stated earlier, I've started putting the stupid thing in standby mode.  How obnoxious, huh?"

I would have if you intended to do such a thing.  You lost credibility on that point when you said it has happened as many as ten times. 

Fool me once, shame on you... fool me twice, shame on me... fool me ten times and we start calling you a Shmoking Bush.

[shmokes]

It's not like we're discounting your frustration . . .

Um . . . are we reading the same thread?

I agree that there are measures that I can take.  They are all bad.  I don't want to keep my phone in a sleeve.  It's inconvenient.   It's not how I want to use the phone.  Not to mention that I shouldn't have to spend extra money to fix a design flaw.  

While I understand why it's easy to call 911, it can obviously be too easy.  We've been discussing a particular example of too easy.  I'm sure you can imagine an infinite number of other ways 911 dialing could be made too easy.  

[ChadTower]

It's not like we're discounting your frustration over the calling 911 by mistake ordeal

Erm, yes we are.  First time, sympathy, second time, well you should have learned your lesson... tenth time, we're into pending legislation making careless 911 calls a civil offense carrying a three digit fine.  Plus we taunt you.  A lot.

[CCM]

It's not like we're discounting your frustration . . .

Um . . . are we reading the same thread?

I agree that there are measures that I can take.  They are all bad.  I don't want to keep my phone in a sleeve.  It's inconvenient.   It's not how I want to use the phone.  Not to mention that I shouldn't have to spend extra money to fix a design flaw.  

While I understand why it's easy to call 911, it can obviously be too easy.  We've been discussing a particular example of too easy.  I'm sure you can imagine an infinite number of other ways 911 dialing could be made too easy.  

So you flat-out don't care about the multiple calls you've made to 911?  You could care less about the wasted time and resources?   Is that what you are saying?

[HaRuMaN]

Phones don't kill people, people kill people...

Wait, what was this all about? 

[shmokes]

I would have if you intended to do such a thing.  You lost credibility on that point when you said it has happened as many as ten times. 

Yeah . . . it's easy to sit in your armchair and call shots, but take reality into consideration for a second.  A #1, I said 6-10 times over a 2 year period.  That means at the very most we're talking about something that has happened 5 times in a year, but maybe it's only happened 3 times in a year.  Also consider that these things don't happen in a vacuum.  I've never been sitting down at a computer when it happens.  It calls when I'm out and about doing things.  911 calls back, but there's not a lot I can do.  I apologize but life continues happening.  I'm not still thinking about it hours later when I get home.  If I said that this was happening 52 times a year, yeah, it's happening once a week.  It's gonna get addressed.  But we're talking about something that rarely affects me.  It happens and then other ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- happens and I forget about it for months at a time until it happens again.  Gimme a break.  Get real.

[CheffoJeffo]

Plus we taunt you.  A lot.

 

[shmokes]

So you flat-out don't care about the multiple calls you've made to 911?  You could care less about the wasted time and resources?   Is that what you are saying?

Well . . . considering that I now put my phone in standby mode, rather than locking the keys, I guess my answer to your question should be obvious.  And yeah, standby sucks, but is a helluva lot better than using a sleeve or a holster, I think your characterization is a little unfair.

[CCM]

 



[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6cxNR9ML8k&feature=related[/youtube]

[ChadTower]

Rationalization is funny like that, isn't it?  

Did he really just say rarely affects me?

Basically it took the 911 dispatcher noticing that your number is tied to 9 false calls and send a unit to your family for you to care about your waste of resources.  You do realize you're flagged as a possible problem now, right, seeing as how someone has been calling 911 from your phone and you keep telling them it's nothing?

Plus I bet they call you a toolbag down at the station.  A really big sweaty one.

[shmokes]

pending legislation making careless 911 calls a civil offense carrying a three digit fine.  Plus we taunt you.  A lot.

That's the spirit!  Take care of the problem, one careless Blackberry user at a time.  We'll get those 911 resources back yet!  

[ChadTower]

pending legislation making careless 911 calls a civil offense carrying a three digit fine.  Plus we taunt you.  A lot.

That's the spirit!  Take care of the problem, one careless Blackberry user at a time.  We'll get those 911 resources back yet!  

Either that or a remote self destruct code known to the 911 operator.  "oh, this is a false call?  Sir, please put the phone down on the ground.  Now back off 5 steps.  Thank you."  <boom>

"911, what's your emergency?  Blew his leg off?  Wait, the process is ten steps?!"

[shmokes]

Did he really just say rarely affects me?

It affects me for about twenty seconds a pop three to five times per year.  So that's a grand total of 60 to 100 seconds of my life per year that is affected by this.  Perhaps you can suggest a more appropriate adverb.  Infrequently?  Hardly ever?  Doesn't often?  Seldom?  Almost never?  Do any of these work for you?

[ChadTower]

But it would have to affect him 46 more times a year for him to do anything about it, apparently.

Is there anyone fairly local to him?  I'm thinking you could probably mess with him 30-35 times a year before he did anything about it.   

[saint]

You are all silly buggers.

[CheffoJeffo]

Is there anyone fairly local to him? 

tommy ?

Too bad we already broke him.

[shmokes]

But it would have to affect him 46 more times a year for him to do anything about it, apparently.

Is there anyone fairly local to him?  I'm thinking you could probably mess with him 30-35 times a year before he did anything about it.   

We've already pretty clearly established that my threshold is 6-10 times in a two year period.