Just how bad are the Brits at managing 0.5 inches of snow? from Mobile Industry Review on Vimeo.

Yes, it’s a poor chap trying, hope-against-hope, to get his van up a slight hill outside my place in 0.5 inches of snow.

If you’ve ever dealt with decent amounts of snow (i.e. had to install snowchains on your massive 4×4), this should, I reckon, be entertaining to watch.

We simply can’t handle any kind of snow in the UK, much less in the lowlands.

But I’m pleased to have my mobile handy and the mobile technology available to be able to capture it.

Volker Konietzko writes:

“I have recently upgraded from Curve to Storm and the experience has been devastating so far, partly because of the immature firmware. As far as the clickable screen is concerned, I was expecting more (also in terms of quality of the components), but it is possible to get used to it. The clickable screen is surprisingly useful for navigating through lists and menus as every choice has to be confirmed by a click – no wrong menu selection by accident. But this is also the biggest drawback – it is effectively a 2 step process, touch and click, which makes fast typing absolutely impossible.

I was quite used to taking meeting notes with a Blackberry – that’s simply not an option with the Storm… It really needs an additional keyboard. Hope this helps.”

I’ve been trying to find a link but failing that, here’s the link to Mobile Monday London.

Now, I’ve not seen the Storm up-close-and-personal yet, other than admiring the Pocketlint chap’s one whilst we took a tour around the Nokia Test Lab recently. What’s your view on the Storm?

My Mum gets Carphone Warehouse letters in the post; and the other day I arrived home from School, seeking out any interesting post for myself, when I came across a little Christmas brochure. I expected to see the usual mix of non-interesting and far-fetched mobiles, which have very limited appeal to someone who is as indecisive as I.

Then I came across the LG Cookie.

I’m not an LG fan by any means, yes their phones are nice, and I have to say although I appreciate the minor attempts at creativity with their naming processes; previous experiences of LG’s have taught me that they’re not my cup of tea. Should I mention I’m not a fan of their interfaces, or just generally how they work and feel?

However, the Cookie did catch my eye! It looks nice, it’ll be a new experience, it’s a touch-screen (another learning curve), and also the ability to use an on screen QWERTY keyboard, and importantly its price.

I don’t know what to do.

Now this could just be a sporadic urge to go and spend money, and get something just because I’ve seen it, and I like the price; but then I think… LG. An interface I know I won’t like, and will struggle to get grips with, and I fear I’ll see all the flaws in my purchase just after I’ve broken that “unbreakable seal” on the box.

It’s hopeless! I do this with every wonderful find I come across, and I deliberate an item and a possible purchase so much that it either becomes outdated and therefore useless, or I decide I don’t like it although secretly still wanting it, or I’ll find something else to admire and want.

I know for one, I can’t be the only person who does this; and I know for one that it’s probably a good safety precaution my mind has implemented to stop such impulse buying – a trait I really try to avoid at all costs.

Now I wonder, why is it I find mobiles such as the Cookie, and previously before it the LG KS360 before that, and there was also a Sony mobile before that too; why is it I loose interest, and forget about it, and then find some other mobile-crush?

Could it just be that no matter how lovely one major aspect or feature of a phone is say, it’s price, a new built in gadget or a sleek, slender design; it really isn’t enough to make a mobile good, or at-least good enough to buy.

What I’m beginning to see is that mobiles tend to be about one major factor, be it its connectivity, a particular design focus, a built in application, the camera, the media, the price, or its “technological achievements”.  I don’t want just one particularly above average feature as reason to invest in a mobile; I want a device that has equally good features which aren’t just surfing above the acceptable quality in phone.

So my next mobile-crush won’t be on a weak whim, a spur-of-the moment encounter, it’ll be something which offers more than one better than alright feature, and something I won’t fall out of love with.

Feel free to e-mail me anything at Samantha@mobileindustryreview.com