A Little Bit of Knowledge

A little over three years ago I bought a new Samsung Galaxy Note II.  When I started looking I remember commenting that it was rather pricey, and the salesmen replied, "Well we're talking about the best phone on the market."  He wasn't wrong.  It was debatably the best.

I bought it online much cheaper, but with no warranty.  I liked it a lot, but I had to replace the headphone jack after only a few months.  But I could, and the part was cheap.  A year later other small problems arose, and the headphone jack was going out again.  Then I broke the screen.

I do computer support for a living.  It's phone support, often called software support.  People do call me about hardware, software, and usage issues.  I just don't solve hardware issues for I living, just diagnose them, and pass them on to technicians with physical access.

This is to say, I have a little knowledge about computer hardware.  I tried to fix it up again, and failed.  When I replaced it, I bought a used Iphone.  I thought the one thing I could trust Apple to do was to make a robust product.  Whatever else they did wrong, durability was something they had always done right by me.

Well, a year after I bought it the headphone jack broke.  I admit I do use the headphone jack on phones more than most.  But I have a little bit of knowledge, right?  I replaced it, and it worked.  Then I dropped it, and the screen broke.

But I learned a thing or two from my galaxy, a little bit of knowledge you might say.  Instead of replacing the screen, which is next to impossible without a heated vacuum tube, I was able to replace the whole digitizer assembly for $22.  Which worked fine for two days.  Then it started coming apart.  After talking it apart again to see what I did wrong, I saw that the place it was coming apart is not a place that is attached with screws.  It wasn't me, just a faulty digitizer.

Having taken my phone apart three times now, and never being able to put it back together exactly flush, it felt ruined.  I could have exchanged my screen in a few days, but I was done.  I did some research and found some good deals on the LG Stylo II for $170.  The crazy thing is, the Stylo II is very comparable to my Note II, which was top of the line just three years ago.  And I was able to pick this one up for a great deal, without a warranty.  I told you I have a little bit of knowledge.