As you may recall, I’ve had to send my HTC Desire in for repair. Rather than doing a lengthy piece on the mostly satisfactory experience, I thought I’d summarize it into a comprehensive list of pros and cons.
Quick communication. Contact HTC through their support form and you’ll have your answer well within a working day. Of course, I can only vouch for their Dutch-speaking personnel, but they do a great job.
Totally free. Two of the buttons on my phone had become partly unresponsive. I was a little worried they’d write that off as normal wear and tear and charge me for the intervention. Instead, the whole thing was covered by my warranty, including door-to-door transport.
Collect logistics. Dynalogic, the logistics partner of repair company Dynafix, seem to have their act together. You get to pick a four-hour time slot, even at night. In my case, the guys actually came way early for some reason and, since I wasn’t home yet, left a polite note with their cellphone number in my mailbox.
Attention to detail. Phones are returned in a cute white cardboard box saying “I’m back!” Apart from the device, it also contains a HTC-branded microfiber cloth and a pen. I’m not sure what you’d need the latter for, but it’s a nice gesture and a really clever move.
Reliability. I’m about to list a couple of negative points, but that doesn’t mean HTC didn’t deliver. In the end, I got my device back within the projected three-week time window, repaired, tested, and without any damage. This whole thing could’ve gone a lot worse.
The Bad
Waiting. I was delighted to read that my phone had been repaired after just a few days. Unfortunately, it took a whole two weeks until I actually got it back. When I emailed them about it, they said this was partly due to the Summer holiday. Sorry, HTC, but you’re a multinational corporation whom I purchased high-end electronic equipment from. Summer holidays only matter to my local butcher.
Return logistics. Adding to that, I had basically no idea when my phone would be returned. In the end, they sent it back using DPD, and when I wasn’t home to accept the parcel—some of us have jobs to go to, you know—, the guy just delivered it at my neighbors’. I’m glad to have it back and all, but that’s still totally unacceptable.
Follow-up. To reply to an existing support ticket, you need to sign into a half-baked web app using your email address, serial number and ticket ID. Once signed in, you are presented with a horribly messy form and an unformatted list of messages. I guess they used an intern for this one.
Spelling and grammar. Their support staff can’t write for shit. Granted, this one’s a pet peeve of mine, but it’s important nonetheless.
Migration. This one’s more Android’s fault than HTC’s. When you send the device in, they obviously expect you to do a factory reset. I’d done a few before, so I already knew it’d be a pain to manually restore part of its configuration. While I backup all sorts of things in the cloud™ anyway, there’s a hell of a lot of tapping involved to get the UI back the way it was. Maybe there’s a sure-fire app that can create an exact snapshot of the phone’s state, but I haven’t found it yet.
I only play the keys, but if I ever take on a second instrument, it’ll probably be one which at least resembles a guitar: the mandolin perhaps, or even the sitar? Or maybe the bass, because that one doesn’t get nearly enough respect.
Just watch musical millipede Squarepusher hammering away at his in this live version of Hello Meow—especially from the awesome solo around the third minute. I mean, sure, the guy’s a living legend, but it just goes to show how sexy a bass guitar can be if deployed right—and if you have fingers of steel.
Next up is a song that makes me feel guilty. I’ll be honest: I have absolutely no idea which one to pick yet. It’ll come to me, I’m sure.
I’m moderately drunk, so now is probably a great time to get into episode twenty-six of the 30 Day Song Challenge. I can always delete it tomorrow.
Day 26: A Song that You Can Play on an Instrument
Break out the synths and drum machines, for those are my instruments of choice. Never having taken music lessons, I just dabble in electronic music, but obviously, there are still quite a few tunes I can play on the keys.
… And Milk Inc.’s Walk on Water was one of the first ones I learned to play well. Elephant in the room: I have a lot of respect for Regi’s early work. Sure, it may be “just” dance music, but few have managed to maintain such a high standard for an extended period of time. It takes a certain kind of genius.
Day twenty-seven will be all about a song I wish I could play. I presume that this also refers to said instrument rather than my sound system.
Indeed, it’s day twenty-five of the 30 Day Song Challenge. I’m returning to work tomorrow, so chances are I won’t be so regular with the last five episodes.
Day 25: A Song that Makes You Laugh
Seldom has there been a decade more laughable than the eighties. I’m allowed to say that, because it’s also when I myself was born. Hell, I’ll even throw in a song from my year of birth. Just remind me to go hide in a corner.
Hip hop can’t really be called hip hop without breakdancing. These Rock Steady Crew b-boys understood that all too well. Watch them bust some mad moves while you enjoy their smash hit (Hey You) The Rock Steady Crew and I hope you’ll see why the tune makes me laugh—and why I play it so often.
For episode twenty-six, I’ll be posting a song that I can play on an instrument. Apart from the spoons, I only play the synth, so you know what to expect.
Day 24: A Song that You Want to Play at Your Funeral
Unlike marriage, death is as yet unavoidable, so I won’t debate this one much. Nevertheless, I will say that, as an atheist, I don’t care what happens after I expire. If anyone decides to put on a service, let them bother with the music.
Regardless, if I had to choose a song which is both appealing to me and suitable for funerals, I’d dare to go with the Thrillseekers remix of Chicane’s astounding dance track Saltwater, off the album Behind the Sun. I very nearly went with something from the TRON: Legacy soundtrack by Daft Punk instead; they both deserve a mention for elevating the genre.
The subject of episode twenty-five in this series: a song that makes me laugh. I might turn that into “lol” so the younguns know what I’m talking about.
