My Tryst with the Google Nexus One

It was a chilly winter day, I was rocking my Sony Ericsson K660i phone. It was an awesome phone. It had Google maps!! (..in 2009, well that was a great feature.) I had done loads of research on what I wanted and it had it ALL and was OUT of production!! So I shopped around and found only one piece in my search. I bought it without hesitation. And then this chilly winter day, the phone died, it did not respond to anything I did. I was heart broken, I felt betrayed. How can this sweet phone do this to me??!! Then I decided that I needed a new phone.

And lo and behold, this happened just the day Google announced the Nexus One. The first phone Google was going to sell, all by itself (turned out to be a crappy decision that) at www.google.com/phone. How awesome is that!!!

It could not be bought from anywhere in the world except US, UK, Hong Kong and Singapore. I have lots of relatives in US so I called my brother-in-law and made him buy the phone for me. Date of Purchase: Jan 7, 2010. And then the wait started, not many people my BiL knew, were coming to India. I waited so much!!

Thankfully I got it pretty early, maybe a week or two later. And thus started my tryst with the Google Nexus One. And through the N1, my love for all things Android started.

The Sony Ericsson K660i is still functional, my wife uses it daily. She was praising it just today of how awesome a purchase it was by me. Actually that chilly winter day, the phone had run out of battery because I forgot to charge it. Well, that was one mistake I am not going to regret.

Calling and Listening

I have been assigned a few companies to call and find out if they would like to take up the services of our company.

Cold-calling is an art. I am new to this. I will get better Inshallah, but what I want to tell you is, it is a weird experience.

You encounter a few really nice souls, who guide you to whom you want to speak and then there are those gate-keeper devils who stand like a menacing dragon and seldom let you pass.

One such instance, I started off saying to the receptionist that we specialize in SAP and she asked me what SAP stood for - I told her, she wasn't in any mood to let me through when I asked her for the IT manager. She even challenged me that she is the IT manager and that I should talk to her. She even said, "I have all the software, I will sell you, tell me what you want!!" I just could not go anywhere from there.. I was thinking, she doesn't even know the expansion of SAP and is selling me software!!

She cut the phone. And I put "Receptionist acting up!!" in my comments to my manager.

A few others, simply guide you to the concerned person, even as far as giving the mobile number of the fellow.

The database I am working with has a few CEO/GM numbers...that means I call the CEO and ask him to "Can you connect me to the IT manager please??"

It is amazing to listen his tone of voice. Some are exasperated, some state in a matter of fact tone that I should call the general number and even give me the number.

One General manager even gave me the IT manager's number. It is great fun.

Then there are the different hold tunes that I get to hear. Man, it can get irritating sometimes.

Various hold tunes I've heard

• Mario game music
• Various Mozart Symphony
• Company Anthems
• Religious Songs and works

Then there are different types of Recorded Voice messages about four or five of them

And last but not the least, the ring tones.. though it is the normal "ring ring" ring tone, there are even variations in that. Some sound like a helicopter under water some sound very pleasing to the ear.. (makes me wanna sleep) and various other types.

Well. It is indeed fun to talk on phone.. What have your experiences been in calling many people in short spans of time?