Red dot bad, green dot good.

I was so proud of my new Motorola L6 Razor when I purchased it last spring. Quad band GSM, 850/900/1800/1900 frequency range, unlocked (could be used with any cellular carrier worldwide), and it was fairly cheap. I found it at one of the Ebay stores that sells electronics from the back of a truck down by the docks.

There are lots of things that don't go together... you know, dogs & cats, oil & water, microsoft & apple... Two of the most important things that do not go together are electronics and water. An unplanned swim while canoeing with the phone in my pocket (the phone was turned on) rendered me cellphoneless.

Being too cheap to purchase another phone, and curious about what was inside, I got out my Torx drivers and disassembled the sucker. The dashboard of my car provided the right amount of heat and sunshine to dry out all the parts. After reassembly it worked! Well, it kind of worked. More dropped calls, sketchy audio, and the screen wasn't what it used to be. I took it into Cingular to see what could be done. They popped the battery out and said, "this phone got wet." Busted. How did they know you ask? The telltale red dot sticker affixed to the chassis of the phone under the battery. Apparently it goes from green to red when it gets wet. Beware. Maybe I'll start an Ebay business that sells new stickers...

Stay tuned for a posting on my new phone. I'm in love again! (until it gets wet, run over, eaten by my dog, or I find something else)

JG