New Verizon Phone?

So, I've had many issues with my cell phone, the LG Dare. It was still under warranty, so after a combination of begging and pleading, they agreed to let me change to something else (I did have to trade it in twice to be eligible for the "upgrade.") I got the story that they didn't have the phone in the store, and would have to ship it to me. I explained how vital the phone is to me, and they promised to overnight it. Just for the record, why do I think with cash in hand and a new contract they would have handed me something on the spot... just sayin'.

That was last Saturday. The actual phone took till Wednesday to arrive, with a charger in a separate box. It was yet another refurb, but at least it was something they still sold, as the LG has long been retired. I had accepted that I would not be getting a car charger or case, both of which I had for the LG, but hey, I can take the hit on those to get a phone that works. Unfortunately, they did not include the battery, so I was still dead in the water.

It took till Friday to get my battery to the house, and a call to the Verizon store. On Friday, I got the battery finally. However, three boxes in total, and you may notice something missing from the image I included. You can't make this up.... anyone, anyone.... you got it, there is no back to the phone. Reportedly, it is on backorder. So, now guess who has to go to work this week with a taped together phone?

C'mon Verizon, "Big Red" can do better than this. Oh, and by the way, the phone swap out, even midcontract, requires that the plan be "upgraded" to include $9.95 data plan for 25 megs monthly. We'll see if and when the back to this thing actually arrives.

Jonas

Three Strikes & You're Out...

Maybe it is just me, but I seem to have no luck when it comes to cellphones. After enduring with T-Mobile for far too long, I have to admit that Verizon is not a heck of a lot different.

My current phone is the LG Dare. I've dared to be different, and have to admit defeat. The Dare is a pure touchscreen phone. I have had many problems with it, including unable to unlock the phone, and dialing on its own in a pocket (you wouldn't think one phone could have both problems, but it does).

On top of that, the voice quality is quite lousy. I can generally hear folks, but they can't hear me too often. At times, I felt like I was in one of those Verizon commercials, but they couldn't hear me now! Not good.

Also, despite only a few calls, there are times that I can't make it through 24 hours without charging the phone. This despite supposedly new batteries being swapped in at the store.

Add in stupid menus that make no sense, and that this phone is no longer being sold, and I only got it late summer, and I am most disatisfied. Oh, and don't forget the frequent dropped calls that drove everyone crazy.

I've been to the store a few times before. The first time they changed out the battery, but nothing changed. The last few times they swapped out the phone. While I appreciate the effort, my phone originally had 30 hours on the timer. While they told me these were high quality refurbs, they were worn out and both had over 100 hours on the timer before we started. Why they would work better is beyond me.

Before we got to the end of the 12 month warranty, I wanted to get changed to a different model. Anything else in fact, as long as it didn't say LG on it!

So today I was in the "Big Red" store. I presented my list of complaints. Of course they tried to give me another Dare. I asked nicely if we could try something else. They steered me towards another LG, the Chocolate Touch. While it looked better, I held my ground, and asked for something else. After some open air market negotitations, I was offered a Samsung Rogue. I grabbed at it.

Unfortunately, for some reason, they didn't have one to give me. Why do I think with a new contract one was available in the back? At any rate, they promised to ship me one this week as a swap.

I am glad to dump LG. For the record, the camera on the LG worked well, even if nothing else did. Here's to going Rogue...

Jonas

The Ipad Feature I Want

I've spent some time thinking about the iPad from Apple. In the nutshell, it is an overgrown iPod Touch, and is hampered, at least for now with its smartphone OS. Apparently, it is a pain in the butt to do any real typing on with the touchscreen keyboard. It would be an ok product for half the price, but at $500 to start, I think only the Apple faithful will embrace the thing.

However, there is one "feature" that I would love to have. That is the 3G, at that price. While wireless 3G, from any of the carriers runs $60 a month for the "unlimited" 5 gigs plan, how can the iPad offer it at $30? While I can't justify $60 each month for the time away from the computer, at half that it becomes a far more tempting offer. On top of that, the 250 mb plan of $14.99 a month, might be just what this digital doc needs.

Unfortunately, there is no word if any other 3G gadgets will get that type of pricing. I hope they do, as we shouldn't have to pay the "Apple Tax" to get a fair price on a wireless 3G plan for those of us that don't have access to WiFi 24/7.

Jonas

Verizon LG VX8360

I've gotta love the Verizon sales strategies. Since the summer I've had the Verizon LG VX8360 around the house. It is a traditional flip phone, which is quite boring by today's smartphone standards. However, not everyone wants mobile data on the move.

There is a major problem with this phone however. Even after reading reviews of it, I got stuck with one. When the phone is powered off, the battery drains. If left off overnight, the battery will go from fully charged to one or two bars.... totally unacceptable. In some other industries, they might recall the product, and make it right. Not so in the world of cellphones!

On my first trip to the Verizon store to complain, they claimed major ignorance on the issue. I told them that it was well documented on both the LG and Verizon forums. I was told they had never heard of this; it must be me. I did mange them to swap out the battery, but it did not change anything, and the problem persisted.

On another trip to the store, for the same problem, they did offer to swap out the phone... for a refurb. As mine is in pristine condition, I hesitated, and declined. Probably a mistake in retrospect, but my workaround was to keep the phone on all the time. Does this sound like the way things should work from "Big Red?"

Today, I was back at the store once again. This time they didn't disagree with me, and offered another refurb of the same lousy phone. This time I took it as even with being on, the phone went from 4 bars of battery to dead overnight. I also got a new battery out of them.

We will see if the problem persists, but all signs point to that it will. I think they just hope you get bored with the process, and get beyond the one year guarantee on a 2 year contract. I can just hear it coming next summer "You're not due for a new phone yet, but this one is not working...."

Stay tuned! I have already decided that if this how LG stands behind their products, I'm not buying their junk again.

Jonas

Netbook No

Ever get the feeling you are not supposed to buy something...? I'm feeling that way about a netbook.

I had decided that if I found a good deal on a netbook, I would splurge on it. My budget was less than $250, and with the sales I did not think this was gonna be that hard.

First was the NewEgg deal on Black Friday. They had an Acer Aspire AOD250 for $190. Unfortunately, everyone else tried to get it, and they probably had like 3. NewEgg's servers crashed, and while the item was in my cart, the sale got canceled. Hey, not everything works out.

Undaunted, a few days later, I found a Compaq at Best Buy. This time it was going for $180, but it was a 3 cell. Still, at that price I couldn't pass, but it had to be picked up at a local store. The next day, all 5 Best Buys in my area were out of them. Ok, I figure I will keep looking online.

This last week, I found an Asus 1005HA refurb at B&H Photo. It was going for $260 with the shipping and tax, but I figured I needed to expand the budget a little bit. Besides, it was blue. I am not sure, why, but I would like a blue netbook, and this one met that requirement. I ordered it, and I have not dealt with B&H before, but I figured they have been around. Two days later, I am checking on my order to track the package, and literally simultaneously, they are calling me. They tell me that while the item was on the site, they have nothing to ship me. They offer me free shipping on something else, but I doubt anyone will remember by the time I would order anything. Somehow, I wasn't shocked by this phone call.

At this point, I can purchase the netbook, but it was cost closer to $300. At that price point, I will just wait for CES. The N450 Atom chip promises a smidge more performance, and even lower overall power consumption. And who knows if Tegra is coming out for real this time in a smartbook.

At any rate, when these same retailers complain that sales are down, perhaps they should look at their own practices and not wonder why...

Jonas