I avoided the iPhone for a long time. In part out of principle (I’m not one to join the crowd), and AT&T crap network; but also because when I did try them in stores I just wasn’t that impressed.
Archive for the ‘Verizon Wireless’
Now that I have given you an overview of the past year it is only fitting that I share some of my cellular industry predictions for the coming year and beyond. I’m not an industry insider (I WISH!) and these are my own conjecture based upon my own views and info I have gleaned from the cellular phone blogs. This article will focus on the US but make some observations on worldwide issues as well.
The year 2009 is about to come to an end, and what a banner year it has been for cel phones in general and especially BlackBerries.
Android, a fledgling upstart OS has come into it’s own, expanding the handset and carrier selection, as well as making the OS a lot more user friendly. Palm came out of obscurity with the new WebOS device operating system (too bad the hardware is so cheap, and they are on a dead end carrier). Apple iPhone finally got MMS and push notifications so they can at least pretend like they are multitasking.
And then there is RIM. Ah RIM, everyone’s favorite whipping boy it seems. RIM has had the most promising year of all, though critics are reluctant to admit it.
A year ago the two devices to have were the Bold 9000 on GSM carriers, and Storm 9530 on CDMA carriers.
I’ve been using the Storm2 for a couple weeks now and have gotten the hang of the device and have it customized to my usage patterns and thought I should take a few minutes to go over my impressions thus far.
As a whole I really like the Storm2!
Yeah I know these are kinda lame but I couldn’t resist 
Besides I needed to give you something else to tide you over until my more detailed review comes out.
THE PACKAGING:
At first glance the box that the Storm2 comes in is of the exact same design as the Storm1, only smaller. The boxes are identical in design except for the picture of the phone on the front and back and the phone information. The Storm2 box feels a tad heavier because there is actually the same amount of stuff in the smaller box, and the phone itself is a tad heavier than it’s predecessor. This is a very nice stylish design, but the package isn’t really what matters, it’s what’s inside.
THE CONTENTS
The following items are what you can expect in the Verizon BlackBerry Tour box:
- BlackBerry 9650 Storm2 Smartphone with preloaded VZW/Vodaphone SIM for global roaming and 16GB MucroSD memory card
- MicroUSB USB cable to connect your Storm to your PC
- International Charger with MicroUSB end and various wall outlet plugs appropriate for whatever you may wish to travel to worldwide
- Stereo Headphones/Hands Free Kit
- Tips Hints and Shortcuts book
- Safety and Product Information booklet
- Blackberry User Tools CD — with Desktop Manager 5.0
- VCast Music With Rhapsody CD
- Slip of paper telling you where to go download VZAccesManager should you wish to tether with your BlackBerry Storm2 (separate fees apply)
- Global Support Guide with a Global Support calling card
- Consumer Information About Radio Frequency Emissions and Responsible Driving
For the most part this is what you expect from a BlackBerry Smartphone. Traditionally this lost would also include a BlackBerry swivel holster, but like the first Storm this was omitted. With the Storm they gave you an 8GB memory card instead of the holster but with the Storm2 they doubled that. The Tour came with a BlackBerry swivel holster so I was hoping the Storm2 did as well but unfortunately it didn’t. The larger memory card more than makes up for it though. Previous Verizon BB’s came with the holster but no memory card. The only other BB I’ve seen that came with a memory card was the T-Mobile BlackBerry 8900 Curve, but that was a measly 256 MB.
Previous “Global” Phones (BB 8830, BB Storm, BB Bold) have all come wit the same international charger, and all BB’s come with the appropriate USB cable. Only the Storm and Bold have come with the headset/hands free previously. The BB User Tols CD and assorted books and Users Guide are normal fare. The Storm came with the International Guide and pre-installed SIM, the 8830 WE you had to pay extra for it.
Other Verizon BlackBerries have all come with the VZAccess Manager CD, but for whatever reason Verizon, again, chose to forgo that this time and just tell you how to download it. I was hoping VZW had come to their senses after first doing this on the Tour, but I was wrong.
If you are in a position where you need to tether your phone unexpectedly you are not going to be in a situation to download the software are you? The point of the tethering feature is that you can add and remove it from your phone as needed, so say you are on a trip and the hotel you are at does not provide internet all you have to do is call *611 and have them add the tethering to that line and then when you get home you can call and have it removed (and the charge prorated). You can still do that but you need to plan ahead and download the correct version of VZAccess Manager for the Storm2 (not all devices use the same version). This is mostly a minor annoyance but more of one than it appears on the surface.
Despite the cheapness of not providing the VZAccess Manager CD the contents of the Verizon Tour box are a solid value.
This guy on Crackberry thought the same thing. Read on
If I didn’t know better I’d say that someone from vzw was reading the forums and when I said that I was giving them till Monday for some info on when I was getting my phone and they escalated some things, but obviously even if they did they would have no way of identifying me. Or else the rumors online of VZW busting their butts to get all the back ordered storms into the customer’s hands by the 9th of December are true.
Either way the storm arrived around 11:30 this morning, December 8.
It took me about 20 minutes to get the phone activated and my email working. It’s a pretty straightforward process of activating the phone on the line, upgrading the PIN and ESN on the BIS serve and sending service books to get email and web services going.
My unit came with the .65 OS that the device was shipped with two weeks ago. Odd considering .75 was released officially last week. I did the OS update to the current 4.7.0.76 (Bell Mobility) Release which tool the usual 20 minutes or so.
** NOTE: I am an advanced BB user, if you are new to BB or not comfortable with updating your OS, I suggest upgrading to the Verizon supported .75 release **
Then another couple hours of playing around with settings and transferring the apps i wanted off my Curve to this beauty. Read on for first impressions.
As a general rule I really like Verizon. The network quality and coverage are exceptional! The Customer service on the phone is top notch; and while I think the pricing could be better you get what you pay for.
Then there are days like today.
So as I told you before I was on my local store’s list to get a call when the Storm came in. Supposedly they were gonna hold one for me but that I half expected that to not happen given the limited quantities. I did, however, expect a call and at least an apology for the inconvenience. I got neither. I waited for some sort of call yesterday and most of today which never came. So on my supper break. I talked to a guy I don’t recall ever talking to before or at least I didn’t recognize the voice. I’m in the store regularly so I know 4-5 of them by name.
Anyway, the guy told me that they were out and that they had only had 5 this morning. This was not a surprise given the store is just a mall store and there is a full store less than a mile away. I asked him why I did not at least get a call. He said and I quote here, “couldn’t tell ya”. I waited for him to offer to order if for me or tell me when they expected more. No dice. Now that’s what I call customer service — NOT!
Anyway, finally I said I’d just have to go through telesales and he said okay. I hung up more than a little annoyed. I called *611 CS and once I finally got a person (the wait was longer than usual but that was not unexpected) expecting a 10 minute phone call and the phone to be here on Monday or Tuesday.
I talked to this nice guy named Derek, and he told me that none of my lines were eligible for update right now. I told him about the post card that I mentioned in this post,
PLEASE JOIN US FOR
THE VERIZON WIRELESS PRE-HOLIDAY SALE
NOVEMBER 17-DECEMBER 1
And as our gift to you, you’re now eligible to upgrade early!
Bring this postcard with you for exclusive, early holiday discounts
on some of the season’s hottest gifts
The wireless number(s) with the last 4 digits listed below are eligible to upgrade early with 2-year promotional pricing.
(all 4 of my numbers were listed)
and he knew nothing about it. I also received the same info in an email earlier today. The only difference being I got 3 separate emails, one fore each line, and one (the one with a data card that I renewed only two months ago) was not included.
He researched a bunch of stuff on all 4 of my lines and finally found something on one of them; the line I did NOT want to extend because I don’t really use it. He told me that the card needed to be used in the store and that it should say so on it. I called up the email in my trusty BB Curve and it did not say anything of the kind. He did tell me that the device was in huge demand and that if I did order it it would might not be shipped till early December.
He talked to his supervisor and was basically told that since it was not in the account and the line I wanted to extend was last renewed in May, I would need to bring it into a store or get an agent (a trusted family member or friend) to do it for me if I was not able to do it myself and have the order processed that way. He told me this was because numerous attempts at fraud people trying to get the storm cheaper like $49.99 and whatnot. I told him I was more than happy with the 2-year upgrade price if $249.99 given that full retail was $499.99.
As a way of saying sorry for the inconvenience he did tell me that he was putting a note on my account that if I did buy it in the store I could get the instant rebate rather than the mail in one. I thanked him and ended the conversation; pissed off at the system, not him.
I want to know WHY a company would send these mailers and emails out to people and NOT have any record of it in their computers? How disorganized are they? I also want to know WHY I should have to go to the store to order a phone when I already know that the store is out of stock? That’s what telesales is for, for Pete’s sake!
Anyway I went back to work still ticked off but tried to get it out of my mind. As soon as I got off of work and got home I took a closer look at the postcard and sure enough there was NO MENTION of it being an in store offer only all there was was a mention of it not being available everywhere but that’s just a standard disclaimer. Depending on how you read it you may need the card to get the discount on the Perl and enV 2, but not the renewal. I don’t know about the enV 2 but the price listed on the card was the same as the in store price the last time I was in there so that was not really a sale.
So I’m fuming again sitting here in front of my computer thinking about emailing Amy the Asst Store Manager that Ive been dealing with to see if she could do anything. I decided to give CS one more try so I called *611 again and this time got someone a but more helpful.
Her name was Jessica and she listened to me lay this whole thing out. She listened patiently and was very courteous given how really ticked of I was (I warned her about it first and told her not to take it personally). She mentioned that an email had gone out to reps saying that some people were mailed upgrade offers by mistake and that she could not say anything other than it was a computer glitch.
It does not seem like a glitch to me. It seems like someone decided to do something nice for their customers (possibly the VIP customers, not sure) and then someone else decided not to honor it. Why am I being penalized for their mistake or change of heart!?
Anyway she told me that what she saw in the system the line eligible for early upgrade on Dec 24 which was actually not the line Derek had mentioned before and I actually use that line so renewing on that line was not my first choice but acceptable. I told her that a regular annual upgrade was one year pricing and the card promised two. She said it would be two year pricing with an instant rebate. Reluctantly I agreed.
She started to place the order for me and told me that while she was placing the order now it is possible that it might not get shipped till DECEMBER 5! What? I said! RIM manufactured 400,000 of these! I know she said I’m just telling you what it says here.
I asked her if I qualified for corporate pricing from my employer and if my VIP $50 discount applied. She checked and said that doing that would remove the instant rebate so my final price was $214.99. It’s not clear to me why the $50 VIP discount does not apply, when I’ve read numerous accounts online of people getting it; but at this point I’m just happy to have made progress. After she finished the order we ended the conversation, since there was nothing more I needed.
So, after THREE phone conversations, I finally got my Storm ordered. Not quite as cheap as I was hoping but overall not bad. Why it is gonna take TWO WEEKS is really a mystery to me though.
I have no animosity toward the two CS people but I have to say this, VZW really needs to get their crap together! There is NO excuse for sending out mailers AND emails like that and NOT leaving a record of it somewhere.
So I talked to the store manager last week and one of my lines is eligible for an annual upgraded on December 24 (Christmas Eve). I’ve been thinking all week about weather I really wanted to wait that long or go with my other plan of adding an additional line of service and then killing one after the new year when I can better afford the ETF. I’m worried about the store having stock that close to Christmas.
Then the other day I remembered that some people have had luck calling CS and asking for their NE2 updates to be moved ahead a month or two and resolved to call CS and see if they could do the same thing and allow me to do an annual update early. I was able to annual update a data card a couple months ago but that was directly through telesales. I’d prefer to buy this in the store since they are holding one for me and I’d rather give them the business anyway.
Anyway, when I got home yesterday I got the following postcard in the mail:
It reads in part:
PLEASE JOIN US FOR
THE VERIZON WIRELESS PRE-HOLIDAY SALE
NOVEMBER 17-DECEMBER 1
And as our gift to you, you’re now eligible to upgrade early!
Bring this postcard with you for exclusive, early holiday discounts
on some of the season’s hottest gifts
The wireless number(s) with the last 4 digits listed below are eligible to upgrade early with 2-year promotional pricing.
So it looks like I not only get to upgrade any or all of my lines early, but I ALSO get to do the Two Year renewal. So I’ll get this baby for $200 (or less, depending on weather my VIP or Corporate Discounts also apply or not).
There is also some nice pricing on the BB Perl and enV2.
The VZWClause is being very good to me this year! 
Within hours of the leaked release date in my last post, Verizon sent the following email message with the subject line BlackBerry Storm is Coming 11.21.08 to those who signed up for updates on the Storm. So much for all those who cried foul insisting that VZW would not tell us us in a timely fashion, when the cat was already out of the bag so to speak. TAKE THAT, VZW haters!
Reading the fine print at the bottom once againconfirms the “Nationwide” activation required and confirms the two year price. A one yer price and full retail have yet to be released officialy but someone on an intenet message board posted that he was told $269.99 (after rebate) for one year and a retail price of $639. We shall see how this panns oit and as usual I will keep you informed.
I really hope that since my name is on a list in the store and they ARE going to actually hold one for me that I can pick mine up a little early so as to avoid the lines that this is most deffinitely goint to cause in stores. I can’t remember the last time I was so excited about something!
