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Friday, December 18, 2009

Cell Phone Deals are pissing me off...am I stupid, or are they?

Okay...help me out here. All these wonderful "deals" on new cell/mobile/smartphones: they're all dependent on you signing up for two years of service, right? So all these deals are doing for me, who signed up to his "new deal" in April, is pissing me off. Will Verizon pay off my indentured servitude to AT&T? Will T-Mobile? Sprint? Of course not. Take your damned advertisements away, all they're doing is making me feel bad. I don't want the new phone badly enough to pay iPod prices for it. I'd be happy if this damned iPhone would just do what they said it would do.

It's an annoying day in Mobile-land.

8 comments:

Michael Pollack said...

You should have checked out Consumer Reports, where you would have found out that ATT is the lowest rated carrier. Then again, you can download ATT's new APP with which you can report to them where you have no service (irony?). Have a good beer, and good cell luck.

Pete LaVerghetta said...

It's looking more and more like Apple will end the exclusive deal with AT&T. I have been reading millions of words on this subject. Some folks are claiming the the iPhone is just not a very good phone. People in Europe and Asia disagree.

It seems to me that AT&T wasn't prepared for the unprecedented growth and popularity of the iPhone. It doesn't really matter if it's the iPhone, it's the fact that smart phones make using tons of data so much easier. Browsing the web on my Razr was a cruel joke, but it's a joy on the iPhone, so I do it way more. So does everybody else. Viola.

From what I gather, it's not the network since their really is only one network. That's the way cell phones work. It's AT&T's back end, the part that connects to the web.

Anyway, the US is way behind the rest of the world in cell tech. Eventually we'll catch up.

Lew Bryson said...

Yeah, thanks, Michael, that makes me feel so much better...

Chris Holst said...

Look into the prepaid providers out there. I'm a happy customer of Page Plus Cellular, who resells the Verizon network. My ebay-bought
Verizon-branded phone works like a charm on it. $30/month for 1200 minutes/1200 texts/50MB of data. Not great if you want to surf the web on your phone, but great for telecommunicating.

These deals won't get you out of the contracts you're already in... but you'll never enter into a new one once you explore them. Check http://www.cellguru.net/prepaid_compare.htm for a rundown on the players worth paying attention to at the moment.

RunawayJim said...

Sounds like you fell victim to Operation Chokehold.

AT&T stopped investing in infrastructure after the introduction of the iPhone. I mean, why should they have to keep investing in that when people are switching to them in droves because of the iPhone.

I'm not sure where else the iPhone would go besides T-Mobile. Verizon and AT&T/Apple are in an advertising war right now. And when you piss of Steve Jobs, he doesn't give you his product.

Lew Bryson said...

My dad was on T-mobile (before we gave my mom an AT&T cell...because he never turned his on!), and I was always impressed with his service. When he used it, that is. Which was sparingly. Niggardly, even. And that's why we gave Mom a cell for Christmas last year, and pay for the monthly (about $13), and consider it the best Christmas present we ever gave. I'm not unhappy with the plan we have with AT&T: on paper, it's pretty damned good. It's the lack of speed, lack of signal, and the crappo phones (we got my son a Palm Centro...he had four replacements, none of them his fault, before they finally admitted the damned design's a lemon, and gave him a Nokia E71x, which is klunky...but bulletproof).

Unknown said...

Count me among the mostly satisfied iPhone users out there.

I was with T-Mobile before I picked up an iPhone over a year ago, and was extrememly happy with their service and quality. I never had ANY problems while with 'em.

Fast forward to now, my phone does all I want it to and quite well. Most who complain about the iPhone simply have unrealisic expectations, IMHO. AT&T's coverage isn't the best, as I get a dropped call now and again, but it's a fair trade-off 'til Apple expands to open themselves up to other providers.

Marc said...

Try the Blackberry Storm with Verizon. I have had it for almost a year and have been happy with performance and coverage....even when I visit my family in Central PA (and I am not talking about Harrisburg, but Altoona, Johnstown) It may not have as many apps, but I have never had a strong desire for my phone to double as a level!