Okay, so a couple weekends ago I went to the Verizon store. I'll admit it, I'm weak, I wanted to check out the Verizon iPhone and see how difficult it would be to trade my phone in early on the new iPhone. I've been using my iTouch for a while now, and while it's pretty limited for blogging purposes, it beats the hell out of driving to a McDonald's or Dunkin' Donuts to get a wifi signal when I'm jonesin' for a 'net fix on vacation... Yeah, I know, I have a problem...
Now, silly me, I thought they would jump at the chance to sell an iPhone and get me hooked up on a data plan. It's an extra $30 a month for the plan, which is a little on the steep side - but it is unlimited data (well, "unlimited" I should say - there are hidden terms and such endemic to claims of unlimited anything). A bit pricey, but that's the price of staying connected. More importantly, I was ready to sign up for the plan on the spot - if they could swap out the phone.
Now, I understand the idea that you sign up for the contract, you're locked in, etc. I was hoping that there would be some leeway on the timeframe, especially since the iPhone coming to Verizon was a pretty big deal and all, with much fanfare and hoopla and such. It was enough to get me interested in the data plan, which I had resisted up until now. But no, they weren't willing to alter the contract in any way - and if I just swapped the phone, I'd have to pay the "full" price of the phone - some $650 or so.
There's simply no way that phone costs $650, not when the comparable unit sans phone sells for less than half that price. Certainly there's R&D costs to be recovered, etc., but the fact remains - I've been a Verizon customer for about a decade now, and they weren't willing to work with me in the least. In fact, the suggestion offered to me was to open another phone line to get the iPhone - which of course would mean a new phone number and another $15 a month in addition to the $30 data plan. I just don't buy that the only option available to me is to fork over $650 (if I want my new line) or $360 ($15/month for two years for new phone line). I cannot believe there are no other options.
No, thank you, I'll wait - and Verizon had better hope I don't start looking for another carrier between now and December.
That is all.
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What you need to do, is call in the request for upgrade via the customer service line.
It may take a few calls, but eventually you'll get someone willing to do it for you.
The upgrade date CAN be moved for you, my droid phone is proof of that, I got it as an upgrade almost a year away from my upgrade date.
Ya, cell phone companys suck, I hate the $30 bs, I have the limited $15 for my android phone. They do let you upgrade early, but it is only a few months early. . . . did they mention that?
iGreed
It's a seller's market now. Wait a few months after the hype dies down and you'll probably get a better deal.
US cellular has been advertising in their "Believe" campaign about how easy they are when it comes to upgrades. Phone numbers are portable too, you can take your number with you when you change companies. http://www.fcc.gov/cib/consumerfacts/numbport.html
Heard the other day that Deutche Telecomm is looking to sell T-Mobile off to SprintNextel, and since any Anti-Trust Legislation was trashed when BHO took office, when you do decide to swap out, the number of carriers may have shrunk some more. Dirty Little Secret Time: Global Stock Markets are staying afloat due to companies doing Mergers and Acquisitions, not really much growth in making and providing goods and services. So once the iPhone Wars settle down, you might be right where you are this minute!
Don't neglect looking at Androids--I've used a Touch for the last few years, a couple weeks ago switched to an Android. The touchscreen hardware isn't quite as good, but the interface is pretty much the same, and as good, the browser is better by a good bit. Plus I don't have to use iTunes ever again, I just hook the Android up and drop files into the right folder.
I got a Palm Pre on Verizon when they were offering the wifi tethering feature for free. (They normally charge a monthly fee for it.) I can use it to provide a 3G connection for my iPod Touch. But I don't think that's an option any more.
The reason Verizon won't make you a deal is because they don't have to. They're getting more than enough business. They figure if you want the service badly enough you'll pay their price.
Check out Virgin Mobile, for $140 you get an android phone, $25 a month unlimited data, no contract.
Got one for my daughter, best deal out there. It uses the Sprint network.
Anonymous beat me to it: Virgin's Android offering. Close friend of mine has it, and aside from it being the previous-generation hardware, he's happy with it. And there's no charge for tethering, just a bit of digging out hidden settings.
Dave - I also have the Pre, obtained during the "free hotspot" promotion. I've had it for a year and hate this POS with a fiery passion. (This is, btw, a 180-degree reversal of my initial impressions of the phone.) I can't wait to reach my upgrade point so I can ditch this thing and get a real phone again.
Verizon's Department of Sales Prevention. Gotta love that.
tweaker
Android. Dump the iHype. I am interested in the Motorola Atrix, but I will wait until it shows up on Verizon.
I am NOT an Apple fan, I just spent way too much time with a friend trying to get some pictures over onto his iPad. iTunes sucks as an interface, they seem to be interested in preventing you from doing what you need to do.
That said, if you're determined to switch from your phone to an iPhone, call the company's customer service number, tell them that if you can't get the iPhone for the price that you'd pay as a new customer, you're willing to switch carriers. If they don't want to keep your business, then that's up to them. They have a department that is devoted to reducing what's called "churn", the tendency of customers to leave because of better deals elsewhere. If you don't do it often, they'll bend over backwards to keep you as a customer. At least, they did when I was employed at Cingular a bunch of years ago, I doubt that it's changed.
The wife dumped her iPhone for a DroidX she LOVES it. She uses much more of the phone's features than she ever did the apple, and her only complaint is that the MP3 player isn't as nice...but it hasn't stopped her music consumption from my observations.
I went with the Droid2 because I need a QWERTY to play nethack, and it makes mobile blogging MUCH easier.
I have the Droid1, and I concur on the music player. Far better to just use Pandora Radio. It's awesome.
MSRP is set by Apple, don't blame Verizon. It's in line with MSRP for other smartphones, at any rate. And, judging from the cost of cell modules in laptops, it's about $200 worth of MSRP increase to add a cell module to a piece of consumer electronics. Comparing the price to that of a current model iPod touch makes it look like Apple is charging somewhat more than that, though. But you buys the Apple Product, you pays the Apple Tax.
Just a bit of a history lesson. My first smartphone was an HTC Harrier (well, a carrier branded version). I paid out over $800 after taxes and was waiting on a mail-in rebate of $200 back in 2006 or so. Smartphones have never been cheap - it's just that the companies are subsidizing them more. They plan to make it back on your contract, which is why they won't advance the upgrade date as much any more.
Wait a bit and get a used one from someone who chases the latest gadget - particularly if the iPhone 5 drops on schedule.
Incidentally, I will be ordering a pair of the freshly-announced HTC Thunderbolts tomorrow; FWIW. I got issued an android at work and pretty much immediately stopped using my personal smartphone. Add data speeds approaching first-tier FiOS speeds in many of the areas I'm in and a ginormous screen to take advantage of that and I'm in.
Of course, I've been waiting to upgrade since November...
That sucks. Every time I upgrade with AT&T they just want me to sign a new two year contract and maybe make me pay $50 to $100 for a new phone.
I ran into something similar last year with AT&T. I had a contract I no longer needed due to getting divorced, and my phone, which was out of contract. I wanted them to switch my number over to the other contract and let me drop the other. They wouldn't. They seem to be in the business of pushing customers away. I was thinking of getting an iphone once the contract ran out. I ended up switching to Sprint and getting an EVO. I got to keep my old number too. I paid the early termination fee and said goodbye to AT&T. Most business people try to keep their customers happy, cell phone providers seemed to exist solely to annoy their!
I'm an AT&T iPhone boy. This iPhone 4 cost $24.99 in a swap for older an 3GS at Radio Shack. A $125 trade-in for 3GS and $149.99 for the 4. Walking to phone store with no phone contract an iPhone 4 should be $200 with a 2 year contract.
Check out the AT&T prices and then use them to beat Verizon into submission.
You can ask the phone operators about it. It is your right to know about these things. Have a call with them and for sure they will going to help you.
A lot of cell-phone-company stories out there...
My experience is that it all comes down to the person with whom you speak. Find the right person who will agree that what you want makes sense, and he/she will figure out a way to get it done.
(Failing that, go ahead and tell them that it's ridiculous to treat new customers better than their ten-year loyal customers, and that you're ready to walk.)
A few years back, when I was still a Nextel customer, I wanted to take my phone with me to Israel; they work *unmodified* there. I carefully added a new calling plan, so that it wouldn't cost me an arm and a leg when I got there. Surprise -- it cost me an arm and a leg anyway, because the plan I signed up for didn't cover calling FROM overseas (although I repeatedly explained to Nextel that that's what I wanted). I wound up with an end-of-month phone bill over $1000.
I worked the phones, speaking with one supervisor after another -- in Billing, in Customer Care, you name it. After repeated polite insisting that they couldn't help me, I wound up speaking to a low-level peon-type guy. He wanted to help me, and he knew how to do it, and he agreed that I'd been snookered. So he asked me to repeat: how much did they tell you your calls would cost? Ten cents per minute, I said. He then spent over an hour, adjusting the rate to ten cents per minute for each call, one by one; he said there was no faster way to do it. (I kept him company on the phone while he did this; it seemed the least I could do.) My $1000 phone bill thus dropped to about $70... which I happily paid.
I also offered to buy the guy a beer; he thanked me and said he was on the wagon. Hey, I tried.
I have experienced it one before. I returned to the establishment where I bought my gadget and they help me on how I can recover from it. They had contact the service operator and at last it was done!
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