If arguing for completely getting out of your AT&T early-termination-fee isn’t your thing, you can try doing what Felix did and get 75% off it.
cellphones
Sprint Makes Customer Wait 6 Hours For Chat
By 7.31.08
Adam had a question on his bill—either about the $9.68 adjustment in his favor, or the $102,861.30 they say he still owes, we’re not sure—so he decided to take advantage of their online chat. He writes, “Conveniently, they have a link that says ‘Questions about your bill?’ When you click it, it brings you to a live agent. This is a picture of our session.”
Tmobile Introduces Month To Month Contracts
By 7.30.08
Hate long-term cellphone contracts? Starting August 6th, Tmobile will be the first national carrier to offer month-to-month plans, straight up.
Poor Reception? "Go To The Hilltop" Sprint Tells Customer
By 7.29.08
“Go outside, or to hilltop to make calls from your cell phone. Sprint does not guarantee call quality in buildings or homes,” a Sprint customer service rep told reader Nathan shortly before he canceled service. Sprint had told a long series of lies with various reasons and solutions that never materialized for why Nathan and his family couldn’t get any reception in their home. After wrangling for many months, Nathan told them to stuff it.
Morning Deals
By 7.29.08
- Amazon: Lego sale. 50% off 8 Different Items
- Walgreens: 6 Sharpies for $2 (in-store only)
- eforcity: iPod/iPhone charging cable for $7.99 (down from $43.99)
- DealExtreme: iPod/iPhone charging cable for $3.46
- Woot: It’s a woot-off!
Highlights From Dealhack
- Best Buy: Dynex DX-LCD32 32-inch LCD HDTV $490
- Tiger Direct: Unlocked Motorola RAZR V3 GSM Cell Phone $100
- Buy.com: Kodak Z1285 12 Megapixel Digital Camera $90 Shipped
Subway Says Get Off Your Phone Or Go To The Back Of The Line
By 7.28.08
Sean says he approves of the this sign that he saw at an Idaho Subway location today, but his wife wasn’t a fan…
Sorry Telcos, Landlines Are Now A Luxury Expense
By 7.28.08
But in this first real slowdown of the wireless age, consumers seem to be saying that home-based telephones are expendable luxuries, like Starbucks lattes or Coach handbags. And it makes sense. Confronted with high inflation, soaring energy costs, and stagnant wages, millions of households are facing choices about which monthly bills to pay and which commitments to maintain. And if it comes down to one or the other, the mobile or the home-based land line, it’s clear which is a necessity and which is an option.
10 Practical Tips To Keep Your Cellphone From Killing You
By 7.27.08
Have you heard, cellphones are deadly. Science told us so this week when Dr. Ronald B. Herberman of the esteemed University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute realized that cellphones emit death rays that fry your brain and turn you into a baby-eating Communist, or give you cancer or whatever. Dr. Despair isn’t a downer though! Inside, 10 practical ways to keep your precious little brain safe from those ubiquitous chirping cancer slabs…
By 7.22.08
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If your phone uses the Symbian S60 operating system (most Nokia phones, and a few from Samsung), you can purchase QuickOffice Premiere 5.0 for $1.00 for today only. The software, which lets you edit Microsoft Office 2007 files, usually costs around $70. [Quickoffice via All About Symbian]
Tmobile Adds Flimsy Restrictions For ETF-Free Cancelers
By 7.22.08
Tmobile is trying to impose certain new restrictions on people trying to cancel their contract without early termination fee (ETF) over the recent text message rate increase. Based on an email between a reader and Tmobile’s executive customer service team, to qualify for ETF-free cancellation a customer:
Reach Verizon Wireless West Coast Executive Customer Service
By 7.22.08
866-673-9561 is the number to reach Verizon Wireless executive customer service on the West Coast. Only use it when normal routes of customer service have repeatedly failed, be nice, be able to condense your story in about 2 sentences, and don’t forget these tips for dealing with executive customer service.
That Sure Is An Expensive Phone Ya Got There, Mr. Hobo
By 7.14.08
Fine, fine, the iPhone is decent and all that, but here’s a funny clip from “The Soup” that puts the lie to that whole “It’s so much cheaper!” hype. And if you’re not an iPhone owner and need even more reason to feel good about that, check out Wisebread’s rant against people who stand in line for gadgets.
Buying An iPhone 3G Was Surprisingly Easy. Activating It Was Not.
By 7.11.08
As Consumerist’s resident Apple fanboy, I spent the last few hours standing outside an AT&T store waiting to buy the iPhone 3G, then waiting for it to activate in iTunes. Here’s what went down.
Don't Live Near A Big City? Here's Something You Should Know Before Upgrading Your iPhone
By 7.11.08
The new iPhone is 3G–but AT&T’s 3G network isn’t exactly “nationwide,” so you might want to check the coverage map to make sure that there’s a 3G network in your area.
Want The New iPhone? Here's How To Escape Your Current Cellphone Contract ETF-Free
By 7.10.08
As the second coming of the Jesusphone 3G draws near, we wanted to remind customers of other wireless carriers that there are ways to escape your existing cellphone contract free of early termination fees, and trade your piddling Verizon, Sprint, or T-Mobile bills for hundreds of pages of gloriously itemized AT&T charges. Or just switch carriers.
Verizon Settles Early Termination Fee Lawsuit For $21 Million
By 7.10.08
Verizon has agreed to pay $21 million in a California class action lawsuit brought over early termination fees. The plaintiffs alleged that the fees violated California state laws. Next case: Sprint, which Californians are suing for the same reason.
