Sarah bought some car chargers from Eforcity through Amazon, and was disappointed to find that the charger plug doesn’t stay in the phone unless you hold it in. She said as much in her Amazon feedback. In response, Eforcity said they would be happy to give her a refund, as long as she deleted her negative feedback. In other words, a bribe for self-censorship. Eforcity’s email, inside…
cellphones
Leaks: Need ID And Social To Buy iPhone 3G?
By 7.7.08
An Apple store insider has leaked to us what they say will be some limitations and barriers on buying the iPhone Apple and AT&T stores will apply to the new iPhone 3g that goes on sale this Friday:
Don't Maintain A Negative Balance With Sprint Or They Will Disconnect Your Service
By 7.5.08
Sprint disconnected Bill’s service for “exceeding his account spending limit,” even though his account had a -$50 balance and he was signed up for Sprint’s Simply Everything unlimited plan. Sprint quickly reactivated Bill’s phone after he pointed this out, but warned that his service “will probably shut back off in a couple of days.”
With The New iPhone On The Horizon, Now Is The Time To Threaten Your Cellphone Company
By 7.3.08
With the debut of that new super iPhone thing only a few short days away, now is the time to threaten your current cellphone company. What’s that? You have no intention of switching cellphone companies for the iPhone? Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon’s retention reps don’t know that. Do they?
Stop Making Fun Of Me: Confessions Of An Early iPhone Adopter
By 7.2.08
Those of us who bought iPhones when they came out haven’t been very popular over the last year. We’ve been viewed as impulse-buying fanboys who got suckered into paying to beta-test an incomplete product on an inferior network. Then Steve Jobs sold us out. Now our co-workers won’t stop making fun of us. I bought my iPhone on June 29th, I still love it, and I can’t wait to buy a new one next week. Inside, my reasons why.
Help! AT&T Wants A $750 Deposit, But I Really Want An iPhone!
By 7.1.08
Dana’s divorce left her with crappy credit and now AT&T wants a $750 deposit! She’s wondering if anyone has any advice for avoiding such a large deposit…
Graph: Which Cellphone Company Has The Best Early Termination Fee Policy?
By 6.27.08
Discounting or pro-rating the early termination fees that cellphone companies love to tack on to their contracts is becoming more common, so we thought we’d make some graphs that show the strengths and weaknesses of the different policies. As you can see, T-Mobile 2-year ETF doesn’t make any discounts until fairly late in the contract period — and their ETF of $200 is higher than either of the other two companies that offer discounts. (Sprint does not pro-rate or discount its ETF.) T-Mobile’s ETF does, however, reach a point where their discounts are steeper than Verizon and AT&T’s pro-rating.
By 6.26.08
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Chrysler announces WiFi-enabled cars: “We want to make the radio itself a WiFi port,” a spokesperson said. The service will require a subscription to a wireless phone carrier. [Washington Post]
How To Cancel T-Mobile Without ETF
By 6.26.08
Want to get out of your T-mobile cellphone contract without paying a $200 early termination fee? Now you can. T-mobile is raising its text message rates August 29th to 20 cents per message. This counts as what is known as a “materially adverse change of contract.” Under standard contract law, if one party changes the terms of the agreement in a way that financially harms the other party, then the contract is void. If the contract is void, so is any stipulation that you be charged a fee for breaking it (especially as technically they broke it first). You will have much better success arguing its a materially adverse change of contract if you are not currently in an unlimited text message plan. You don’t have to wait until August to escape, members of the Slickdeals forums are already reporting success escaping without penalty. Stay tuned to The Consumerist for more information and tips on using this money-saving tactic.
T-Mobile Introduces Declining Early Termination Fees
By 6.23.08
Tmobile just announced that they will let early termination fees decline over the course of a contract. Previously, you had to pay the full monty whether canceled on the first day, or last day, of your contract. This chart shows you how the new fee breaks down over time:
The New iPhone May Save You Money—If You Don't Buy One
By 6.16.08
If you’re thinking about getting that new 3G iPhone, you might want to hold off a few more months and see what happens with the other carriers. BusinessWeek has an article about how AT&T’s aggressive subsidizing of the iPhone will have a negative impact on handset makers and carriers, because it’s going to force them to increase subsidies and reduce service fees. Translation: good times for the consumer bold enough to stay off the iPhone train.
The $26,000 "My Dior" Cellphone
By 6.16.08
For the idiot who has everything comes the latest in unbridled extravagance: fashion house Christian Dior is set this month to launch of line of luxury cellphones costing a ridiculous amount of money. The phone will come in two versions, a “basic” one for $5,000, and a “Lady Dior” one for $26,000. The latter’s pricetag is justified by 640 stones and 3,251 carats of Swarovski crystals embedded in a crocodile skin sheath. Both models will feature touchscreens, integrated media player, bluetooth, blah blah blah, but they do have one actual innovation. The phone comes with a “My Dior,” a USB key-sized version of the main cellphone that communicates with the mothership cellphone via Bluetooth and clips to the outside of a bag. Christian Dior says this way you don’t have to go digging through your purse to find your phone. We think it would also come in handy if you don’t have time to set up a full security perimeter every time you want to make a call.
The 10 Most And 10 Least Radiation Emitting Cellphones
By 6.13.08
CNET has complied a list of which cell phones, used in America, emit the most radiation. Conversely, they also have a list of phones that emit the least radiation. The publication of these lists does not imply there is a risk to using cell phones. According to the FDA, there is not enough information to say conclusively whether cellphones are safe or unsafe, however, you may be curious to see how your phone stacks up. The lists focuses on the specific absorption rate, or “SAR” of each cellphone. The lists, inside…
In Early Termination Fee Hearing, FCC Chief Regurgitates Wireless Industry Proposals
By 6.12.08
The FCC held hearings today to discuss early termination fees (ETF) for wireless carriers, the ~$175 charged if a customer exits contract before the contract is up. FCC Chairman Kevin “Golden Child” Martin’s proposals largely mirrored those offered by the carriers themselves last month. Here’s what he said today:
Sprint Doesn't Charge US Government Early Termination Fees
By 6.12.08
Sprint doesn’t charge Uncle Sam an early termination fee if he decides to get out of his cellphone contract early. Why? USAToday reports:
Verizon Close To Buying Alltel For $27 Billion
By 6.4.08
CNBC is reporting that Verizon Wireless is deeply involved in talks to buy rural cellphone giant Alltel Wireless for an estimated $27 billion. Alltel was recently taken private TPG and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners.
ATT Settles Class Action Over Fraudulent Ringtone Charges
By 6.4.08
Thanks to AT&T settling a recent class-action, the era of third-party scammers cramming consumers with fraudulent subscriptions to ringtone, hookup text and other stupid content services may soon be over. AT&T Customers can claim refunds for wrongful charges from up to 3 of their bills between 1/1/04 and 5/30/08. The lawyers will get $4.3 million. AT&T will now require subscriptions to 3rd party-services with recurring fees to be confirmed by responding to a text message. 3rd party services will also have to send a monthly reminder with unsubscribe info. The firm has filed similar suits against Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile. Claim forms and more info at thirdpartycontentrefund.com.
