Sophia and her husband are loyal Verizon customers who feel burned by the company because it won’t let them replace lemon smart phones with anything but refurbished versions of the devices they’ve come to despise. [More]
smartphones
Why The iPhone 4 Is Sticking With AT&T… For Now
By 6.8.10
While Monday was a joyous one for iPhone geeks eager to re-up their AT&T contracts to nab an iPhone 4, it was a sad day in Mudville for Verizon folk who feel they were left at the altar with no announcement that they too could partake in its wonders. But the wait for the device, or one like it, on Verizon may not be all that far off. [More]
AT&T Capping Data On New iPhone, iPad Plans
By 6.2.10
AT&T has officially delivered on the threats made by its consumer business director Ralph de la Vega last December: it’s switching to usage-based pricing on data plans for smartphones and the iPad. Starting Monday, all new AT&T customers who buy an iPad, iPhone, Blackberry or other smartphone and purchase the necessary data plan will have two options: $25 for 2 gigabytes, or $15 for 200 megabytes. [More]
What iPhone Owners Complain About When They Complain To The FCC & FTC
By 5.31.10 — Updated: 10.24.12
Lastmonth, InformationWeek filed a Freedom of Information request with the FCC and the FTC for complaints made about the iPhone in the past year. Although the breakdown of complaints is interesting, what I found most striking was that in a nation of over 11 million iPhone owners, less than 600 complaints were filed in the past 14 months*, and some of those were for other Apple products. If you have a legitimate grievance with a company, you might have a much better chance of being heard by the FCC or FTC than you think. [More]
Verizon, My New Smartphone Has An Incredible Amount Of Bloatware
By 5.5.10
Timothy copied Consumerist on his EECB to Verizon. While he likes his new HTC Droid Incredible a lot, he’s deeply disappointed in how many applications the phone shipped to him with. “Effectively, we are paying you for the privilege of having to repeatedly be harassed by your adware,” he writes. Do you agree, or is Timothy overreacting? [More]
Make Sure You Know Which Version Of Android Is On That Phone Before Buying It
By 3.15.10
That brand new smartphone you want to buy may not be running the latest version of Android, reports Wired, and the manufacturer or cellular provider might like it that way. It costs money to push updates out to existing customers, assuming the hardware is compatible. Besides, carriers can charge extra fees for add-on services (like turn-by-turn navigation) that newer Android OS versions include free of charge. Check out Wired’s article for a comparison chart of the Android version on each handset. [More]
Don't Let AT&T Convince You That Your Phone Needs A Data Plan
By 3.4.10
At the beginning of February, we began hearing from AT&T Wireless customers who AT&T helped out by putting them on a smartphone data plan that they didn’t ask for. AT&T Wireless implemented this policy back in the fall for new subscribers, and is now apparently identifying smartphone users and putting them on data plans. However, you don’t have to keep the plan if you’d rather not…as long as you bought the phone before September 6, 2009 or it is an unlocked device. [More]
Magical USAA Check-Depositing Smartphone App Now Available For Android
By 2.24.10
Do you envy iPhone users’ ability to deposit checks in their USAA accounts by snapping a picture and using a fancy secure app? Now, check-zapping abilities have been granted to phones using Google’s Android mobile operating system. [More]
After 8 iPhones And 14 SIM Cards, AT&T Still Won't Waive ETF
By 2.15.10
AT&T seems determined to fix Mike’s problem. Only they can’t, apparently, because in the past 9 months he’s gone through 8 iPhones and 14 different SIM cards, and still can’t get a phone that does everything it’s supposed to do. (Like ring when someone calls.) Normally an 8-smartphone customer might sound like someone who’s being too hard to please, and maybe that’s Mike, but let’s face it: this is AT&T and it’s the iPhone, so most of the issues he lists below sounds completely plausible. [More]
Google Opens Phone Support For Nexus One Customers
By 2.10.10
Hey look, Google has finally decided to take selling smartphones seriously! After initially trying to treat Nexus One owners like Gmail users who’d locked themselves out of their accounts, the company finally admitted it might be good to have actual people on hand for troubleshooting. If you’ve got a Nexus One problem that T-Mobile can’t solve, call 888-486-3987 (888-48NEXUS). The line is open from 7am-10pm ET. [More]
Google Not Done Yet With Direct-To-Consumer Phones, According To Motorola
By 1.28.10
Motorola told its investors today that it’s working on building an Android phone for Google to sell directly to consumers alongside the HTC-built Nexus One. There are no other details yet, other than that it should be released in 2010, according to Motorola’s co-CEO Sanjay Jha. [More]
Verizon Shrinks The List Of Phones Subject To $350 ETF
By 1.20.10
Verizon has dropped 10 phones from its list of models that will trigger the high $350 early termination fee. Cnet wonders whether this is Verizon’s way of trying to make its “advanced devices are expensive to service” argument more palatable to the FCC, as the remaining models are all smartphones. [More]
Lack Of Google/HTC Customer Service Is Problematic
By 1.20.10
The Google/HTC Nexus One has been out for two weeks now, but the poor customer service vortex has sucked in many Consumerist readers, devouring their access to a functional phone, as well as their 14-day grace periods for returns. [More]
Unlocked Nexus One Smartphone Will Cost $530
By 1.3.10
Google! Touchscreen! Replicants! The Nexus One, a touchscreen smartphone designed by Google and made by HTC, may not be the next Jesus Phone, but word on the street is that it’s quite nifty and goes on sale on Tuesday, January 5th. What should you know before you order? [More]
This Verizon Store Provides Weird Repair Services
By 12.21.09
Some Motorola Droid phones are having problems with the battery cover coming off too easily. That’s what was happening to Chris’ Droid, so he and his girlfriend brought it into a Verizon store in Pleasant Hill, CA. His girlfriend brought along her defective enV Touch for service as well.
When they left, Chris had a sticker stuck to the back of his Droid, and his girlfriend was told to stop wearing makeup because makeup ruins the enV Touch.
Sorry, It's Your Problem That AT&T Rep Lied About Smartphone Data Plans
By 12.20.09
Robert, an iPhone user and AT&T defender, tells Consumerist that the company has managed to turn him against them. What? No! And it’s all thanks to a misinformed retail store rep and some subsequent bad customer service from call center reps. Apparently, the employees at his local store don’t read Consumerist, or they would know that AT&T no longer allows customers with smartphones to cancel their data plans. [More]
Apple Replaces Shattered iPhone After Customer Drops It
By 12.18.09
Someone in Apple’s iPhone Support department just got the crap haunted out of him by three ghosts, I’m guessing, based on what happened when David called to explain that his wife had dropped and ruined her brand new iPhone. [More]
Borders Gets Into Ebook Business, Relaunches Shortcovers As Kobo Books
By 12.16.09
Shortcovers, an ebook retailer that I recommended to a Sony Reader owner last month, has morphed into something called kobobooks.com, and it’s now partially owned by Borders. If you own an ereader other than a Kindle, or if you read ebooks primarily on a smartphone, you might want to add it to your list of sources for ebooks. [More]
