Phones for Electronic Freedom
NOTE: Bidding is now closed. Thank you to everyone who participated!
We're having a birthday celebration, only it's not our birthday. It's our good friend EFF's 15th birthday this week and we, the Phone Scoop community, think they deserve some presents. If you don't know about the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) , they are the defenders of your electronic freedom. They protect us from companies, industry organizations and legislators who try to strip away your fair use rights for digital media all in the name of profits. They've defended numerous programmers. They've stood up for us in meetings of the WIPO and other international trade organizations. They helped defeat the broadcast flag.
If you're on this site, there's a good chance the EFF has helped you in some way, whether you know it or not. In the wireless area, they've lobbied the FCC for more unlicensed spectrum, which will make possible more wonderful technologies like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and WiMax. They also fight for consumers' rights on issues like DRM (Digital Rights Management) technology.
The EFF also helps defend the rights of independent Internet publishers like us. So if you enjoy the kind of information we bring you, you should care about the EFF.
Presents? For me?
The EFF doesn't need your phones. They need your money. But you want hot phones, and hot phone related accessories, which is where we come in. Your Phone Scoop editors have been very lucky in the past few months, and some hot Motorola kit have fallen into our laps. We're not going to be selfish and keep them for ourselves. And now we're hoping you too will join in our spirit of sharing.
We are auctioning off one silver RAZR, one black RAZR and one BLNC Bluetooth car kit to benefit the EFF. If you haven't heard enough about the RAZR, we recently published one of our in-depth reviews of it. This quad-band GSM phone has Bluetooth, a VGA camera, dual color displays and is skinnier than the new Nicole Richie - and just as hot a celebrity. The RAZRs each come with all the accessories: a wired headset, AC charger, car charger, leather holster and some other small goodies. The black one even comes in the fancy special-edition metal box.
The BLNC is an integrated Bluetooth car kit that requires a professional installation. It includes a small, stylish, five-button dash-mounted control pad. (See the whole kit) The system uses voice prompts and voice recognition to control a host of options including dialing by name, dialing by number, and other options should your handset support them. In order to use the BLNC, your handset must support the Hands- Free Bluetooth profile (the RAZR, new Sony Ericssons and all Series 60 phones do, as well as many others).
How to win
NOTE: Bidding is now closed. Thank you to everyone who participated!
We are auctioning off the phones via a special forum thread. In order to bid, you need to register as a Phone Scoop member if you are not one already. This does not cost anything and we value your privacy, (we're doing this to support the EFF, after all,) so you will never be spammed.
Once registered, bidding is simple. Go to the thread for the RAZR or BLNC auction (links below) and place a bid at least one dollar higher than the current winning bid. Your bid amount should be in the subject line of your post. All bids should be in whole dollar amounts. The bidding for each item begins today at $100 and will end at 1 pm Eastern time (10 am Pacific) this Saturday, July 23. The highest bid in the RAZR thread will win the black RAZR; the first runner-up will receive the silver RAZR. The highest bid in the BLNC thread will receive the car kit.
Remember, this isn't just an auction, this is an auction for charity. Phone Scoop will not get a single cent of your money. That is why we are starting the bidding higher than your typical eBay auction. (Although our starting bid is still less than half the price of buying any of these items new.)
Once you have been notified that you are the winner, you can make a donation directly to the EFF for the amount of the winning bid (or even more if you're feeling generous). The EFF accepts all sorts of payment forms online, by mail or by phone. Do not make an anonymous donation or we will not be able to verify it. Once we can verify you have donated an amount equal to or greater than your winning bid, we will request your mailing address and send your prize to arrive within 14 days. (It will probably arrive sooner, but we need to cover our behinds, ok?)
Start your bidding:
NOTE: Bidding is now closed. Thank you to everyone who participated! See the bid threads and winners here:
Bid on the black and silver RAZRs
Bid on the BLNC Bluetooth Car Kit
Rules & Disclaimers:
- The deadline to enter is 1 PM EDT (10 AM PDT) Saturday, July 23, 2005. Any bids submitted after that time will not be valid.
- Winners will be contacted via e-mail by Monday, July 25, 2005.
- A list of winning usernames will be published on this page by Tuesday, July 26, 2005.
- Please allow 14 days after your donation to the EFF has been confirmed to receive your prizes.
- Winners are guaranteed the prize they bid for, but we cannot guarantee the phone or car kit will be compatible with your current wireless service / handset. (Both RAZRs are unlocked, but will only work with GSM carriers.)
- Phones do not include wireless service.
- Any suspected attempt to cheat in any way will result in unconditional disqualification of involved user(s).
- Motorola, its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers, directors, representatives, agents, and employees (collectively the "Motorola Entities") will have no liability or responsibility for any claim arising in connection with this Auction or any prize awarded. The Motorola Entities have not offered or sponsored this Auction in any way. By participating in this Auction, entrants agree to release and hold harmless Motorola Entities from any and all liability whatsoever for any injuries, losses or damages of any kind arising from or in connection with, either directly or indirectly, 1) the awarding, acceptance, receipt, possession, use and/or misuse of any prize awarded herein; or 2) participation in the Auction or any prize related activities, including but not limited to traveling to or from any prize related activity.
