I'd just be happy with the bells and whistles, and continue to pay for the service. People should be able to expect choice. Abundant choice in phones is not evident in the Verizon Stores? 😎 😎 😎

IM telling ya. Its all about the phones. Not coverage and that sentiment will increase when coverage is equal...

If or when the GSM carriers separate phone sales from service and one has to buy the phone from the likes of Best Buy or wal Mart at the same discounted rates, Verizon and Sprint will be losing mkt share.

1. Buy the phone of your choice with rebates from the phone makers and retail discounts. Phones are less expensive as they are not brand produced for Carriers.

2. Try on any GSM Carrier for a few weeks. Carrier DL's its SW branding features into phone is requested by user.

3. GSM carrier offers better rates no ETF unless one chooses a "phone subsidized rate plan"

3. Go over seas? No problem take the phone ad you...
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I agreee that having the ability to shop for a phone, similar to shopping for produce, will benefit the customer in terms of choices. I don't believe, however, it will reduce the price of the phones. In fact, I think it will raise the price of phones. Carriers purchase the phone from manufacturers and subsidize the product to the consumer based on the contract and assurance they will recoup their cost over the course of the service plan. There is no incentive for the carrier to offer a rebate to a customer who owns the hardware.

>>IM telling ya. Its all about the phones. Not coverage and that sentiment will increase when coverage is equal...

Apparently the major market share does NOT agree with you. Most people worry about things like their call and the call is reliable and not on a network that is static filled or going to drop the call.

Also, you make these statements as if VZW is going to stagnate at where it is now compared to a future that may or may not come true based solely upon what you think will happen. We don't know what is going to happen tomorrow, how do you know that VZW isn't about to launch new phones onto the market or add these bells and whistles way before any type of improvement is made to GSM? Remember, GSM is the OLDER technology meaning...
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Same issue, over and over. It takes a long time before Verizon releases a phone. The Samsung A610 is a product that many other companies have already released, and have even discontinued it. That even before VZW released this model. Sprint did... Another company, T-Mobile and AT&T, had a version of that model, although there was not rotating display, the Samsung V205, and V206, respectively. T-Mobile discontinued the phone on September 2003, I think even earlier.
Oh!another thing the V205 and V206 where way nicer and not as bulky as the Samsung A610.

>IM telling ya. Its all about the phones. Not coverage and that sentiment will increase when coverage is equal...

>>Apparently the major market share does NOT agree with you. Most people worry about things like their call and the call is reliable and not on a network that is static filled or going to drop the call.

Amen to that. I got my feet wet using Virgin Mobile, and when it came time to upgrade to a 'real' wireless carrier, poor word of mouth from my friends, who had had TDMA/GSM carriers like AT&TW and Cingular and been very disappointed with them ,(dropped calls, bad reception) steered me straight to Verizon.

Have been very happy with the decision too. Reception is great, and I've had exactly ONE dropped call. Its definitely...
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You're right, VW does need to improve turn-around time on phone releases. And I work for VW. Our phone geeks take a long time working out the bugs making sure the phones are compatable and consistent with the VW network.

And on that note, a comment. Having been a concerned consumer before my employment with VW, I recognize that VW isn't the cheapest or fastest-moving (as far as phone releases), but at least we're consistent with our service and our focus. VW is all about consistency and quality, all across the board, which is why we end up on top.

Epik

epik said:
You're right, VW does need to improve turn-around time on phone releases. And I work for VW. Our phone geeks take a long time working out the bugs making sure the phones are compatable and consistent with the VW network.

Epik

Wait, wait, wait! are we talking about the Volkswagen's bug now? lol I thought that it'd be funny to steer this thread into another direction...
Anxio*

Anxiovert, what a "NIMROD", 🤣Volkwagen Bug, My name is Anxiovert, and I am so damned funny.

I'm thinking about applying for employment with VZW too. What income range is offered to first-year retail store sales reps and retail store assistant managers?

>>Abundant choice in phones is not evident in the Verizon Stores

It is NOT abundant in Verizon stores...

IMHO Verizon will soon fall behind Cingular in terms of the latest phones with all the bells & whistles.

In the major markets (like Los Angeles where I live) coverage is not an issue. All the big carriers have pretty good coverage.

What are issues are the plans & phones offered by the carriers... I think that is what the original poster was getting after. On that basis, Verizon seems to be falling behind and if they continue this trend I think they could well end up losing a lot of customers... For example, look at how many people Verizon pissed-off & alienated with the V710 fiasco.

cheers,

kega

"In the major markets (like Los Angeles where I live) coverage is not an issue. All the big carriers have pretty good coverage."

All major markets? You mean like the San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose Bay Area?

I dunno how it is in LA, but up here, AT&TW (especially) and Cingular still have big-time problems with coverage, reception, and dropped calls. ☹️

Then you are one of the ones that is pretty much forced to go with the carrier that has the best coverage and "accept" whatever phones and plans that they happen to offer...

Personally, I kinda think that is Verizon's strategy right now. They tend to have the best coverage so they figure people will more-or-less be "forced" to use them anyways, so they figure they don't have to offer the best plans or phones... Very short-sighted business strategy in my opinion, I think it will hurt them in the long run. People like me are just waiting to jump ship when their contract expires and they find a better plan & a phone they like...

cheers,

kega

Every company in every industry that provides a superiuor product or service charges more for it than thier competitors do! Why? Because it is better and people are willing to pay a little more for a superior product.

Yeah, that's true to a certain point... That is certainly the American business philosophy as of late, go for the short term profits...

However, when you have a competitive advantage in terms of quality AND you match or beat your competitors prices and phones, then you OWN the ENTIRE market! Not just the people who are willing to pony up more money for better service, but ALL the people who buy such services... 😉

I know, I know, that is "long-term" thinking and it is both quite out of vogue and quite contrary to the current american businesses "short-term" philosophy... 😉

cheers,

kega

Then you are one of the ones that is pretty much forced to go with the carrier that has the best coverage and "accept" whatever phones and plans that they happen to offer...


LOL. You make it sound like I'm in prison. 😉

Honestly, I don't feel 'trapped' with Verizon at all. My phone is quite good (a Samsung 530s) and my plan is 1000 Anytime Minutes for $39.99. I'm sure that I could get a slightly 'better' deal on another carrier (dollar-wise, not coverage or reception-wise) or a somewhat whizzier uberphone, but for my needs (calling not data, & rarely use more than half my minutes) this is the perfect setup for me. If and when the GSM carriers provide as good a network, I'll reevaulate of course.

I'll still steer clea...
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Hey I am not trying to convince you about anything.... But yes SBC does own a part of cingular... But they are ran completly diffrent... They have a diffrent way of life in away. think about it... Starting from the reps to all the way up the the CEO are not part of SBC. Something to think about. I wonder is Verizon Wirless under a diffrent management staff than the land line verizon or dsl?

>>I wonder if Verizon Wirless under a different management staff than the land line verizon or dsl?

I think so, but am not positive. My bills from both are different anyways...